SISTER WENDY BECKETT, who died in 2018, became both a phenomenon and a national treasure for her expositions of paintings on TV and in print. This little book of only 60 pages has her characteristic qualities of fresh prose and an eye for the telling detail. It contains 30 images divided into four sections: “This is my body”, “Behold the man”, “Father forgive them”, and “He is risen”.
Each image has three or four paragraphs of reflection. One good feature is that of the 30 images fewer than ten will be known by most people. They are drawn from both East and West, and include scenes from both paintings and missals. For anyone who wants a quick and visually arresting aid to prayer in Holy Week and Easter, this will be a friendly help. My only disappointment is that, while acknowledgement is given for the images, we are, for all but a few of the works, not told where they are hung or can be found.
The Rt Revd Lord Harries of Pentregarth is a former Bishop of Oxford.
The Art of Holy Week and Easter: Meditations on the Passion and resurrection of Jesus
Sister Wendy Beckett
SPCK £9.99
(978-0-281-0825-5)
Church Times Bookshop £7.99
alamyThe Taking of Christ, c.1602, by Caravaggio. “Right at the bottom, strongly lit, are the linked hands of Jesus, resolute in non-resistance, tense but peaceful, hands braced to receive what the Father allows to happen,” Sister Wendy writes