 |
|
 |
|
|
|
Passion of the Earth Project Description: Adapted from the vision statement by Sr. Teresa Jackson, OSB, author of the project:
The Passion of the Earth can perhaps best be described as a cross between the traditional Catholic Stations of the Cross and the contemporary “Cosmic Walk.” Like the Stations of the Cross, it is a story told in several parts designed to help people connect to strong, emotional narrative and images. Like the new “cosmic walks,” it is a creative telling of the origins and development of our universe incorporating the new sciences, art and poetry. Hopefully, like both of these, the Passion of the Earth story will capture imaginations and invite people to think about creation and its unfolding in new ways. Specifically, the Passion of the Earth spiritual exercise is a narrative divided into seven sections or “stations” telling a version of the creation story. Each station includes a piece of writing and a piece of art which hang in the Monastery of St. Gertrude’s Spirit Center retreat facility. Someday, the Monastery hopes to place reproductions along a path on the monastery grounds allowing guests to literally walk through the story and its implications on the earth itself. Unlike many such creation narratives that are popular today, this Passion of the Earth story is intentionally theocentric, naming and claiming God as the ultimate creator and source. The Passion of the Earth also intentionally alludes to the story of the Passion of Christ. Stations 1 through 4 describe the station of the cosmos and the earth in a way that connects with the creation story of Genesis. Stations 5 through 7 describe the ongoing destruction of earth’s resources and the decision that humanity needs to make to either heal or continue to destroy the earth. In order to speak to a wide variety of people, the art and narrative parts of the stations are designed to be poetic, open-ended, and evocative, rather than literal and descriptive. The language and art are not meant to be either scientific or theological, but are meant to encourage people to think in new ways and make new connections between their faith and their relationship with the earth. Sister Teresa Jackson, OSB, author of the project, writes, “As Christians, we can say that our earth and the entire cosmos are deep expressions of God’s loving, creative nature. The gift of the earth which sustains all life is purely a manifestation of grace. The Passion of the Earth, then, is simply one way to invite people to recognize and give thanks for that gift.” She continues to describe the project and its intentions this way: The Passion of the Earth is designed to be a spiritual exercise that enables people to see the earth and the cosmos not only as God’s creation, but as the most basic expression of God’s very self. The earth and the cosmos are not inanimate objects for human beings to use, abuse, and destroy as they see fit, but a gift of God our creator to reverence and cherish. Humanity does not stand above creation as dominating caretakers, but rather we humans stand within its midst as one small part of the vast expression of the cosmos. “As human beings, our self-reflective awareness gives to us special obligation to understand and respond to this gift of creation. As humanity has sought to dominate and indiscriminately use the resources of the earth, often in destructive ways, humanity now has an obligation to understand and heal our relationship with the earth.”
Recommendations & Thanks Melanie especially recommends the following books from among those she read for this work: The Universe Story, by Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry; Way of the Cross, by Leonardo Boff; Original Self, by Thomas Moore; and any poetry by Mary Oliver, especially New & Selected Poems, Leaf and the Cloud, and Why I Wake Early. Books are great, but don't forget to GO OUTSIDE and BE in this exquisite world. Thanks to Sr. Teresa Jackson, Sr. Meg Sass, and Kathy McFaul for inspiration and great trust, to Louise M. Tritton and the Pendle Hill Ecology and the Soul weekend course, January 2004, and to Brian Swimme, Alexandra Kovatz, and Gail Worchelo for tremendous workshops at the NW Catholic Women's Convocation in Seattle WA, April 2005.
Related Links See the Monastery's web page on the project. Find out more about the St. Gertrude's community and on Melanie's 2003 summer at St. Gertrude's. See more about Melanie's other commission work on the Projects page. Contact Melanie about your commission art work ideas, or your feedback on this project. See art about Melanie's car accident during the creation of this project at: Everything Went Green and Car accident photos. Order Art Prints of the Passion of the Earth series.
Back to main Passion of the Earth Project page.
|
|