Does Writing or Making Art Matter in a Hurting World?

 

In a world with so many problems, does writing or making art matter? Is it a worthy use of our time, or should we be using our gift of time to do something, anything else that has a more direct impact on improving the plight of those who are suffering?  That is one of the questions that Mitali Perkins ponders in Just Making: A Guide for Compassionate Creatives. 

I had seen Just Making advertised in a secular publication. I am always interested in reading books about creativity, especially creativity as a vocation, and so I requested it from the library. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is a rather Catholic book. I tried to find out if Perkins is Catholic. I honestly don’t know. She was raised Hindu, converted to Christianity in college, and is married to a minister. However, she has taught at a Catholic college and her work is clearly informed by Catholic thought. A whole lot of saints are quoted in this book.

Perkins shares that she “wrote this book as a guide for creative people who are concerned about justice . . . Many of us want our labors to matter in the world—to create healing, repair, and goodness. We want our making to be just” (2).

She begins by discussing quilting and sewing, art forms that have traditionally been practiced by women for many years. I quilt as a hobby and was touched by her comment, that “while it may not be obvious to the viewer, a quilter is very much responding to the call to ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ By creating a quilt that keeps someone warm, a quilter is serving others” (17). Cooking (something I do often but am not especially good at) is another creative gift. “Cooking for others is a divine art because it offers tenderness to frail and needy bodies” (33).

But sewing and cooking create practical items that provide tangible benefits. What about writing a story, painting a picture, or singing a song? How are those creative acts helping the world? “Art created by others builds our courage to live the just life. We read a hero’s journey in fiction, and it fortifies us to face our own all-is-lost moments. A song like Sara Bareilles’s ‘Brave’ can get us out of bed to face a tough day. Visual art can inspire us to innovate and attempt big, new things” (36). Perkins quotes fine artist Carol Aust, “Art is vital because the world needs beauty, community, truth telling, and joy” (54).

In the second and third parts of Just Making, Perkins explores the forces that work against us when we try to practice our creative gifts and how to keep making in spite of them. Yes, our art does matter, especially when we are called by God to do it. If you need some encouragement or inspiration to keep creating in spite of the challenges, I highly recommend reading Just Making.

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Lessons from Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur

 

Earlier this year, a fellow writer recommended I read The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur: The Woman Whose Goodness Changed Her Husband From Atheist to Priest in the context of praying for those who have left the faith. I’ve been reading it in bits and pieces for several months, and I’m so glad that I did. I had heard of Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur (October 16, 1866- May 3, 1914), but hadn’t known much about her before reading this. I’m thankful for a new heavenly friend.

 

A Woman of Faith

Elisabeth Arrighi was born into an upper-middle-class family in Paris and received a quality education. She married Feliz Leseur in 1889. Elisabeth always suffered from medical concerns, but the young couple had an active social life for many years until her health became too poor. Felix had medical training, but worked as a journalist and then a director of an insurance company. Their marriage was a happy one, but the difference in their faith lives created tension.

Feliz had been raised Catholic but rejected the faith as a young adult. He agreed to respect her faith when they married, but in time, he began to tease her about it, forced her to read anti-Catholic literature, and made her observance difficult. She abandoned her practice of the faith for a short time, but then returned to it with a firm sense of purpose. She kept a journal recording her interior prayer life. She never harangued her husband about his lack of faith – she simply offered a good example, prayed, and offered sacrifices for his conversion.

She suffered from liver trouble and ultimately died of breast cancer. Felix saw the way her faith comforted her in her sickness and ceased his criticism of it. After her death, he found her journal. He returned to the faith in 1915 and entered the Dominican order in 1919. He was ordained a priest in 1923.

Excerpts from Her Diary

I highlighted many passages as I was making my way through the book (too many to share in an article), but here are a few that stood out.

“Help me, my God, and, without my knowing it, use me for a little good. According to a comparison I like, let me be the rough vessel giving forth light and warmth.”

“I can do nothing for her but pray. Nothing but that! But that is everything!”

“Not to argue; to work instead through contact and example; to dissipate prejudice, to reveal God and make Him felt without speaking of Him; to strengthen one’s intelligence, to enlarge one’s soul more and more; to love without tiring, in spite of disappointment and indifference. Above all, to draw to oneself the humble and the little ones so as to lead them to Him who loves them so much.”

“It is best for God alone to dispose of what we offer Him; if we knew the result of our efforts, if the mysterious influence worked by our sacrifice and prayer were revealed to us, pride, always near, would have its way.”

“I believe it is my duty in awaiting the divine hour to preach Jesus Christ only through my prayers, my sufferings, and my example.”

“In prayer we do not see the result of our efforts, however certain they may be; we are truly instruments in the hands of the divine Artist. We can remain humble even while knowing the great joy of working for God’s glory and the good of souls.”

“Perhaps He will wait until He has taken me to Heaven and pressed me against His Heart before giving faith to those I love; and perhaps He will then grant me the unspeakable joy of seeing in His light what my sufferings, privations, and spiritual isolation”

“Let us influence those about us, not by vain preaching, but by the irresistible force of upright convictions and the example of our lives.”

“We should make each day a resumé of our whole life by filling it with prayer, work, and charity.”

“I must work for souls without trying to ascertain the results of my labor, leaving to God the work of conversion or sanctification, which He alone can accomplish, and looking upon myself as a humble instrument in His hands, an instrument used for purposes of which I myself am ignorant.”

“Penance and prayer are the most important works, the most efficacious means of salvation for the soul itself and for others, the most useful instruments in the task of reparation to which chosen souls are called.”

