The invitation. (meditation).
BEING A LENTEN TRAVELER requires leaving behind those things that have become "home" to us. It involves a separation from the securities and attachments of our life. The paradox is that we're simply asked to respond to the loving invitation of Christ. Any move we make toward Christ will always be an act of response. And every step taken toward him confirms the mystery that our journey into the community of the triune God is our journey home.This icon by Andrei Rublev depicts the Holy Trinity with the Son in the center, the Father to the left, and the Holy Spirit to the right. The figures are seated around the table, with an open place before the viewer. We are invited to join the fellowship of God. In terms of perspective, the vanishing point appears to be where we are (rather than in the distance) and opens beyond us into the ever-widening life of the Trinity. By these compositional details, Rublev's icon echoes the invitation of Lent: that we might move beyond the confines of ourselves into the life and infinite possibility of the triune God.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Reprinted with permission from Even Among These Rocks: A Spiritual Journey by Stephen D. Purcell, published by Piquant (info@piquant.net) and co-published in North America by Paraclete Press (mail@paraclete-press.com). Painting: Icon of the Old Testament Trinity, by Andrei Rublev (c. 1410, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow; Scala/Art Resource, NY).
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Publication: | U.S. Catholic |
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Date: | Feb 1, 2002 |
Words: | 240 |
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