Visual Commentary on Scripture: Establishing the Heart

My Visual Commentary on Scripture exhibition 'Establishing the Heart' is the current exhibition of the week:

"The first letter to the church in Thessalonica was written to encourage the Christians there to continue to live to please God by living quietly, minding their own affairs, and working with their hands, so they might behave properly towards outsiders and be dependent on no one. These instructions differed markedly from those Jesus gave to the first disciples when he called them to leave homes and work in order to follow him in his peripatetic ministry.

Our Exhibition of the Week is called Establishing the Heart | VCS thevcs.org and is on 1 Thessalonians 2:17–4:12."

'Establishing the Heart' includes works of art by Antoine Camilleri, John Reilly and Stanley Spencer and explores how pleasing God in our everyday lives - by living quietly, minding our own affairs, and working with our hands - leads us to see life, work and art as prayer.

The VCS is a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art. It helps its users to (re)discover the Bible in new ways through the illuminating interaction of artworks, scriptural texts, and commissioned commentaries. The virtual exhibitions of the VCS aim to facilitate new possibilities of seeing and reading so that the biblical text and the selected works of art come alive in new and vivid ways.

Each section of the VCS is a virtual exhibition comprising a biblical passage, three art works, and their associated commentaries. The curators of each exhibition select artworks that they consider will open up the biblical texts for interpretation, and/or offer new perspectives on themes the texts address. The commentaries explain and interpret the relationships between the works of art and the scriptural text.

Find out more about the VCS, its exhibitions and other resources through a short series of HeartEdge workshops introducing the VCS as a whole and exploring particular exhibitions with their curators. These workshops can be viewed here, here, here and here.

The VCS has a daily email exploring the Bible through art. Through concise but vivid day-by-day encounters, Bible and Art Daily will take you on a series of journeys through the world of Scripture and the history of art. The VCS have spent the last year bringing together experts in theology and art history to carefully curate a treasury of week-long series, each exploring a particular theme, an artistic medium, or a biblical character. Find out more and subscribe here.

My first exhibition for the VCS was 'Back from the Brink' on Daniel 4: 'Immediately the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men, and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.' (Daniel 4:33). In the exhibition I explore this chapter with William Blake's 'Nebuchadnezzar', 1795–c.1805, Arthur Boyd's 'Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of the Tree', 1969, and Peter Howson's 'The Third Step', 2001.

My second exhibition was 'A Question of Faith' and explored Hebrews 11 through the paintings of New Zealand artist Colin McCahon. McCahon is widely recognised as New Zealand’s foremost painter. Over 45 years, his work encompassed many themes, subjects and styles, from landscape to figuration to abstraction and an innovative use of painted text. His adaption of aspects of modernist painting to a specific local situation and his intense engagement with spiritual matters, mark him out as a distinctive figure in twentieth-century art.

My third exhibition was 'Fishers of People'. This exhibition uses Damien Hirst's 'Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purpose of Understanding (Left) and (Right)', John Bellany's 'Kinlochbervie', and Paul Thek's 'Fishman in Excelsis Table' to discuss Matthew 4:12-22 and Mark 1:14-20. These artworks give us what is essentially a collage of the kingdom whereby we are invited to imagine the kingdom of God as a body of water in which Christians are immersed and through which they are raised.

My fourth exhibition was 'Before the Deluge', a series of climate-focused commentaries on Genesis 6 looking at 'The Flood' by Norman Adams, 'Noah in the Ark and a Church' by Albert Herbert, and 'Noah's Ark' by Sadao Watanabe.

For more on the artists included in these exhibitions click on the following links: Antoine Camilleri, John Reilly, Stanley Spencer, William Blake, Arthur Boyd, Peter Howson, Colin McCahon, Damien Hirst, John Bellany, and Paul Thek.

Curated Commentaries offer a new way to explore the VCS collection. The VCS have selected topics familiar and unexpected to help you encounter the Bible and Art. Each is explored through seven artworks and commentaries from across the site.

