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Beauty brings joy to the human heart |
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23/11/2009 (1:42)
On Saturday, November 21st, Benedict XVI met with over 260 artists from five continents in the Sistine Chapel, offering a reflection on art and beauty. He said that if we acknowledge that beauty touches us intimately, that it wounds us, that it opens our eyes, then we rediscover the joy of seeing, of being able to grasp the profound meaning of our existence.
The meeting was meant to re-establish a historic friendship between the Church and the arts, and came on the 10th anniversary of the Letter to Artists of Pope John Paul II.
Pope Benedict said that art in all its expressions has the ability to "broaden the horizons of human consciousness", and "looking out over the abyss of the infinite" it becomes an avenue "to the transcendent, to God." The Pope noted that this age is seeing a dramatic waning of hope, and that beauty can be a guiding star for happiness. He said the experience of beauty does not remove us from reality, on the contrary, it leads to a direct encounter with the daily reality of our lives, liberating it from darkness, transfiguring it, making it radiant and beautiful.
To the artists, he said they should not be afraid to approach the first and last source of beauty, to enter into dialogue with believers, who also consider that they are pilgrims in this world and in history towards infinite Beauty! He said faith takes nothing away from their genius or their art. On the contrary, it exalts them and nourishes them, it encourages them to cross the threshold and to contemplate with fascination and emotion the ultimate and definitive goal.
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