“Let the Children of Divorce Come To Me” Original Sacred Art
To our knowledge and research, the above painting entitled "Let the Children of Divorce Come to Me" painted by the artist Michael Corsini, commissioned by and in consultation with us, Life-Giving Wounds ministry, is the first-ever Christian sacred art meant specifically for the healing of children from divorced, separated, or broken families.
Want your own copy of it and support a great ministry at the same time? Prayer cards and art prints can be bought in our store.
Do you want more information about the symbolism of the image? Read on below.
Each detail of the painting below has been briefly described to assist you in your contemplation of the work and its details for your own personal healing. Allow the Lord to speak to your heart as you read on.
“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)
Our new painting is a dialogue with modern art and in particular Picasso's masterpiece The Tragedy, which profoundly and deeply captures brokenness in family life. (See side-by-side comparison below.) One interpretation of Picasso's painting could be that the family is suffering the hardship of alienation, separation, or divorce within family life. However, Picasso never revealed what the particular tragedy is. Regardless, note how vividly Picasso captures the pain and loneliness of the child caught between his parents. Neither parent is looking at him and he wraps himself tightly in a heavy garment as if to comfort himself in this place of desolation. He is unseen and forgotten. There is much grief and the painting calls out to the darkness for a sign of hope.
In our new painting “Let the Children of Divorce Come to Me,” the parents are now not even facing in each other's direction, as in Picasso's painting, depicting a certain finality of their broken relationship through divorce. Yet the new painting does not just depict the pain, which still remains, but also hope for the children and the family.
In our new painting, it depicts Christ on the same beach as Picasso's Tragedy, yet Christ walks on the ocean water, stepping towards the child, who also takes a step toward him. Christ lovingly receives the child and gently lifts the child's head to meet his eyes. Without saying a word, Christ's gaze says to the child all that is needed for him to hear in his heart as a warm, gentle light is cast from Christ's wounded hand into the hand of the child, and then to his parents and beyond. The child's open hand is a gesture full of rich symbolism; one meaning can be that of openness, forgiveness, and love towards his parents. Likewise, the parents' expressions are full of various, diverse meanings; one of which can be that they are interested in what is happening with the child and are subtly drawn, almost mysteriously, into this healing and compassion between the child and Christ.
This art was born from many conversations over the years we have had with adult children of divorce processing and grieving their pain and experiencing their joy of healing together side-by-side in our ministry. We have learned through this ministry that we need tangible reminders of God's invisible love for us and we hope this art is one of those tangible means for all of us children of divorce. We pray this art makes children of divorce feel less invisible and more seen, and ultimately inspired, comforted, and healed in many ways we can't even anticipate through this artwork.
Prayer cards in English and Spanish of this beautiful art, along with an original prayer we composed for healing, is available now in our store. Art prints are also available.
Please considering helping our non-profit Life-Giving Wounds make this painted, sacred encounter a real-life encounter in the lives of children of divorce by purchasing and sharing widely this artwork and prayer cards.