These allow you to discover new perspectives and ways of thinking at your own pace, with areas as varied as Christ's Wounds, Mythical Creatures, Land & Harvest, Jesus's Female Disciples, and Gold. 
This unique resource is the product of the devotion and scholarship of our hundreds of artists and authors—eye-opening, thought-provoking, and enriching. This collection will continue to grow and is invaluable for anyone engaging with, learning about, or teaching the Bible and Art.

The first of my commentaries to feature is about Albert Herbert, who put aside the art training he had originally received and set out to draw like a child, painting an inner, innocent vision that was uncorrupted by either the influence of the outside world, or learnt, adult knowledge.
When life becomes overwhelmingly difficult, some people, in some situations, find the resources to respond in remarkable ways. 

See the VCS website to explore seven artworks and commentaries that are powerful examples of this: https://thevcs.org/curated-commentaries/hardship.

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Mark Hollis - A Life (1895 - 1915).

Give me an undivided heart to revere your name

Here's the reflection that I shared during tonight's Healing Eucharist at St Andrew's Wickford:

‘Psalm 86 is by someone who identified himself as poor and needy. The Psalm could be for an individual who is suffering, a king who feels especially vulnerable to domestic enemies, or the nation of Israel, which was the victim of foreign empires before, during, and after the exile.’ (https://jamesbradfordpate.blogspot.com/2012/07/psalm-86.html)

The Psalmist speaks of God saying: ‘you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’ What we see in God is abundance, an abundance of mercy, graciousness, steadfastness, love and faithfulness. In God, there is an abundance of all we need when we are poor and needy.

As a result, we should come to him to ask for help. As the Psalmist prays: ‘Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication. In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me.’ We can call out, cry out to God because we will be heard. We can express our pain, even anger, knowing that he will give ear, will hear and will respond.

What he wants for us is the healing of our internal divisions. St Paul described these well when he says in Romans 7:15-20: ‘I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.’

The Psalmist knows this reality and so prays: ‘Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.’ He then says, ‘I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart.’ It is that reality that God wishes us to find - love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind – as this is true healing. When we are genuinely able to do that, then we know real integration and harmony and healing within our currently divided body, mind and spirit. Therefore, it is for this that we need to pray.

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Gungor - Beautiful Things.

The action learning cycle of discipleship

Here's the sermon I shared at St Mary’s Langdon Hills and St Catherine’s Wickford this morning:

Last Sunday, our Gospel reading was the beginning of Matthew 10 where Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and sent them out to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and proclaim the good news that ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near’. In my sermon on that reading, I reflected that, contrary to popular belief, we do not have to be perfect to do God's work because Jesus chose ordinary people - fisherman, tax collectors, political zealots - and turned their weaknesses into strengths.

This week’s Gospel reading (Matthew 10:24-39) continues Jesus’ instructions to his disciples before they leave for their mission and this portion of Jesus’ teaching reflects his sense that he is sending them out into difficult, conflicted times to be like sheep into the midst of wolves. Jesus gives the disciples radical instructions for a difficult time. 

Being a disciple of Jesus in today’s materialistic and conflicted world is not an easy choice. It means going counter to the culture in we live and opposition sometimes results, as Bob Dylan described in a song called ‘Property of Jesus’:

‘Go ahead and talk about him because he makes you doubt
Because he has denied himself the things that you can't live without
Laugh at him behind his back just like the others do
Remind him of what he used to be when he comes walking through

He's the property of Jesus
Resent him to the bone
You got something better
You've got a heart of stone’

Dylan experienced that for himself when, for a time, he took the decision to only sing his new Gospel songs in concert and experienced vitriol from many long-standing fans as a result.

So, we bear in mind the challenges of following Jesus in a culture that is focused on other things but rather than being focused on our relationship to the world, I want us instead to focus on what Jesus says about our relationship with God and how those things relate to baptism.

In the middle of today’s passage, we heard Jesus say: ‘Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.’ As Jesus came up out of the waters of baptism, he saw heaven opening, the Spirit coming down on him like a dove, and he heard a voice from heaven saying, “You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.” As he was baptised, he was immediately affirmed as God’s Son. It is easy for us to think that that only applies to Jesus; that it was a special word spoken by God the Father especially to him and, on one level, it was. But the Bible makes it quite clear that Jesus came into our world and laid down his life to make us one with God so that, as Christians, we are Jesus’ brothers and sisters, members of the same family – God’s family – and co-heirs with Jesus of everything that he has.

