God in the Garden

This Thursday, 31 March, the Lauriston Jesuit Centre in Edinburgh will welcome Tina Beattie, Professor of Catholic Studies and Director of the Digby Stuart Research Centre for Catholic Studies at Roehampton University in London, and Mary Colwell, a long time friend of the Centre and an award winning radio and television producer specialising in natural history.  Both are regular columnists in 'The Tablet', and both have a strong interest in theology and ecology.

Their joint presentation is entitled 'God In the Garden', and this is how they describe it: 'Medieval paintings of saints in an enclosed garden - Hortus Conclusus - are treasures to be viewed on many levels.  They are symbolic depictions of religious teachings, inviting us to contemplate the lives of holy men and women before God as revealed through nature.  The gardens are beautiful with accurate depictions of many real animals and plants, while the human figures are often stylised and carefully placed to give the viewer a sense of redeemed humanity at peace within a graced creation.  These paintings can be seen as a view of a time to come when all of nature and human activity merge in harmony - a time of perfect grace and wisdom, free from the problems of life and bathed in the light of God's presence.

Today the paintings take on a deeper meaning as we face ecological crises that strike fear and uncertainty into our souls.  Can these images of the Hortus Conclusus - paintings of an incarnate God in the garden of creation - give us hope for the future that is based on religious tradition, wisdom and also life itself?'

The evening will begin at 7.30 p.m. and will end at 9.00 p.m. with refreshments.  More details below.


 Lauriston Jesuit Centre