Symphony of the Word

File:Scène de foire - ca 1400 - BNF Fr12559 f167.jpg

Theme: "a single word expressed in multiple ways."

Illuminated Manuscripts

Régine Pernoud, Those Terrible Middle Ages! Debunking the Myths (San Francisco

Ignatius Press, 2000).

One ornamented letter is enough to reveal what artistic creation could be in the Romanesque period. Let us not even speak of those that recount, for instance, an entire biblical or historical scene. A quite simple initial, in its essential, readable, recognizable form, is found taken up anew by every copyist, every illuminator, who made it his own and developed its inner possibilities, so to speak. It can be almost intoxicating; one becomes a veritable maze of foliage and interlacing, another gives birth to an animal that ends in a man's face, or a man becomes a monster or angel or demon; nevertheless, the letter has not been betrayed; it remains, but ceaselessly recreated. And this is without doubt what characterizes Romanesque art (and Gothic art as well, despite certain excesses that marked its end): respect for the essential function within a perpetual rediscovery of its inherent possibilities. (44)

The image, the knowledge we have of the Middle Ages through architecture, sculpture, stained-glass windows, frescoes, even tapestries--"open air" documentation--represents not even a hundredth part of what we might learn from the reproduction of manuscript miniatures, if this were systematically carried out with the means of color reproduction we have available today. It is quite surprising that in the audio-visual era nothing has yet been undertaken in this sense on the requisite scale. A profound gap will remain in our knowledge of the Middle Ages as long as the necessary effort has not been carried out in this domain. (151)

Apropos Videos

• Illuminations - Treasures of the Middle Ages - BBC
• The Making Of Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts - Dr Sally Dormer
• Drawings in Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts - Dr Sally Dormer
• Illuminated Psalter Manuscripts - Dr Sally Dormer

Schemas

Section 7 of Verbum Domini:

1. the Word and Creation
2. Revelation and Salvation History
3. Incarnation
4. Tradition
5. Scripture

Three Parts of Verbum Domini:

1. Verbum Dei
   1. Creation
   2. Tradition and Scripture
   3. Incarnation
2. Verbum in Ecclesia
   1. Scripture and liturgy
   2. Lectio Divina
3. Verbum Mundo
   1. Mission
   2. Culture
   3. Communication

Material from Three Parts reorganized

(persistent theme) -- Lectio Divina / Scripture and Liturgy

Sunday -- Silence and the Word

Reflection: importance of silence (exercise choosing a "word" for another)

Verbum Domini, 66

Monday -- Receiving the Word

Reflection: The primacy of receiving (exercise of receiving the "word" chosen by another)

The Word of God (theological premise) drives the history of the written word (history of writing and books) in the West, ultimately bringing about the culture of communication (video/media creation)

Illuminated folio: teach and do calligraphy and alphabets

Tuesday -- Understanding the Word

Reflection: Using the words "Exegesis" and "Hermeneutics", simple exegetical exercise with John 1:1-18 using Accordance. Notes about Exegesis

Presentation of the first two steps of Lectio: What does the biblical text say in itself? Meditatio: What does the biblical text say to us?

Illuminated folio: teach capitals and miniatures; design capital as a "hermeneutical key" to the received text

Wednesday -- Praying with the Word

Reflection: Liturgy and Lectio "the liturgy is the privileged setting in which God speaks to us in the midst of our lives; he speaks today to his people, who hear and respond." VD,52 Verbum Domini, Part II; Dei Verbum, Part VI; Scott Hahn book

Meditatio: What does the biblical text say to us? Oratio: What do we say to the Lord in response to his word?

The Word is GOD, not just words on a page. All we see is a word of God (natural theology). Everything we know about God's inner life comes from hearing the Word (Trinitarian theology).