Listen to what St Paul says about this in Romans 8. 14-17: God's Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God's children. Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him …” We are reminded that we are, each one, a child of God, a brother or sister of Jesus, we are loved, we are valued, we are blessed.

Next, Jesus said that those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. This, again, is a reminder of how salvation comes and an insight into baptism. As the baptism liturgy reminds us Jesus has told us that to enter the kingdom of heaven we must be born again of water and the Spirit, and has given us baptism as the sign and seal of this new birth. Here we are washed by the Holy Spirit and made clean. Here we are clothed with Christ, dying to sin that we may live his risen life.

The symbolism of baptism is of being submerged under water as a sign of dying to our old way of life in which we live for our purposes and ends and then of being raised up into a new way of life with God where we are focused on God’s ways, rather than our own. That is what Jesus is saying here. If we find our life by living life our way and for ourselves, we will lose all that is precious and eternal in life but if we lose our life by giving our life to God, then we discover all that is precious and eternal in life. Baptism is the beginning of that way of life but it is also something that we need to practice day in and day out repenting and returning to the Lord whenever we fall into sin.

Finally, Jesus says it is enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master. This is a reminder that we are those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus and are to be his body – his eyes, ears, hands and feet – in this world. We are to be those who are led by Jesus’ Spirit to ask what would Jesus do in every situation that we encounter and do the kinds of things that Jesus would of have do, remembering that we cannot simply repeat what he did, as every situation is different and needs a different response, but are to respond to each situation we encounter in his Spirit.

To do this, we need to spend time in his company speaking with him in prayer and to sit at his feet to hear his teaching by spending time in the Gospel stories which show us what he did and what he taught. Having do so, we then go to put into practice what we have seen and heard, before then returning to sit at Jesus’ feet once more in a cycle of action learning where we reflect, learn, plan and act before repeating the pattern of learning and growth.

While disciples may do greater things than the teacher, in that they may do more and different things, they themselves will never surpass what Jesus has to teach because Jesus is God and has an infinite store of wisdom.

This is how our lives are to be lived as Christians (with baptism showing us how this begins and is sustained). Foundational to our Christian life and understanding is the realisation that we are loved by God and are precious – of value – to him. This is why we come to God and why we stay with him. Then, in response, we lay down our lives on his behalf through service of others and by dying to self through repentance and return. As his disciples, we begin an ongoing action learning cycle in which we look at and learn from Jesus, practice what we have seen and heard, then return to learn more. May it be so for each of us. Amen.

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Bob Dylan - Property of Jesus.

Windows on the world (574)

 Dover, 2026

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Talk Talk - New Grass.

International Times: Vitality and Magic

My latest exhibition review for International Times is on 'Hulda Guzman: Please awake – asked Nature kindly' at Turner Contemporary:

'Surrealism and Magic Realism have both had infuential Latin American expressions. The Caribbean islands and Mexico City were all ‘places of convergence and relay for Surrealism’ (including the work of Frida Kahlo and Leonora Carrington), while Magic Realism was a term originally used in relation to the fantastical elements of European Romanticism and the religious aspects of novels by Fyodor Dostoevesky before becoming a descriptor for the Neue Sachlichkeit paintings of 1920’s Germany and then the strapline for the novels of South American writers, starting with Jorge Luis Borges.

The paintings of Hulda Guzmán find their own significant space within this web of influences and prior expressions.'

