Art and leisure

17. In a world which seems increasingly obsessed with instant gratification, the lure of gain, the pursuit of profit and the overriding importance of possessions, it is striking also to acknowledge a persistent, even growing, fascination with beauty. It may take different forms, but these all seem to indicate an aspiration for Asomething intangible», which can show us the magic and mystery in things and even far beyond them. Intuitively, the Church was aware of this from its origins and centuries of Christian art magnificently illustrate this. Every true work of art is potentially a way into religious experience. Recognizing the importance of art in the inculturation of the Gospel means recognizing that human genius and sensitivity are akin to the truth and beauty of the divine mystery. The Church shows profound respect to all artists, irrespective of their religious convictions, since works of art bear an imprint of the invisible, as it were Art, like every other human activity, looks beyond itself for its absolute goal: its nobility comes from being directed to the ultimate goal of the human person.

In Christian artists, the Church finds extraordinary potential for the expression of new formulas and for the definition of new symbols or metaphors through the brilliance of liturgical genius in all its creative force, steeped in centuries of Catholic imagery with its ability to express the omnipresence of grace. Every continent has had its Christian artists, whose Christian inspiration can attract people - of any faith or of none - to beauty and truth. Support and encouragement for Christian artists is an excellent way of reaching a whole host of people who may have no other contact with the message of Christ.

At the same time, the Catholic Church's rich cultural heritage, in the form of its cultural assets, bears witness to a fruitful symbiosis of culture and faith. It constitutes an inexhaustible source of beauty and a permanent resource for a cultural education which is also a genuine catechesis, one which unites the truth of faith to the genuine beauty of art (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 122-127). As the fruits of a community which has lived its faith intensely, and continues to do so, the cultic and cultural treasures of the Church should not be seen in exclusively cultural terms, or their meaning will be lost. They could be a real inspiration for humanity at the dawn of the third millennium.

18. The world of leisure and sport, travel and tourism, is undeniably an important element in modern culture, along with that of labour, in which the Church has long been present, and so is becoming another new forum of evangelization. The concept of «work» is changing profoundly, which undeniably affects leisure and cultural activities. From the perennial need to earn one's daily bread (cf. Laborem Exercens 1), work is one of the means of responding to the ever more insistent desire for self-fulfilment, on a par with cultural activities. Elsewhere, new ways of organizing labour, which are part of a process of technological and economic development, go hand in hand with an increase in unemployment at every level of society. This not only gives rise to material impoverishment, but sows in those cultures the seeds of doubt, dissatisfaction, humiliation and even crime. The precariousness of such living conditions and the need to see to the necessities of life frequently lead people to consider the artistic and literary elements of culture as superfluous and reserved for a privileged élite.

Having become almost universal, sport undoubtedly has its place in the Christian vision of culture and can promote both physical health and interpersonal relationships. However, sport can be taken over by commercial interests or become a vehicle for expressing tribal, national or racial rivalries, and give rise to occasional explosions of violence which reveal the tensions and contradictions which are part of contemporary society, and thus become an anti culture. So it is an important area for a modern pastoral approach. Despite their variety and complexity and the clutter of symbols and commercialism, leisure pursuits and sport create not just an atmosphere but a whole culture, a way of life and a value system. Well-adapted pastoral policy will find there all the genuine educational values and a springboard for celebrating everything in human nature which is rich, in the image of God and, like the apostle Paul, announces salvation in Jesus Christ (cf. I Cor. 9:24-27).