Alliance for Catholic Education
Dear friends,
For this second Sunday of Lent, as we continue to pair art from our partners at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art with prayerful reflections from members of our community, Maria Candelaria Flukas, associate director of student support, ACE Teaching Fellows, reflects on Christ en Croix.
We hope that this cross-campus partnership offers us all a welcomed space to practice Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, and through the lens of art consider this Lenten season anew. We recommend taking time to visit the Museum in person to encounter and connect to the art in a deeply meaningful way.
May God continue to bless you, your communities, and your families in this holy season of Lent.
~ The Institute for Educational Initiatives and the Alliance for Catholic Education
Georges Rouault, (French, 1871-1958), Christ en Croix, 1942, Oil on canvas, 25 x 19 3/4 in. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame. Purchased in memory of Joan Smurlo by her husband, Frank Smurlo, Jr. with funds from the Frank and Joan Smurlo American Southwest Art Endowment for Excellence, 2022.013
It Is Good That We Are Here
Reflection offered by Maria Candelaria Flukas, associate director of student support, ACE Teaching Fellows
This second Sunday of Lent, we hear about the Transfiguration of Jesus. While on the mountain, Peter is overcome with hope and joy and exclaims, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here!” This was a common phrase in my family growing up, my mother often said these words during holidays or vacations. It wouldn’t be until many years later that I came to realize the significance of Jesus with Peter, James, and John — and the glimpse of heaven he gave to them before days that would be dark and confusing.
After college, I did a year of service at Andre House of Hospitality, a ministry in Phoenix, Arizona, inspired by the Congregation of Holy Cross serving the poor and homeless. I remember sitting in the parking lot one day, particularly frustrated with the sights surrounding me — those sleeping in 115-degree heat, others experiencing a psychotic episode talking to voices only they could hear, some engaging in drug deals right outside our parking lot. Though not on a mountaintop, or even in a place of light, my mom’s voice popped into my head as I reflected that “it is good for us to be here” — precisely in moments of others’ intense suffering, providing a similar hope that Christ gave his apostles that day on the mountain.
The Transfiguration and the Andre House parking lot can be like the painting Christ en Croix by Georges Rouault. At first glance, it is confusing and dark. Remember that the disciples on the mountaintop were first overcome with fear as “a dark cloud” overshadowed them. Rouault was not known for creating pleasing paintings, using thick black brushstrokes and distorted shapes. Yet, the overall message of Christ dying on the cross for all of humanity is the central focus, reminding us that God is with His beloved children, even during Lenten days that seem dark. And we are called in the same way to be there for each other, especially those struggling and suffering, bringing the hope that only Christ can provide through his death and Resurrection. It is truly good that we are there.