My earlier pieces for IT are: an interview with the artist Alexander de Cadenet; an interview with artist, poet, priest Spencer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, an interview with Jago Cooper, Director of the the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, a profile of singer-songwriter Bill Fay, plus reviews of: 

• 'Devotions' by Lucy Caldwell and 'Catholic Modernism and the Irish ‘Avant-Garde’: The Achievement of Brian Coffey, Denis Devlin, and Thomas MacGreevy' by James Matthew Wilson; 
• the 'Stations' project from Dunlin Press; 
• 'William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy'; 
• Joseph Arthur in concert; 
• installations by Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen at Hayward Gsllery, 
• U2's 'Days of Ash', Mumford and Sons' 'Prizefighter' and Moby's 'Future Quiet'; 
• 'Collected Poems' by Kevin Crossley-Holland; 
• 'Lux' by Rosalía; 
• 'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere'; 
• 'Great Art Explained' by James Payne; 
• 'Down River: In Search of David Ackles' by Mark Brend; 
• 'Headwater' by Rev Simpkins; 
• 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art' by Jonathan A. Anderson; 
• 'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, 
• albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey, 
• also by Joy Oladokun and Michael Kiwanaku; 
• 'Nolan's Africa' by Andrew Turley; 
• Mavis Staples in concert at Union Chapel; 
• T Bone Burnett's 'The Other Side' and Peter Case live in Leytonstone; 
• Helaine Blumenfeld's 'Together' exhibition, 
• 'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller; 
• 'Giacometti in Paris' by Michael Peppiatt, 
• the first Pissabed Prophet album; and 
• 'Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord', a book which derives from a 2017 symposium organised by the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art.

Several of my short stories have been published by IT including three about Nicola Ravenscroft's EarthAngel sculptures (then called mudcubs), which we exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford in 2022. The first story in the series is 'The Mudcubs and the O Zone holes'. The second is 'The Mudcubs and the Clean-Up King', and the third is 'The mudcubs and the Wall'. My other short stories to have been published by International Times are 'The Black Rain', a story about the impact of violence in our media, 'The New Dark Ages', a story about principles and understandings that are gradually fading away from our modern societies, and 'The curious glasses', a story based on the butterfly effect.

IT have also published several of my poems, including 'Spencer Reece at Bemerton' which is based on the visit that I made to Bemerton in 2026 with Spencer Reece, 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem. Also published have been three poems from my 'Five Trios' series. 'Barking' is about St Margaret’s Barking and Barking Abbey and draws on my time as a curate at St Margaret's. 'Bradwell' is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places. Broomfield in Essex became a village of artists following the arrival of Revd John Rutherford in 1930. His daughter, the artist Rosemary Rutherford, also moved with them and made the vicarage a base for her artwork including paintings and stained glass. Then, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones moved to Broomfield in 1949 where they shared a large studio in their garden and both achieved high personal success. 'Broomfield' reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations.

To read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, here, here, and here. My poems published in Amethyst Review are: 'Runwell', 'Are/Are Not', 'Attend, attend' and 'Maritain, Green, Beckett and Anderson in conversation down through the ages'.

I am among those whose poetry has been included in Thin Places & Sacred Spaces, a recent anthology from Amethyst Press. I also had a poem included in All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the first Amethyst Press anthology of new poems.

'Five Trios' is a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in the Diocese of Chelmsford. The five poems in the series are:

• 'Barking';
• 'Bradwell';
• 'Broomfield';
• 'Pleshey'; and
• 'Runwell'.

These poems have been published by Amethyst Review and International Times.

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Joni Mitchell - Sweet Bird.

Approaching leave taking (2)

Here's the sermon that I shared this morning at St Andrew’s Wickford:

In May I spoke about ways to approach leave taking, a topic that is on our mind at present because our much-loved Revd Sue Wise is soon to retire. The prompt for doing so was Jesus’ statement that his disciples would do greater things once he had ascended to his Father. Our Old Testament passage today (2 Kings 2:1-14) gives us another way of thinking about and preparing for leave taking.

Elisha asked to inherit a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, when he knew Elijah was to be taken from him to ascend to God in heaven. Elijah said that, although a difficult ask, Elisha’s request would be granted if Elisha saw Elijah at the point of his leaving.

We can ask for something similar in relation to Sue’s retirement. We have all benefited from Sue’s ministry over the 11 years that she has been in the parish and can inherit from her a double portion of her spirit as she leaves us.

That involves looking at the person she is that the gifts and interests she has shared in order that we learn from these and continue to use ourselves those things that she has shared with us.

