A Grace of Sense - theological aesthetics

“A grace of sense” is a quote from T. S. Eliot’s Burnt Norton (from Four Quartets). What makes it of interest for me is its ambiguousness. One could either read it as “unmerited blessing of meaning” or “elegance of perception” , why not “beauty of reason” or eventually “gratification of senses”. In all these aspects, this phrase illuminates the scope of theological aesthetics. The key values in aesthetic theology are beauty, gratuitousness, expertise, sensory perception, a feeling of significance and intrinsic enjoyment.  “A grace of sense” refers also to the way an aesthetic experience often occurs when one least expects it to happen. All artistic occasions – concerts, exhibitions etc – are intended to arouse “a grace of sense”, but one cannot guarantee that it takes place. When an aesthetic experience happens, one cannot but gratefully accept it. In this regard the aesthetic experience resembles greatly the religious experience of grace. That the world makes sense ...

"Contemplation is the free, more penetrating gaze of a mind, suspended with wonder concerning manifestations of wisdom" ( contemplatio est libera mentis perspicacia in sapientiae spectacula cum admiratione suspensa ) - Richard of St. Victor, Benjamin major, chapter 4.  At the crossroads of art and religion there is contemplation. Basically the verb contemplor means "to view attentively, to survey, to consider." Contemplation is the Latin equivalent of the Greek theoria , that, according to Plato, means the vision of the essential beauty. The essence of beauty surpasses all beautiful objects and actions, and is the source of them all. ( Banquet 211b-e ). Contemplation is not scrutinizing rationality, but rather immediate understanding.  In terms of art and aesthetics, contemplation may be described as a disinterested enjoyment of an artwork. That means that one does not appreciate a work of art because of its price or fame, but simply because it overwhelms oneself an...