The Canvas of Society

Table of Hope – Joey Velasco

I’ve been absent from my blog for the past couple of weeks because I’ve been recovering from dengue fever. I had a mild case, thankfully, but it has left me feeling tired and low on energy. I am a bit behind in my blogging. I’ve got a couple of posts in development on the subject of the vows (one on poverty and one on celibacy), something we have been discussing a lot during our in-house formation, but they’re not ready yet.

So instead I would like to share a video that we watched in our inter-congregational novices program earlier this week. We were learning about the “Church of the Poor” and the need for immersion and solidarity with the poor in society. We watched the video, below, entitled Canvas of Society, produced by a Filipino artist, Joey Velasco. Joey Velasco created a painting of the Last Supper called “Table of Hope” featuring street children eating alongside Jesus. This video documentary is about his inspiration for the painting and explores the lives of street children in the Philippines. It is a beautiful but heart-breaking glimpse into the world of street children and a call to become mindful of those who can become invisible.