Wellbeing has been a major focus of Sue’s ministry, whether utilising and sharing learning, skills and approaches from Acorn Christian Healing Foundation’s listening and pastoral attentiveness training or leading a number of Kintsugi Hope Wellbeing Groups. The former helped people grow in compassionate, attentive care through a combination of listening, healing, and reconciliation. The latter create a safe and supportive space where, through a structured yet flexible programme, people can accept themselves, understand their value and worth, and grow towards a more resilient and hopeful future.

Care for creation has been another of Sue’s particular interests and enthusiasms. Under her direction all of our churches have obtained the Eco-Church Silver award with this meaning that we have together looked at: Worship and teaching; Buildings and energy; Land and nature; Community and global engagement; and Lifestyle. She has also ensured that we understand creation-care in the context of the Five Marks of Mission where TREASURE involves striving to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth. This fifth mark of mission articulates the ecological dimension of mission, widening the circle of responsibility to its furthest extent. This mark reflects a mature theological understanding that God’s redemptive plan is cosmic in scope. It calls human beings to their divinely appointed role as stewards of the earth, presenting environmental care not as a secular agenda but as an integral component of faithfulness to the Creator God.

Additionally, Sue has helped us embed this understanding within the church calendar. We now keep Creationtide, when churches and congregations are called to pay special attention to the responsibility of humanity for the Earth and for all that lives upon it and take part in Churches Count on Nature, when Wickford Wildlife Association identify wildlife in our churchyards.

These are two of Sue’s many interests and areas of ministry where she has invested time with commitment and imagination. There are many others. We need to look at what she has been and done if we are to inherit a double portion of her spirit.

Jesus said that his followers would do greater things by doing more and different things than he could do within his own ministry. This is how we approach leave taking by doing more of the same in the spirit of the one who has gone. Elijah promised a double portion of his spirit to Elisha if he saw Elijah as he left. We can have a double portion of Sue’s spirit if we all take what we have learnt from her and apply in our own lives and ministries. Then the impact of her ministry will be doubled.

We will miss Sue greatly when she leaves but we will honour her time among us best if we take what she has shared with us and use it in new ways within our parish. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.

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Iona - Beyond These Shores.

Amethyst Review: Prayer

My latest poem to be published by Amethyst Review is entitled 'Prayer' and was written during a Quiet day I ran recently on Poetry and Prayer. 

For the same day, I also wrote 'Connections and contemplation in poetry and prayer', a brief survey of the connection between poetry and prayer that will be published by Amethyst Review on 16 July. This piece was originally written as the introduction to the Quiet Day.

Amethyst Review is a publication for readers and writers who are interested in creative exploration of spirituality and the sacred. Readers and writers of all religions and none are most welcome. All work published engages in some way with spirituality or the sacred in a spirit of thoughtful and respectful inquiry, rather than proselytizing.

The Editor-in-chief is Sarah Law – poet (mainly), tutor, occasional critic, sometime fiction writer. She has published five poetry collections, the latest of which is 'Thérèse: Poems'. Her novel, Sketches from a Sunlit Heaven is a 2023 Illumination Book Award silver medal winner. She set up Amethyst Review feeling the lack of a UK-based platform for the sharing and readership of new literary writing that engages in some way with spirituality and the sacred.

My other poems to have been published in Amethyst Review are: 'Runwell', 'Are/Are Not', 'Attend, attend' and 'Maritain, Green, Beckett and Anderson in conversation down through the ages'.

I am among those whose poetry has been included in Thin Places & Sacred Spaces, a recent anthology from Amethyst Press. I also had a poem included in All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the first Amethyst Press anthology of new poems.

'Five Trios' is a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in the Diocese of Chelmsford. The five poems in the series are:

• 'Barking';
• 'Bradwell';
• 'Broomfield';
• 'Pleshey'; and
• 'Runwell'.

These poems have been published by Amethyst Review and International Times.

