By Jen Norton
Every few months I get a notice from my energy provider comparing my home’s usage to that of my neighbors’. I am compelled to check the little bar chart to see how I rate. Peer-pressure works. I immediately wonder if I can use less energy, or feel grateful if I’m conserving well. We often alter our behavior based on insight from others we admire or know. We want validation. We want to know we’re in good company.
The saints are just that: good company. God so desperately loves us that he sent his only Son to be our friend, a friend who is true to the end. Even with the symbol of the cross, we are prone to forget that promise of love. We can begin to doubt, believing that we are not worthy of that depth of devotion. Like the fading memory of early childhood classmates, tales of Jesus might have been forgotten long ago if not kept alive by the saints.
Saints are regular people throughout history who have gotten to know Jesus. Some have fallen so in love with him that they were able to undeniably declare this love to the world through their deeds and words. If we want to be friends of Jesus, these folks should be our friends, too. They invite us to be part of an ever-widening circle of communion.
In a modern skeptical world, works of art can provide that reminder of connection. They aid in keeping the generational, mystical memory of our Christian family alive. A painting, song, poem, or sculpture speaks to our soul without the confrontation of debate, calling to mind a historical person with whom we share a Christian family connection. We find comfort in their promised intercession and hope in their stories of transformation from everyday humans to exalted beings.
I didn’t attend Catholic school, so I have to admit I wasn’t particularly aware of most saints growing up. They seemed as remote to me as the “popular kids,” admired from afar maybe, but never people I would approach. Making art gives me that conversation starter. While doing something I love, I learn their stories and find commonality with others who have strived to live lives of faith in their times just as I do in mine. Learning how God transformed their human weaknesses into strength and grace gives me a light for my own path.
I begin each piece with some simple Google research into their history. What were their origins and pivot points? Where did they fail and how did they allow God to forge them into the beings we now revere? What were their temptations and ultimate truths? What symbols have previous artists used to identify the saint or tell their story? What do they have to say to me? To you?
I choose to paint in a very friendly, folk-style manner. I want my art to be welcoming and approachable, never austere or distant. I also want the freedom to let my mind wander as I paint and not be focused on hyper-realistic details. This is my personal spiritual need; an attempt to escape again from the perfectionism of my youth. Once I get the basics of my design laid out, I let the art reveal itself to me. I let it tell me its story without trying to over-control it. I can meditate through my brushstrokes on the details of the saint’s life and what they mean to me rather than trying to dictate everything from my viewpoint.
My ultimate desire is that you might find connection and encouragement through my art. I want you to sense the joy a saint emanated because of their relationship with Christ. I want you to know that you are worthy of that kind of love too. I hope that you might see the saints as your own confidants and friends, both giving your life purpose and fulfilling theirs. I offer that if we meditate on the lives of saints, we know we are never alone.
Jen Norton is an award-winning painter whose work has appeared on the cover of books including Word by Word and The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion. She is the author of Surrender All and Arise to Blessedness.
