FOCUS hosted the “Awaken,” an exclusive poetry, art and music competition at SEEK2019 through “A beauty initiative within FOCUS.” The event is sponsored by Our Sunday Visitor and Papercastle Records. The purpose of Awaken is to give participants at SEEK the chance to see beauty as a bridge to the Divine, a window to encounter the person of Christ.

These artists got a prompt from to guide them in their creation.

“What are you looking for?” John 1:29-42

https://focusoncampus.org/beauty

Beauty is for everyone. Beauty causes us to awaken to the deepest desires of our hearts. Beauty stirs in us a sense that we were made for more, that we were made for the infinite God.

Authentic beauty is a place of encounter with Jesus Christ, who is Beauty Himself. By having a relationship with Christ and His Church, we can find fullness of life — now and in eternity.

https://seek2019.com/awaken/

May St. John Paul II inspire us with his words:

“..it is up to you, men and women who have given your lives to art, to declare with all the wealth of your ingenuity that in Christ the world is redeemed: the human person is redeemed, the human body is redeemed, and the whole creation which, according to Saint Paul, “awaits impatiently the revelation of the children of God” (Rom 8:19), is redeemed. The creation awaits the revelation of the children of God also through art and in art. This is your task. Humanity in every age, and even today, looks to works of art to shed light upon its path and its destiny.”

Zachary Landress

Melanie Mitchell

Andrew Messer

Travis Dantzer - https://soundcloud.com/travis-dantzer / http://travisdantzer.blogspot.com/

“The Saint John’s Bible is the first completely handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine Abbey since the invention of the printing press.

Beginning in 1970, master calligrapher Donald Jackson expressed in media interviews his lifelong dream of creating an illuminated Bible. Following a Saint John’s University-sponsored calligraphy presentation at the Newberry Library in Chicago in 1995, Jackson discussed a handwritten Bible with Fr. Eric Hollas, OSB, former executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Between 1996 and 1997, Saint John’s explored the feasibility of the Bible project, Jackson created first samples, and theologians developed the illumination schema. The Saint John’s Bible was officially commissioned in 1998 and funding opportunities were launched. The public was introduced to the project in 1999 and production was completed in 2011, with the final word penned in May 2011 and touch-up work completed by December 2011.

The Saint John’s Bible is divided into seven volumes and is two feet tall by three feet wide when open. The Bible is made of vellum, with 160 illuminations. The version of the Bible used is the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE).[1] A copy of the Bible has been presented to the Pope at the Vatican in several volumes, with the final volume being presented on 17 April 2015.[2]

The scriptorium of The Saint John’s Bible is located in Monmouth, Wales.”

Link to their website

Johan van Parys, a native of Belgium, has been The Basilica’s Director of Liturgy and the Sacred Arts since 1995. He holds graduate degrees in art history and comparative religious studies from the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium, and a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Johan enjoys writing for Basilica publications as well as for other outlets. Since 1997 he has been the managing editor for Basilica, the award winning Basilica Magazine. His book Symbols That Surround Us was published in 2012. Johan teaches in the School of Theology at St. John’s University. He is the current chair and founding member of the MN chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums and is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgists and Societas Liturgica.

Alexis Kazimira Kutarna was born and raised in Canada, and has been involved in church music ever since she was a young child. Ms. Kutarna earned the degree Master of Arts in Liturgy at The Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, where she wrote her thesis on “The Sacramental Nature of Sacred Music.” She holds a Master of Music degree in conducting and a Performer’s Certificate from Northern Illinois University. Ms. Kutarna also holds a Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, with a double major in bassoon and piano performance from Saint Xavier University in Chicago, IL.

Ms. Kutarna has a special interest in chant and the history of music in the liturgy, and was privileged to spend time studying Gregorian chant and semiology with Fr. Columba Kelly, OSB. She has served as a parish music and liturgy director, and has taught chant to singers of all ages.

Frequently asked to speak on music and the liturgy, Ms. Kutarna has presented in a variety of contexts, from parish choirs and retreats to lectures and conferences. Last summer, she was invited to speak at a symposium at The Liturgical Institute called “The Liturgical Movement of the 21 st Century” on the musical preparation of seminarians. This summer, she will be co-presenting three sessions on “The Chants of the Roman Missal” at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians convention in Houston.