To read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, here, here, and here. International Times have also published other of my poems, including 'Spencer Reece at Bemerton' which is based on the visit that I made to Bemerton in 2026 with Spencer Reece, 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem. Also published have been three poems from my 'Five Trios' series. 'Barking' is about St Margaret’s Barking and Barking Abbey and draws on my time as a curate at St Margaret's. 'Bradwell' is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places. Broomfield in Essex became a village of artists following the arrival of Revd John Rutherford in 1930. His daughter, the artist Rosemary Rutherford, also moved with them and made the vicarage a base for her artwork including paintings and stained glass. Then, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones moved to Broomfield in 1949 where they shared a large studio in their garden and both achieved high personal success. 'Broomfield' reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations.

Several of my short stories have also been published by IT including three about Nicola Ravenscroft's EarthAngel sculptures (then called mudcubs), which we exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford in 2022. The first story in the series is 'The Mudcubs and the O Zone holes'. The second is 'The Mudcubs and the Clean-Up King', and the third is 'The mudcubs and the Wall'. My other short stories to have been published by International Times are 'The Black Rain', a story about the impact of violence in our media, 'The New Dark Ages', a story about principles and understandings that are gradually fading away from our modern societies, and 'The curious glasses', a story based on the butterfly effect.

For more of my poems, see here, and for my poetic meditations, see here.

My first review of poetry for Tears in the Fence was of 'Modern Fog' by Chris Emery. My second review was of 'The Salvation Engine' by Rupert Loydell and my third was of 'For All That’s Lost' by David Miller. My poetry reviews for Stride include a review of two poetry collections, one by Mario Petrucci and the other by David Miller, a review of Temporary Archive: Poems by Women of Latin America, a review of Fukushima Dreams by Andrea Moorhead, a review of Endangered Sky by Kelly Grovier and Sean Scully, a review of John F. Deane's Selected & New Poems, a review of God's Little Angel by Sue Hubbard and a review of Spencer Reece's 'Acts'.

My poetry-related pieces for IT are: an interview with artist, poet, priest Spencer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, plus reviews of: 'Collected Poems' by Kevin Crossley-Holland; 'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey, and 'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller. I have also published pieces on poetry at Seen and Unseen - a profile of the poet Theresa Lola - and the Journal of Theological Studies - a review of Faith, Hope and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination by Malcolm Guite. For more on poetry, read my ArtWay interview with David Miller here and my interview with Rupert Loydell here. See also Rupert Loydell's interview with poet and musician Steve Scott. My own dialogues with Steve can be read here, here, here, here, and here. For thoughts on the links between poetry and prayer see here and here.

My key literature posts (including poetry) are:

• There were giants in those days (1)
• There were giants in those days (2)
• There were Giants in those days (3)
• There were giants in those days (4)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (1)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (2)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (3)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (4)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (5)
• The poetry of connection
• Debate: Has Fiction Lost It's Faith?
• Jesus is having a moment in literary fiction
• Endo & Scorsese: Approaching Silence
• Contemporary Fiction and Christianity
• Debate: Has Fiction Lost It's Faith? (2)
• Jack Clemo: The Invading Gospel
• Dealing with faith and with secularism is difficult but necessary now
• The poet’s eloquently passionate struggle at the junction of doubt and devotion
• Christian Arts renaissance: Major or minor?
• T.S. Eliot: Christianity, fragmentation and reconciliation
• Jesus Novels & Films: The Greatest Story Ever Told
• Acts of the Assassins and Jesus Novels
• Czeslaw Milosz, Oscar Milosz and Simone Weil
• Blogs: cryingforavision & Stride magazine
• Tasos Leviaditis: The Blind Man with the Lamp
• Religious concerns in Greek poetry
• Thomas Merton and Latin American poets
• American Catholic poets & writers
• Connections of Sister Corita Kent and Norman Nicholson
• Ernesto Cardenal RIP
• Czeslaw Milosz, Jerzy Andrzejewski, Oskar Milosz, and Aleksander Wat
• Faith, Mystery & Poetry
• Elizabeth Jennings & David Gascoyne: Mystical Experience and the Making of Poems
• Roots of the Catholic Literary Revival

See also 'Art and Faith: Decades of Engagement: Introduction, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

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George Herbert - Prayer I.