“To the end of time, our daily words and actions will bear fruit, either good or bad; nothing that we have once given of ourselves will perish, but our words and works, handed on from one to another, will continue to do good or harm to remote generations.”

 

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#OpenBook for October 2025

 

Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!

9-4-25 A Daughter's Choice - Kelly Irvin - This is a delightful Amish romance about two young people, both struggling with their faith, who bond over their love of animals. (Read for a book review publication)
 

9-10-25 Whispers at Painswick Court - Julie Klassen - This is a Regency-era romance/mystery. Anne Loveday goes to Painswick Court to serve as a nurse to Lady Celia, an older woman with lung trouble. However, it soon becomes apparent that everyone there has a secret, including the charming Dr. Finch, whom Anne begins to take an interest in, despite her determination not to marry. In addition, Lady Celia keeps experiencing "accidents" that seem to indicate someone wants to harm her. The action takes a while to build in this one, but the second half makes up for it. (Read for a book review publication)

 9-12-25 Every Shade of You - Ginny Kochis - Kochis is skilled at writing about young people with mental illness. This story focuses on Dewitt Griffin, a teenage artist with bipolar disorder, and her relationship with Nathan Cartwright. As they attempt to navigate young love, her mental illness, and her parents' efforts to help her, they will both have to make difficult choices. While there is nothing graphic in it, this is a YA book that deals with challenging topics. I would recommend it for ages 15 and up. 

9-13-25 Jane Austen at Home: A Biography - Lucy Worsley - I already knew quite a bit about Jane Austen, but this is a highly readable, comprehensive biography that includes two sections of photos. I enjoyed it a great deal.
 

 9-16-25 The Strange Case of Jane O. - Karen Thompson Walker - This book is not something I would usually pick up, but the premise intrigued me, and I found it to be a fascinating work of fiction. It is told from two points of view - a psychiatrist who is treating Jane O. and Jane O. (who writes letters to her young son). Jane has an exceptional memory. She never forgets anything that happens to her and can recall what was on the bookshelves of a room years later, but she is beginning to hallucinate and she goes to see the psychiatrist to seek help. What is real and what isn't? I loved this book way more than I expected to. 

9-18-25 Plain Jane's Secret Admirer - Anne Blackburne - Jane Bontranger has been pining for Sam Mast for years, but he doesn't seem to know she exists. Little does she know that he was the one who gave her the unfortunate nickname of "Plain Jane" when they were young to hide his own feelings for her. He decides to start sending her secret admirer letters and gifts, even though his best friend tells him to confess he made a foolish mistake when they were children and admit his true feelings. Sam is too scared to do that, especially once they start spending more time together. This is a feel-good Amish romance. (Read for a book-review publication).

 

9-22-25 Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time - Jeff Speck - In an attempt to have contact with people outside of my family, I joined a four-week book club at my local library (as an added perk, they also served us lunch). This book is all about reducing car culture and emphasizing walkable spaces. It has definitely challenged some of my assumptions and made me think more about the spaces where I do enjoy walking and what makes them feel safe and inviting. 

 

9-23-25 My Friends - Fredrik Backman - This is the intertwined story of a group of young friends many years ago, who work together to help one of them embrace his artistic talent, and a young woman who is also an artist, who encounters two of these friends when they are about forty years old. All of these individuals have rough backgrounds and this story is hard on the heart for that reason, but it is ultimately a tale of hope. While several of the characters in this book experience same-sex attraction, this is a book about love, not sex, and there is nothing graphic. It was a powerful story that I appreciated reading. 

9-24-25 The Lies We Trade - Kristine Delano - This is a Wall Street / domestic thriller, which is a genre I hadn't previously encountered. Meredith Hansel has a high-powered Wall Street job, but all is not what it seems. With a marriage on the rocks and a rogue employee threatening her, all the plates she has been juggling start crashing down. It was a compelling story that definitely raised my fear factor, but I wish I understood more about finance because I didn't really understand what the issue was on that front (other than everyone seemed out to get Meredith and she didn't know who to trust). (Read for a book review publication).

 

9-25-25 Snow - Meera Trehan - This is a middle-grade fantasy novel about a princess who made a wish for snow, except then the snow covered the kingdom permanently and drove out all the residents, including those she loved most. She's been trying to atone for it ever since. But one day, a girl from the outside enters the kingdom, and the princess begins to think all hope is not lost. This is a story of family dynamics, science, forgiveness, and bravery.  (Read for Catholic Library World)

9-26-25 Incredible Catholic America: Smallest, Tallest, Oldest, Oddest - Marion Amberg - This is a fun and interesting book about people and places of distinction in the United States. Catholic trivia buffs and those interested in learning more about the Catholic faith in America will find this book worth reading. 

9-28-25 Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography - Anika Burgess - This is a fascinating look at early photography from 1839 to World War I. I had never realized how dangerous early photography was or the great lengths photographers had gone to in order to get a photo. This book explores how photographers used photos to explore the hidden world (microphotography), emphasize social causes, and produce special effects. (It also has a brief section on the development of porn.) My favorite story/photo in the book told of how pigeons had cameras on them to develop aerial photography. There is an absolutely adorable photo of a pigeon with a camera hanging from its neck! I learned a great deal from reading this.    

Since the spring of 2019, I have been making my way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm currently working on the readings for junior year). 

Still in progress - I'm in Volume 5! Someday I will finish this, although I am having less time to devote to this project due to other responsibilities - The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Edward Gibbon -  Gibbon was an English essayist, historian, and politician who wrote this epic six-volume work between 1776 and 1789. It's incredibly long, and I have little interest in the Roman Empire. It is going to take me a while to get through this one.

 

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