06/01/2026
Deacon Andy's Monday Minute:
DaVinci’s Advice
It is well-documented that Leonardo daVinci excelled as a painter, sculptor, poet, architect, engineer, city planner, scientist, inventor, and philosopher. Talk about a resume!!
He once said… “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose your power of judgment... Go some distance away and take a look at what you've been so busy about because then the work will appear smaller, and more of it can be taken in, surrounded by its context, and any lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen."
DaVinci was talking about taking his paintings out of the studio once in a while, in order to see them in a different light, and in their true context. So, you can imagine him putting his most famous painting under his arm and carrying it out into the countryside, and contemplating how she looked in her natural setting. The Mona Lisa is a relatively small, intimate portrait… only 21 x 30 inches. But DaVinci set her in a vast landscape, so it made sense to him to take her out to where he could see her from a distance and in a much larger setting… a setting larger than himself.
To see harmony and proportion in our spiritual lives, occasionally we need to go some distance away, and take a look at ourselves in the context of our faith. Afterall, God is not just in the details, he’s in the Big Picture too.
Monday Minutes are going to go away for a little while, but we’ll be back in August, rested, relaxed, regrouped, and ready to spread more good news. In the meantime, this Monday Minute is from Deacon Andy Neu, currently listening to Gonna Be Alright by Matt Maher. Listen in at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66jeCK6lL0A