John Paul II and Artists

For those of you who might be interested, I have posted John Paul II's Letter to Artists on my website at:

http://www.spiritualwoman.net/Creativity/LettertoArtists.html

I had forgotten that JPII was involved in the arts himself until just recently. I was reading a catholic magazine and came across an ad for "The Jeweler's Shop" - a DVD based on a play by Karol Wojtyla (JPII's name before he was Pope). While I had known he was involved in the theater as a young man, I didn't know he had done any writing himself and I was intrigued. I was able to obtain a copy of the play through my library system.

"The Jeweler's Shop" was first published in the December 1960 issue of the Catholic monthly "Znak" under the pseudonym Andrzej Jawien while Wojtyla was Bishop. It was subtitles "A Meditation on the Sacrament of Matrimony, Passing on Occasion into a Drama." Some might wonder what a celibate man could have to say about the sacrament of Matrimony, but as with his much later "Theology of the Body" that JPII is well-known for, he does have surprising insight into the heart and the nature of human relationships. The play focuses on three couples at various stages of relationship, the last couple being the son and daughter of the first two. The first couple has just become engaged and while their love is not passionate, they have realized that they need each other and want a future with the other in it. The second couple have a love in disarray. The third is trying to embark on their future together but the woman Monica's ability to love and trust has been harmed from witnessing her own parents' troubled union.

The play's style is unique in that the characters very rarely speak to each other. It is most often a series of monologues - of interior thoughts and retelling of events. At times a chorus speaks - reminiscent of Greek theater. This play was designed to be performed on a spartan set with little room for action. And yet, it is probing and insightful, offering a reflection on human love as well as on its author.