Illuminated folio: teach the preparation of parchment; do pencil draft

Thursday -- Living the Word

Reflection: Culture, mission, communication; The “environment” of social media

Contemplatio: What conversion of mind, heart is necessary Actio

Actions speak louder than words. Beauty is soul food. Dwell within the bounds set by the Body. Don't garble the message! Learning the language of our audience. The message is one; embodiments of the message are many, within limits.

Illuminated folio: teach manuscripts; do good copy

Friday -- Symphony of the Word

Recapitulation - the analogy of the "Word of God": not equivocal but various meanings, Logos (1&2) Eternal Word become flesh/ Jesus Christ, Incarnation (3) Liber Naturae in which the word is spoken (4) Word spoken in Salvation History and most fully in the Paschal Mystery (5) Word preached by the apostles (kerygma) and (6) handed on in the Church's living Tradition (7) the word of God attested to in Sacred Scripture

The Body of the Christ is the Living Word of God. The written word aids the living word, but does not and cannot replace it. We are People of the Word, not people of the Book (Carl E. Olson or the Pope). Each member of the Body is sent to "tell the good news." Meditation on Sacrament of Confirmation, which they have probably all received.

Illuminated folio: teach bookbinding; do good copy

Saturday -- Symphony of the Word

Sharing

Working Document

July	Liturgy	Meditation
14	St. Kateri Tekawitha	the Word and creation
15	St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor	Revelation and salvation history
16	Wednesday, 15th Week Mt 11:25-27 At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”	the Incarnation
17	Thursday, 15th Week Psalm 102 You, O LORD, abide forever, and your name through all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to pity her. For her stones are dear to your servants, and her dust moves them to pity. Mt 11:28-30 Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”	Tradition
18	Friday, 15th Week Mt 12:1-8 I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.	Scripture
19	Saturday, 15th Week Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.	"A single word expressed in multiple ways."

Scripture

Old Testament

Is 45

I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I have not spoken from hiding
nor from some dark place of the earth,
And I have not said to the descendants of Jacob,
“Look for me in an empty waste.”
I, the Lord, promise justice,
I foretell what is right. ...

By myself I swear,
uttering my just decree
and my unalterable word:

To me every knee shall bend;
by me every tongue shall swear,
Saying, “Only in the Lord
are just deeds and power.

Jeremiah 15:16

When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.

Ezekiel 3:1-4

He said to me: Son of man, eat what you find here: eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Son of man, he said to me, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. Then he said to me, Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

New Testament

1 Jn 1:1-4

¹ What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life—

² for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—

³ what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

⁴ We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

Revelation 10:9-11

⁹ So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, “Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet* as honey.” ¹⁰ I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. ¹¹ Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

Themes

The Word of God is accessible.

God accommodates Himself to our understanding.

We cannot reach Him; He can reach us.

Feast of Pentecost: The Word of God is not confined to any sacred language (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek). God speaks all of our languages. The Good News of the Word-made-flesh is for all of God's children!

The Word can never be put fully into words. The Word is a "Who," not a "what."

The Father sings the Son in the Spirit from eternity to eternity.

As with us, so with the Father: no breath, no word. The Spirit is in the Word; the Word is in the Spirit; the Spirit and the Word remain in the Father even as they go forth to create and re-create the world.

Kenosis is in the life of the Trinity before there is a world for the Word to enter.

"Those who have eyes to see will see. Those who have ears to hear will hear."

Faith comes by hearing.

My favorite work of Rahner--before he became Rahner: Hearers of the Word. That's us! We take God at his Word.

The Father speaks no words that are only words. The glory of Creation is how the Father says, "I love you." The death of God the Son on the Cross is how the Father says, "I forgive you."

Some Symphonies

• Beethoven - 7th Symphony - 2nd movement

Links

• John's Prologue.
• Vatican II, Dei Verbum.
• Benedict DVI, Apostolic Exhortation,Verbum Domini.
• Carl E. Olson, "A Symphony of the Word: A Short Guide to Pope Benedict's Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini."
• Telephone Game.