The other day on www.acottagebythese.net I wrote about my visit to the Convent of San Marco, one of my favorite places in all of Florence to find silence, solitude and simplicity. Ascending the staircase to the floor of the monks cells is always an intense spiritual experience, because Fra Angelico’s awe-inspiring 'Annunciation' confronts me at the top of the stairs. Mary seems to be saying, “Who me? How can this be to birth the Christ?” Fra Angelico has me saying the same words about God’s call to me.
The possibility of a call from God is so intellectually preposterous that i often dismiss the idea before I even consider what the call might be or mean. But when I’m in front of this painting I keep hearing the specific call to pray for people, which is something I can do. It is the call to surrender that is a mighty big challenge, and may be why I spent so much time before the crucifixes that Fra Angelico painted in many of the cells.
The possibility of a call from God is so intellectually preposterous that i often dismiss the idea before I even consider what the call might be or mean. But when I’m in front of this painting I keep hearing the specific call to pray for people, which is something I can do. It is the call to surrender that is a mighty big challenge, and may be why I spent so much time before the crucifixes that Fra Angelico painted in many of the cells.
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