Scripture: Luke 8:43-48
A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her… She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Visio Divina
Ask for the grace to see and receive from the Holy. Sit silently and contemplate the image for a few minutes.
What word or phrase comes to mind? What emotion arises?
What colors, shapes, angles do you notice? Who is in the crowd? Which figure is Jesus? The bleeding woman?
Place yourself in the scene. What do you see? How does it smell? Is it hot? Is it loud; what do you hear?
Continue to sit quietly with this painting.
Consider the woman’s urgency that drove her boldness, her bravery, to touch Jesus, even by the hem of his garment. Ask God for the grace of urgency and courage to tell him what you need.
Carry this image in your mind through the day.
Ask and allow the Spirit to sensitize you to those around you who may suffer with impairments of mind, body, and spirit.
Wesley was born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh into a fifth generation Christian family of Hindu and Muslim descent. He belongs to the Lucknow school of painting. His paintings reflect this influence and that of the Chughtai school of painting that flourished in India at the turn of the century. Wesley made art based on both biblical and secular themes. He used water colours, oil paintings, miniatures and wooden carvings.
“The bright glow of light on the back of his shoulders directs us to the radiant countenance of Jesus. He is moving away from us but over his left shoulder he is listening to those walking at his side. In this painting the artist’s fingers took over to define his own face more closely than anywhere else in his work. This is virtually a self-portrait. The woman suffering from hemorrhage is cloaked in black. Her hand reaches tentatively towards Jesus’ shoulder and is backlighted by the brightest spot in the painting. Again, we trace the convention of light from the body of Jesus providing both the physical and the spiritual illumination and power for the scene. This time, it is the figure of the woman who absorbs the light which blocks it from the viewer. Others who are with Jesus are illumined by his light. Only the woman, who takes so much of his power into herself, is shown in dark silhouette. Jesus is surrounded by many kinds of people, all with different needs. We see a lame man with a crutch, a man wearing the brass armband of a slave and an older woman holding a sick child on her shoulder. Children of all ages edge the path and reach out to Jesus. Jesus seems to be walking into darkness but behind him the sky is gold. The canvas is incandescent with joy and life and hope.” From Frank Wesley: Exploring Faith with a Brush by Naomi Wray.
Wesley’s painting “Blue Madonna” was used for the first UNICEF Christmas card, while five of his paintings were exhibited at the 1950 Holy Year Exhibition in the Vatican. He is also known for designing the funeral urn for Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes.