"The Angelus" by Millet depicts an agricultural couple in a French field stopping to pray when the bells sound. The color and composition fuse the two figures with the earth and sunlight, giving their prayer a sense of "cosmic communion, illuminating humble folk as sunset gilds the broad horizon."

A Venetian altarpiece by Bellini displays "visual music" through the artist's use of light. The effect shows Mary as "daughter of light, mother of light and bride of light."

Examples of art in architecture include cathedrals, whose vast spaces demonstrate the universality of inclusion and welcome that God offers us. Msgr. Verdon comments that the securely built, imposing structures reflect the way the Christian community is to be bonded by love to truly be called a church, a house of God with boundless spaces for prayer.

The book highlights the influence of spiritual reading, reflected in multiple works, one of which depicts the Annunciation as a "surprise caused by a presence that she (Mary) recognized first in the text ... then in her own heart."

Several works show St. Jerome becoming a master of prayer through reading Scripture. One by Antonello da Messina, set in Jerome's study, uses deep perspective, enabling the viewer to see things close at hand and those far away simultaneously in the manner of deep reflection.

A number of works reflect contemplative and mystical prayer, including Bernini's "St. Teresa in Ecstasy." Moretto da Brescia's "Christ in the Desert" presents Jesus gazing dreamily as he contemplates the natural world, sensing in it the action of the same Spirit that is within himself.

Msgr. Verdon states that contemplation of "the face of God" is both our goal and our beginning as illustrated by Michelangelo's Adam in the Sistine Chapel, who looks directly into the eyes of God as he is created.

Art is a gift that springs from life, and thus, according to the author, is a form of giving one's life for others. A painting of St. Charles Borromeo by Daniele Crespi demonstrates how the saint learned from the contemplation of images to allow himself to be transformed into a "living icon of Christ."

Msgr. Verdon provides extensive scriptural quotations and theological explanations to ground the subjects of the works and includes more than 100 full-color illustrations. The pieces chosen, inspired by prayer, inspire prayer in others.

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Sister Mona, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has taught English for many years in Los Angeles.