Culture

This year the Youth Group at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton will set out on a new and exciting journey: to discover the truth, beauty, and love of God as expressed in art, in all of its various forms, throughout history. Pope John Paul the Great taught that if we truly desire to evangelize the world, we must first evangelize the culture. From classic cinema to classic rock, from ancient icons to modern literary paintings, we will more fully experience and come to better understand the human in light of the divine through frequent and active encounters with the arts (music, film, poetry, the visual arts, etc.). It is by actively engaging culture that we can learn where we are from and where we are going, who we are and who we are meant to be. Some activities will include:

Discussions on Sacred Art in the universal Church
In depth discussions on music and film
Acting and producing short films
Experiencing icons and literary paintings
Visits to art galleries and studios
Poetry and monologue readings
Amateur and professional sporting events
Ethnic food meals

Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation—as poet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor and so on—feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a whole.” (from Pope John Paul II’s Letter to Artists, 1999)