Strength and Kindliness
I saw an angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free – Michelangelo
I was sorting through some files on my computer last week and it never ceases to amaze what I find in the archives.
I came across a story about the sculptor Michelangelo. It made me think about the excitement here at the College as we prepare for our Art Exhibition to celebrate Italian Week (next week) and it made me think about how to use the gift of seeing potential in others as I go about my daily work here at St Aug’s.
I will share the story with you here.
Being able to see the potential in others is about seeing people not just as they are but as they could be. It includes the ability to see in people what they may not even see in themselves. It is a great gift that God can give to a leader that they can discern the potential in others even before anyone else has seen it.
Michelangelo Buonarotti was one of the greatest sculptors of all time. You probably know his works; ‘The Statue of David’ and ‘The Pieta’ are two of the most famous. You perhaps also know that he painted the walls and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. He lived during the 16th century. Michelangelo is renowned as an artist, an architect and a sculptor but historical records show that he thought of himself mainly as a sculptor.
Memoirs of Michelangelo’s life and work say that he often saw potential in things that others did not. On one occasion he was seen to be studying in great depth, what others saw as simply a big block of marble. When someone asked him what he was doing he told them that he was looking closely at the marble to study its grain and to see where its strengths may lay. He then went on to say that he could see that an angel had been imprisoned in the marble and he was looking for a way to set it free. Then, using his craftmanship he went on to carve a beautiful angel out of that stone.
In thinking about it, we each have the great gift from God to seek the angel in the marble in our encounters with one another each and every day. There is greatness inside each one of us, it just needs to be carved out.
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
Kirrilee Westblade
Catholic Identity Leader
Have you read this Season's edition of Australian Catholics?
https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/current/aust-catholic-magazine
Have your read the current edition of our Diocesan newspaper Sandpiper?