Advent Two Study Series, 2014

Second Week of Advent, Wednesday 10th December, 2014
"From Heraklion (Crete) via Venice, Rome, Madrid to Toledo and home to God, 'El Greco- longing, desire and joy in God's Beauty and concinnity'," by Canon Ian Elliott Davies
Domenikos Theotokopoulos, El Greco: born 1541, Crete. Floreat, Sixteenth to early seventeenth centuries.
Ob. 7th April, 1614 in Toledo, Spain- four hundred years ago this year. "Concinnity," from the Latin 'concinnitas,' skillfully put together- most often used in music as the 'harmonious reinforcement of various (perhaps even disparate) parts of a work of art.'
Israel's strength and consolation
Hope of all the earth Thou art
Dear desire of every nation
Joy of every longing heart
"And I will shake all nations, so that the desire [longing] of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of Hosts." Book of the Prophet Haggai 2:7
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What does/has desire mean/meant in your life, in your heart and emotions, in your soul? What will it mean in the future? Do love and desire always have to coincide?
Are we able to share this sense of desire (and longing) with God, your parents, your siblings, your spouse/partner, your friends. How might that longing be expressed appropriately… or even inappropriately?
How might we desire God, Christ, the Holy Spirit? What about God's desire and longing for you? Where/when/how might that longing be "seen," or "perceived" by you/your beloved/the Church?
How far have you travelled? What are the biggest steps you have ever taken? To where are you travelling/when, where is your destination…. is that a place of joy/wonder/Beauty-Truth/fulfillment/home/far away?
What inspires your imagination, heart, longing, fulfillment, (or as Fr Crean asked last week- "what kind of rest do you seek?" Does the Church help or hinder?
Music, the arts, 'illumination,' iconography, poetry, architecture, mathematics, Beauty and Truth, engineering, nature, relationships, the Sacrament, the cosmos, drama, the novel, work, rest, 'purpose,' healing, teaching/learning, our communities.