musee.louvre.fr
“Every day is a good day to bless. Let us become Artisans of Blessing.”
Let us bless the singers, potters, embroiderers, sculptors and poets of peace – and let us recognize the unique impulse to which God is calling you: may you be an artisan of peace (a blessing by Andrew Rudd):
‘Bienheureux les artisans de paix…’
Blessed the singers of peace,
lamenting the unfinished business, sorrow
and dream: whose song changes nothing
but opens everything to change.Blessed the potters of peace,
hands in the clay, shaping, smoothing,
reaching for hidden form, braving
the furnace for beauty.Blessed the embroiderers of peace:
at their needle’s touch, an ordinary surface
shines in a sacrament of colour, angles
softened into treasures of texture.Blessed the sculptors of peace
who look at the intractable
slab, and see marvels within it,
and reach for the chisel.Blessed the poets of peace
who bear all voices into their emptiness,
settling stresses into speech
which at the last is music.
Here is what Andrew Rudd said about the poem:
“We were visiting Taizé some years ago. In most of my life I am surrounded by English speakers, but at any given time there can be thirty different languages at Taizé, as visitors come from all over the world. Sometimes in the worship, there might only be one sentence of English. I was amazed, as usual, by my lack of knowledge of other languages.
But it does make you pay attention! We were singing the Beatitudes in French when I noticed the words for ‘Blessed are the peace-makers’ – in French this is ‘Bienheureux les artisans de paix…’
It suddenly struck me that peace is an art form, it is not just something that happens accidentally at the end of violence or when there is a cease fire. It is something that has to be made or created in our life together. Maybe this is the most important kind of creativity, where we make shalom, where we build community. And maybe one of the best things about art – sculpture, painting, music, poetry – is when it helps us to understand each other better, when it opens our awareness, when it makes peace.”
Originally found in Kath William’s blog, “Reflections”
Curriculum of the Spiritual Life 