Fraser Lands Gallery 2023 Archive

Reflection on Magnificat

Acrylic Painting

Through Mary's song it reminds me to rejoice in what God has done through Jesus Christ, acknowledge that everything we have is of Grace's grace and declare the victory of God over the proud and powerful. I should connect with what God is doing, not just this generation, but also in his salvation history that spans the distant past and looks ahead to a glorious future.

There is no pride or vanity in Mary's prayer because the focus is all on God. It is the prayer of a woman who knows her own limitations and who is in awe of a loving, all-powerful and liberating God. Today, Mary's vision of a just God - for whom nothing is impossible — can help us to live out our Christian vocation in an often unjust, secular society.

by: Miranda Wong

“My soul doth magnify the Lord.”

His character is of the highest magnitude.

Power stronger than the fiercest red.

Compassion, grace more loving than calmest blue.

His scale wider than the horizon.

It is a blessing to live in His presence

On our knees we cry out, in praise

On our knees we cry out, in tears

Gloria in excelsis Deo
(Glory to God in the highest)

The Earth shifts.

She lays down her palms before Him. They welcome Him with palms.

He arrives to save. To serve. To be strung on the cross, by them.

His mother weeps, none deserve to bear witness to this.

She still cries out, perhaps having known His fate.

She will praise Him all the same.

Acrylic Painting & Poetry

This work is a joint collaboration between Angie Torres and Seth Mendoza

The first component of this work comes in the form of a poetic reimagining of Mary's time of praise in the book of Luke. God's Magnificence serves as a central trait of his character, one that Mary exalts and “magnifies” for Him in her prayer and rejoicing.

Within this writing we visualize each of the magnified traits we know of God's character with the components of the second portion of the work, the painting. The colours, setpieces and scaling of what we see on canvas reflects what we feel when reading of His glory.

The final portion of poetry was crafted from the question of whether Mary would have known Jesus' ultimate fate on the cross. There is a cultural implication that suggests, among the disciples' recorded interactions with Jesus, there would be women among them; and among them, Mary as well. Perhaps Mary knew, perhaps she didn't. Whether there was Christ or angel or no one at all to tell her, she praised Him all the same.

Photos of Angela Torres and Seth Mendoza

by: Angela Torres & Seth Mendoza

Luke 23:45–46 1

How majestic is your 2 name in all the earth; 3
You set 4 deep 5 before 6 the loom. 7
I, knowing not 8 such 9 fathoms 10 — save 11 found 12 commune 13 hemmed 14 —
lie 15 within gaping 16 viscera. 17
In such 18 found one; 19
Your love endures forever 20 —
Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 21

1 Ps. 31:5

2 Gen. 1:1, 2:15–17, 9:8–17, 15:1–21, 17:1–27; Ex. 19–24; Deut 6:4; 2 Sam. 7:8–16; Jer. 31:31–34; Isa. 53; John 1:1–18, 14:9–12; Mark:15; Matt. 28:5–9, 19–20; Luke 24:13–53; Acts 2; Rev. 21:1–22:5

3 Ps. 8:1

4 The falling motion of a celestial body drawing near to the horizon.

5 a. A weighty and inarticulate resonance which is low in pitch and timbrally full-bodied.
b. Rom. 8:22–27
c. ταράσσω: to put into motion by stirring up and troubling. (John 11:33; John 12:27; Luke 24:37–38)
d. Ps 88
e. Luke 22:41–42
f. Ps. 22; Matt. 27:27–46
g. The ocean.

6 a. Matt. 14:25–32
b. Ps. 23:5–6

7 a. Ps. 139:1–12
b. A machine for weaving yarn into fabric.
c. An incomprehensible deep sense of awe and dread.

8 Ps. 139:6

9 a. The aforementioned notion.
b. An emphasis of immeasurable extent for the following notion.

10 a. όργυιά: a measure of depth, roughly the length of outstretched arms which is 5-6 ft. (Acts 27:27–44 ESV)
b. To understand after much contemplation.

11 a. With the exception of.
b. To accumulate and store in preparation for the future.
c. To rescue from impending doom.

12 a. A forsaken object which is sought and embraced.
b. Luke 15:1–7
c. Phil. 2:6–11
d. Eph. 2:8–22

13 a. Rom. 8:16–2
b. 2 Cor. 4:7–18
c. Ps. 13, 77
d. To hold securely to one's chest and speak intimately with.

14 a. Luke 8:43–48
b. Ps. 139:5–6
c. The folded and sewn edge of fabric.

15 a. Isa. 43:1–7
b. Ps. 16
c. Consolation in through which one is tended, while remaining in a particular orientation.

16 a. Zech. 12:10; John 19:34
b. The clearest and most monumental window through which everyone can truly see. (Isa. 35:5–7)
c. The fullest cup which resounds a death rattle. (1 Cor. 11:23–26)
d. An extensively vast perforation through which something pours out.

17 a. σπλάγχνα: the profoundly elemental, and unrestrained affections which are felt in the innermost bowels. (2 Cor. 6:11–13; Acts 1:18)
b. Innards.

18 See n9

19 See n2

20 Ps. 118:29

21 Ps. 8:9

Poetry

I've been thinking about the vastness of the crucifixion account; the stirring picture of complete victory over death, and the fullest picture of worship and communion.

Jesus cries out in startling contrast: “why have you abandoned me?” Yet also: “into your hands I entrust my spirit” — παρατίθημι (entrust), that is: to set before, as a meal at the table.

That is the temple; the great answer to our groanings: “how long, Lord” — the answer who somehow, and in some way redeems everything from the garden to consummation.