Visio Divina for women: Thursday, April 1

Published by CN Admin2 at April 1, 2021

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When Jade Hilaire is not busy being a super mummy to two rambunctious little boys you can find her at her day job where she is an attorney working in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago where she helps craft legislature for our country, on other days you can find her singing her heart out as she is a member of the famous Lydian’s choir, but between all of those tasks whenever Jade takes quiet time for herself, she can usually be found quilling majestic works of art like this piece entitled, “In his element”.

This beautiful creation is made solely of paper. Jade Hilaire actually quills these works of art together. Quilling (Quilling is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs). Jade shared that this piece took 100 hours to create

In 2012 Jade’s life had taken a downward turn, her fiancé committed suicide, and unfortunately she was the person who found the body. In that same year, she was diagnosed with bi polar disorder. It was between this chaos that she began quilling. At first she would quill jewelry and then she started quilling bigger pieces and before she knew it, she was consumed with creating these majestic pieces. She acted as in the words of Carrie Fisher “take your broken heart and make it into art”.

Jade Hilaire, a parishioner of Gasparillo RC Church and a past pupil of Holy Faith Convent Couva says, “Quilling is a form of meditation and therapy for me” she said, “The talent was given to me by God, and the principles of commitment and discipline that I received in church are all a part of why I am able to do this. I also get to spend a lot of time talking to myself and forgiving myself of the mistakes I have made”.

Presently some of her pieces can be found on display at Think art work TT gallery on Cipriani Boulevard . But this particular piece can be found at the Rotunda Gallery of the Red House, which Jade admits to finding very ironic,” I spend most of my days in Parliament helping to write laws for Trinidad and Tobago, today I am displaying my art there also.

We would love to get your feedback on this Visio Divina piece;.

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.

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.