Praying with Art

MADISON  Jesus stands — in excruciating pain — front and center in James Tissot’s late 19th century watercolor, “The Scour­ging on the Front.” In the painting, two Roman soldiers flog Christ, who is tied to a pillar with his body contorting in agony and his eyes looking up towards heaven. Pools of his blood lay on the ground at his feet — helping to dramatize some of the suffering that he endured for salvation of the world.

Last week, women in the “Behold — Visio Divina: Praying with Art” group at St. Paul Inside the Walls here contemplated Christ’s sacrifice for us depicted in the painting. However, they also wondered about the Blessed Virgin Mary maybe observing the horrific scene — her pain, inner strength and trust in God? On Tuesday nights, a group of women, from college age to 80, gather in the diocesan evangelization center at 7:30 p.m. to examine the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary by prayerfully reflecting on religious art that portrays various scenes of the Passion — all to strengthen their relationship with the Lord. This series — comprised of a closed group of 15 women — began on Jan. 21 and will conclude on Feb. 18.

“The mysteries of the rosary are the experiences of the life of Christ seen through the eyes and heart of a woman, daughter, spouse and mother. Mary is the most perfect example of the feminine heart. Because she had no sin, she had an open heart to the Lord,” Katarina Woltornist, former member of St. Paul’s Young Adults, writes in the preface of the “Behold” series on the Sorrowful Mysteries. She devised and developed the “Behold” Visio Divina program and piloted it at St. Paul’s in 2017. “We will be seeing what she [Mary] saw of her son’s suffering and encourage you to walk with her motherly heart on this journey. It is our hope that this series will be an opportunity for you to receive the particular love of Christ and know ever more deeply of your dignity through pondering such mysteries,” she writes.

After Mass at St. Paul’s at 7 p.m., the women, who hail from various backgrounds and life experiences, meet in the center’s chapel and gaze upon sacred art as presented in the workbook with trust that God will speak to them. Led by Eni Honsberger, diocesan director of Family Life, the women read together Scripture passages — one a psalm of the Old Testament and another from the New Testament — related to that week’s Sorrowful Mystery. Last week for the Scourging at the Pillar, they read Psalm 53:2-9 — “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” — and Matt 27:15-26, which retells that Passion story. Then, the women contemplate the image in light of Scripture, personally reflecting on its meaning and image and letting it stir questions in their hearts. They also ponder questions in the workbook, such as “What is stirring you most about the image?” The women either write or say to themselves a prayer, Honsberger said.

Afterward, the group walks upstairs to a classroom on the second floor of St. Paul’s to gaze upon the image on a large screen and explore its meaning as a group, prompted by more reflection questions. Then, the women take time for more contemplation to “divine intimacy” that draws them “in a relationship with God.” They create an action plan to turn God’s revelations into faith-based action, Woltornist said.

“The group has women of different ages and stages of life who have tremendous insights. It is great to see the strength of their faith. There are many lessons about how to deal with discouragement and stress in life. I see God’s love in their reflections,” Eve Benvenuti, a physician and a married mother of three, told The Beacon.

The series that explores the Sorrowful Mysteries — in preparation for Lent — examines the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion.

A few years ago, Woltornist, 26, founded Behold, a ministry to help women “grow in an understanding of themselves and God more deeply through prayer” using Visio Divina. So far, she has created a web site for the outreach, www.beholdvisiodivina.com, and an earlier Visio Divina series on the Joyful Mysteries for Advent and soon plans to publish a series on the Glorious Mysteries for Easter. Now living in Washington, D.C., Woltornist splits her time between teaching drawing and art at a local Catholic high school and running the Behold ministry.

“The women look at the works of art and pray, looking into their hearts for God’s revelation — his will — for them. Then, they ask themselves, ‘How will I live out the experience of this revelation?’ ” said Honsberger, who asks participants if they have implemented lessons from the previous week.

The “Behold” series on the Joyful Mysteries started at St. Paul’s, after Woltornist had developed the program — inspired by her experience at the Given Forum for Catholic women the year before — and approached Honsberger to pilot the program here. Woltornist already had led a seminar on Catholic spirituality for women here. After hearing God call her out of discernment for a religious vocation a few years ago, she “struggled with the idea that God loved me.” The practice of Visio Divina with an image of Mary “helped me see that Mary’s ‘yes’ to God helped bring Jesus into the world,” said Woltornist, who grew up painting portraits, inspired by an artistic great-aunt.

“‘Behold’ tries to make the Blessed Mother more relatable to Catholic women. She had the same types of joys and sorrows and had the same gifts in being a woman,” Woltornist said. “Maybe the women will see that they have gifts, like Mary had, and will use those gifts to share their faith and serve God,” she said.