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SEARCHING
James Hasse, S.J.
Lost Coin
When I do a
painting, I am searching.
When I pray, I am searching.
When I look in the mirror, I am searching.
When I walk down the street, my eyes are constantly searching.
Why?
Have I lost something?
No.
I search because I have found something.
I search to find God more in everyone and in all things.
The more I find of this precious treasure the easier it is to
find more,
And so I constantly search.
As I search, I
find and am found.
The woman in the Gospel searches for her lost coin.
Or is the parable about God searching for us?
When we are lost, when we try to hide
God gets a broom out, bends over, and searches:
Underneath, behind, between every hiding place until we are
found.
The most
important part of my paintings occurs before I pick up a brush.
It occurs in my constant searching.
While searching I find people whose eyes, bodies, gestures,
visibly express my feelings
Or which trigger desire and challenge in me.
The desire is to capture the soul-beauty with which that person
captivates me.
The challenge is to craft a visible expression of that
experience of spirit
In a way that is faithful to my biblical values and world view.
I have had
experiences, which have percolated for years before they became
paintings.
Others I have been able to start painting within hours.
The main ingredient for me is finding and photographing a person
who expresses the
Spirit in a beautiful or challenging way.
It is well worth the search.
Even more
important than the paintings produced from my searching
Is what God seems to be creating in me.
God is blessing me with the gift of contemplation,
A big prayer word which simply means
Looking at everything with deep love.
If my art helps
me and others to see ourselves
And love each other as God sees and loves us,
Our search has been successful.
We have been found.
Fr.
Jim Hasse has lived lived and ministered in African American
communities for over 40 years. He has masters degrees in
Anthropology, Theology and Art. He
exhibits frequently and has been the featured artist for the
last four Josephite calendars of "African American History and
Heritage." His three loves are the people who inspire him, God
who has gifted him, and his Art which he hopes gives glory to
God and honor to those he paints.
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