The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Inspired through Art

For teachers, who understand the power of visual meditation and learning, the Inspired through Art series provides ample opportunities to teach the faith with stunningly beautiful and intriguing images. The series is a type of "cross-curriculum" of art history and catechetics, where pre-teen to adult students learn about the artist, the art form and the lesson of faith presented in the work of art. Every print issue's centerfold has a full-color spread of various art forms from different periods. 

And you'll be surprised at what some of the works of art teach, and at how deeply the artists meditated on the subject they were presenting! What may appear to be irrelevant details, may be very relevant. For example, in the art carousel on the home page, there is an image of the Last Supper (the actual translation from Italian, the Ultimate Supper). Answer to "What does the peacock in the window represent?" is: immortality. Read the article and find out why.

In the past, some teachers have laminated the centerfold in order to present the art in class. Now, more and more people are using computer projection technology to make it easier for students to see and follow along with the lesson. With a subscription to The Catechetical Review, people can also go online to back issues of the magazines they have missed and utilize many different works of art to teach the faith or to use as a backdrop to a time of prayer and meditation, for example at the beginning a class to aid students in putting themselves in the presence of God.

The text articles may be downloaded and reproduced in order to facilitate group studies. Try a sample for free here.

Answer to "Can you guess which saint this is?" on the home page: St. Michael the Archangel, by modern artist Michael O'Brien of Canada.

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

St. Francis and the Pedagogical Power of the Liturgy
By Fr. Dominic Scotto, TOR
In 1947, Pope Pius XII launched (what we would call today) a “new evangelization” of the Catholic Church in his great encyclical letter Mediator Dei . [i] Seen as the Magna Carta of the modern liturgical movement, the Pope sought to use that movement as the principal means for the adaptation of the Church to a radically and rapidly changing world... Read more
The Truth for Which the World Longs
By Samantha Mattheiss
Don’t scientists, believers, nonbelievers, liberals, and conservatives alike all rejoice in the splendor of creation? Don’t we all wonder about stars that shine lightyears away? About the depths of the ocean swarming with fluorescent fish and star-shaped creatures? About the hummingbird whose wings flap in song while she drinks nectar to satiety?... Read more
Encountering God in Catechesis: The Power of Prayer
By Colleen Rainone
Free My husband and I met George a few years ago through Marriage Encounter. He was a navy pilot. W hile his wife was Catholic, George was not religious. We were George and his wife’s prayer couple during their weekend. We kept a candle lit for them the entire weekend and we prayed for them in various ways. During our prayers Saturday afternoon,... Read more

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