#58.10, Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Historical Setting, 629 C.E. The monastery, Luxeuil

         As we walk back through the halls Ana tells Brandell even unfinished his artwork has touched her.  But why was she there? – that’s what worries him.

         “Why are you using the healing pools, Momma?”

         “It’s just a little worry, and a little worry should have its own time. Today is the happily ever after. So, what is Gaia doing while you are at work here? Does she sit home alone?”

         “Maybe she would prefer that tranquility. But no. She’s here with the holy women while I am working. I didn’t see her there. If you only came to see Colleen, you wouldn’t have seen her. She isn’t with the healing nuns. She is with the nuns that teach and tell the stories.  They are fascinated to hear her tell of the people who passed through the market place stopping to talk about the gospel stories on the little icons.  There are so many nuances to the stories that she’s heard spoken in the Eastern market and she knows bible stories every which way of telling. She also comes with a richer understanding of the teachings of Jewish women she journeyed with as well. Gaia says every bible story is really a mosaic of ideas.”

         “It seems surprising that a blind woman would speak in terms of art.”

         “She’s heard a lot about pigments but mosaic is a medium for touch. So I am preparing to use texture when I finish the figures in the mural – particularly I want texture to define the blind person and the healing hands of Jesus. It needs to be seen by the touch.”

          “It is interesting that the common Jewish women would be telling the stories of faith.” Ana asks, “Have they no nuns for storytellers?”

         “Momma, in Jewish families the mothers guide the faith. The men read the laws in worship, but the women nurture the spirit. It is like it is in our family. When children wonder things about God, their mother shows them the traditions of their faith. And maybe learning faith from the mother is our Jewish root, or maybe it’s just the way human beings learn things.”

         Ana is smiling, glancing at me. So Brandell, your children will also have a wise woman to guide them.

(Continues tomorrow)