For the Many
By Maria Dach
Artist Statement
I wanted to address what I feel are often two separate conversations happening in the American Catholic Church today. There is The National Eucharistic Revival, re-inviting Catholics to devotion to the sacrament of the Eucharist. There is also the Synod, a formal, communal process of discernment for the Church. Some see the Revival as deflecting attention from difficult social issues like climate change and treatment of marginalized groups within the Church. Others see the Synod as a threat, an invitation to bring worldly and harmful ideas into Catholicism. As a religious studies major at a Catholic institution, this polarization has affected me personally. It is not a theological discussion limited to the walls of a classroom. I have seen broken friendships, club disputes and lost faith on campus from disagreement on what the Church is and should be, and what our role as Catholic young people is in making that a reality. This piece reflects my discernment and hopes to offer a narrative that is both orthodox and in discussion with issues facing contemporary America. I depicted the consecrated bread and wine, referencing the Real Presence of Christ’s Body the revival hopes to underline. But I also illustrate who it is that makes up that body and who is listened to, the focus of the Synod. The Church is Christ’s Body, and a body is not without its members. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:19 and 26: “If they were all one part, where would the body be?...If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy”. I illustrate that we should always turn our gaze closer to understanding the mysteries of the sacraments, but that aim is incomplete without recognizing the injustices facing communities that might prevent someone from sharing in that.
About the Artist
My name is Maria and I am a sophomore at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana studying graphic design and religious studies. I have only recently begun combining those two interests into creating religious artwork and have found it very fruitful for my personal spiritual life, and for my intellectual understanding of the Church. While I am a practicing Catholic at a Catholic institution, I would not describe my religious upbringing as stereotypical: I am an only child to divorced parents in a family that is both interracial and interreligious. From a young age this background has sparked an interest in understanding what being Catholic looks like or appears to be, versus what it is dogmatically or on an individual spiritual level. This eventually led me to the religious studies major that I really enjoy, while I might not know where God is leading me in my career yet specifically. When I am not asking myself such existential questions, I enjoy videography, historical fashion, and long walks.