Visio Divina For Women: Thursday, Jan 14

Today we feature a southern lass, the multi talented   Djenessa Jean Baptiste who belongs to the parish of Point a Pierre.  Djenessa is an Artist, an Illustrator and a Civil Engineer by profession.  This mother of a four year old girl says that she put her artistic side on the back burner for many years until the closure of Petrotrin where she worked for many years.  Now she is a full time mother and  Artist/ Illustrator.  Djeunessa was a member of the welcoming committee and Family Life Unit of her parish but said, “Covid restrictions has drastically halted all my activities outside of home”.

Visio Divina (Latin for “divine seeing”) is a method for praying with images. Through Visio Divina we invite you to  see beyond first and second impressions, and even beyond your initial ideas, judgments, or understandings. Our hope is to create a connection to the divine  through local art.

Each week we are happy feature   the work of a female catholic artist, prepared specifically for your reflective prayer.  Today we feature   this recent by  Djenessa Jean Baptiste entitled Vibrant Beauty.   It is two paintings that fit together to make a whole.

So here is how we are going to do it.

1. Set aside 20 minutes in the day for the guided prayer experience

2. As you begin to prayer take a few minutes to open your heart and mind to God.

3. When you are ready, slowly look and notice the image, taking your time to let feelings and thoughts come to you as you take in forms, figures, colors, lines, textures, and shapes. What does it look like, or remind you of? What are your initial thoughts? What feelings are evoked?

4. Now, return to the image with an open heart and mind again. You may now experience new thoughts, meanings, and feelings. Start, exploring new meanings and feeling that come to you associated with the image. Be aware of any assumptions or expectations that you bring to the image. Regardless of your response to the image — delight, disgust, indifference, and confusion — contemplate prayerfully the reason for your response and what these responses might mean for and about you.

5. As you go deeper in this prayer, open yourself to what the image might reveal to you. What does the Spirit want to say, evoke, make known, or express to you in quiet meditation? What are your feelings, thoughts, desires, and meanings evoked by the image and how they are directly connected to your life?

6. Now, take the time to respond to God. Jot down in a journal the insights you want to remember, actions you are invited to take, wisdom you hope to embody, or any feelings or thoughts you wish to express. Bring your prayer to a close by resting in God’s grace and love.

Please email us as at forwomen@catholictt.org on the impact this activity may have had on your day, and be sure to share the artist’s image on your social media feeds.

Source info: https://www.patheos.com/resources/additional-resources/2009/07/praying-with-art-visio-divina