Ms. Kutarna teaches courses on the liturgy and liturgical music at the University of St. Thomas. She serves as the Director of Music, where she directs the Schola Cantorum, at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, TX.

FOCUS hosted the “Awaken,” an exclusive poetry, art and music competition at SEEK2019 through “A beauty initiative within FOCUS.” The event is sponsored by Our Sunday Visitor and Papercastle Records. The purpose of Awaken is to give participants at SEEK the chance to see beauty as a bridge to the Divine, a window to encounter the person of Christ.

These artists got a prompt from to guide them in their creation.

“What are you looking for?” John 1:29-42

https://focusoncampus.org/beauty

Beauty is for everyone. Beauty causes us to awaken to the deepest desires of our hearts. Beauty stirs in us a sense that we were made for more, that we were made for the infinite God.

Authentic beauty is a place of encounter with Jesus Christ, who is Beauty Himself. By having a relationship with Christ and His Church, we can find fullness of life — now and in eternity.

https://seek2019.com/awaken/

May St. John Paul II inspire us with his words:

“..it is up to you, men and women who have given your lives to art, to declare with all the wealth of your ingenuity that in Christ the world is redeemed: the human person is redeemed, the human body is redeemed, and the whole creation which, according to Saint Paul, “awaits impatiently the revelation of the children of God” (Rom 8:19), is redeemed. The creation awaits the revelation of the children of God also through art and in art. This is your task. Humanity in every age, and even today, looks to works of art to shed light upon its path and its destiny.”

Ellen Wallenfang

Jackie Minton - A SLIGHTLY QUIRKY SONGWRITER THAT WILL STEAL YOUR HEART

Since then Jackie has shared her music wherever she goes. Over the years she has moved from Texas to Minnesota to California, and she currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Jackie invites listeners to explore the world through her melodic perspective and insightful lyricism. Her style is often compared to Ingrid Michaelson, Joni Mitchell, and Daughter.

In her free time, she enjoys reading a good book or magazine, but her favorite past times involve pen and paper. When found with them in hand, Jackie can be caught journaling in her notebook, composing a letter, or -as you may have guessed- writing a song.

Matthew Crews

Katie Sherman

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SUPPORT JohnMarc - https://secure3.convio.net/focus/site/Donation2?&df_id=1480&FR_ID=1070&PROXY_ID=6580&PROXY_TYPE=31&1480.donation=form1

https://lovegoodculture.com/

YOU HAVE SETTLED FOR LONG ENOUGH.

Jimmy Mitchell

Jessamyn Anderson

FOCUS Awaken Competition - https://seek2019.com/awaken/

Our Sunday Visitor

Radiant Magazine is quarterly magazine for and about Catholic women

Valiant Magazine is a semi-annual magazine for and about Catholic men

Rose Rea - Our Sunday Visitor representative

Sponsor of FOCUS Awaken Competition at SEEK2019

Papercastle Records - WE HELP ARTISTS, MUSICIANS AND SONGWRITERS PROFESSIONALLY RECORD THEIR MUSIC.

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Shawn Williams

Papercastle Records

MUSIC PRODUCTION PACKAGES

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Dr. Denis McNamara is Associate Professor and Associate Director at the Liturgical Institute of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake-Mundelein Seminary, a graduate program in liturgical studies founded by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. He holds a BA in the History of Art from Yale University and a PhD in Architectural History from the University of Virginia, where he concentrated his research on the study of ecclesiastical architecture of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Dr. McNamara is the author of numerous articles on art and architecture in Communio,Rite, Chicago Studies, Adoremus Bulletin, Sacred Architecture, Environment and Art Letter, Assembly, The Priest, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Letter and Spirit, and Arris: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. His book "Heavenly City: The Architectural Tradition of Catholic Chicago" (Liturgy Training Publications, 2005) appeared on the Catholic Bestseller List and won a Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Booksellers Association as well as two first place awards from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association. "Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy" earned a second place award from the Catholic Press Association. His newest book, "How to Read A Church: A Crash Course in Christian Architecture" (Rizzoli) has been published in seven languages.

Amazon Author Page - https://smile.amazon.com/Denis-R.-McNamara/e/B002Y1C092/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1548458624&sr=8-1