“I believe in angels, something good in everything I see…” Abba
God works in funny ways. I had been thinking about what to write next regarding this year’s theme about hope, and I couldn’t come up with anything. What did He do? He sent me on a mission which ended up with me sitting down with a nun talking about finding hope in art and music. God never ceases to surprise me.
It turns out that there is a small convent just a few blocks from my office. This convent is run by the Claretian Missionary Sisters. I went there this week simply to pick up some tickets for a dinner. Little did I know that what I thought would take just a few seconds turned into a beautiful thirty-minute visit with Sister Carmen, one of the nuns who lives there. I would have stayed all morning talking to her. It was that wonderful.
When I got there, she asked me to sit down while she went to retrieve the tickets. She then sat with me and first, she took me on a trip through Spain. Listening to her was like traveling to the beaches of Asturias, Galicia and ending in Barcelona. We then talked about the Ukrainian children that are staying in the different convents around Europe. And then, our conversation took a turn towards art and music. She’s in charge of the catechesis classes at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. She told me about the magnificent museum that Father Jose Luis Menendez has put together over there with art from all over the world. And then, she said these words: “Art and music gives us hope, and it helps us to evangelize.” I got goosebumps.
I had never thought of art this way, but she’s so right. When I stood in front of the Annunciation fresco in the Monastery of San Marco in Florence, I was transported to the moment when the angel appeared to Mary.
I am a visual person so I am moved more by pictures than by listening to a long sermon. Her words made a lot of sense. Art helps us to evangelize others and therefore, we can be evangelized with art.
It’s the same with music. In our Emmaus retreats, we always end our talks with a song. Years later, I have encountered an Emmaus sister who may not remember what was said word by word, but she remembers the songs that were played. That is the reason why at some point, we started giving out a CD with all the music that was played during the retreat. All I have to do is listen to the music to be transported back to that retreat.
I had figured out what she meant by evangelization with art and music, but how can I find hope in art and music? As if she had heard my thoughts, Sister Carmen responded: “There’s such little hope in the world today that by bringing art and music to the people we bring them hope.” She went on to explain that she gave a talk about hope to the parents of her Confirmation students. At the end of her talk, she played the song “I Have a Dream” by Abba. Some parents were so moved that they began to cry. Afterwards, they thanked her for giving them hope.
We ended our conversation by her telling me: “What’s the point of living if we don’t have hope?”
As soon as I got to my office, I told Alexa to play the song. As I listened to the words, my eyes also got watery:
“I Have a Dream, a song to sing, to help me cope, with anything. If you see the wonder, of a fairy tale, you can take the future, even if you fail. I believe in angels, something good in everything I see…”
Do you believe in angels? I hope you do. And if you don’t, I hope you find them through art and music.
Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.
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