The Blog Itself

This blog is a new thing for me and will probably take a bit of getting used to (meaning that I don't really have a clear idea of what form it will take, but I hope that it may evolve somewhat organically). First, its purpose: I am in the throes of writing my master's thesis for an M.A. in Theology, and I hope to use this platform to explore some of the ideas I hope to work with. The thesis itself is much like this blog: unclear and growing (mushrooming, even) almost by itself. I am interested in looking at how Beauty can be used as a tool for evangelization (though words such as 'used' and 'tool' may already be wrong when applied to Beauty). To this end, I have read and am reading much (eventually I'll get around to putting up an exhaustive bibliography). Having been an English major in college, I'll be looking particularly at the effective (as well as affective) power of Beauty in literature (though undoubtedly the same exploration might be pursued in the realm of the visual arts or even of music).
In a nutshell: at the risk of sounding absurdly self-important (the undeniable bane of any blogger, but undoubtedly most of all of him who tries to "share ideas"), I took a brief glance back across the twentieth century and noticed a couple of movements: a rise in active-contemplative orders/ spirituality (Bl. Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, Bl. Charles de Foucauld, to name a small few) as well as, especially in the 50's and 60's, a rise in major Catholic writers, producing important literature. Here one may name Francois Mauriac; Georges Bernanos; Shusaku Endo; Graham Greene (to an extent); J.R.R. Tolkien; and, in our own country, Flannery O'Connor and Walker Percy, among many others. Having noticed these two movements, I asked myself rather audaciously what the Holy Spirit had been trying to communicate through them. This I answered with a further question: how does one restore the contemplative mind and heart to modern man, trapped as he is in this hyper-individualistic, excessively scientific, post-modern, post-Christian, even in some sense post-spiritual context we call life? The way to do this, the only way to give man back his heart of flesh and his mind of wonder and awe, is to allow him to be increasingly confronted by Christ. This is done through prayer and work (active contemplatives) and through allowing our hearts to be pierced by Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. The last of these is perhaps the most excorciated of the three, at least in our present time, but it is undeniable that where one is denigrated, all three suffer. For this reason, the M.A. will focus on Beauty.
As for The Blog Itself - many things will be posted here; quotes I find interesting, musings about art, and perhaps once in awhile some poetry or a short story. I hope to post at least once a week as I read and (eventually) begin writing. It is for no less than the salvation of our souls that I hope to write this, not so that I may save our souls through whatever paltry work I may do, but it is my sincerest hope that the Holy Spirit will use this research, this thesis, and even this blog as a locus of the in-breaking of the presence and life of God, who longs to be held in our hearts, as he once was held in the arms of both Mary and Joseph.
Feel free to respond, share ideas, and comment on my windbaggery - Art is always and above all participatory and community-building. Pray for me as I for thee.