Our day began with a trip to Santa Croce (the church of the Holy Cross) and then to the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Church historians of the 4th and 5th centuries record that while visiting Jerusalem, Helena, the mother of Constantine, who died in 326, found on Calvary the wood of the cross on which Christ was crucified.  It was discovered while work was in progress on constructing the two basilicas at Calvary.  Helena left part of the cross in Jerusalem, sent part of it to Constantinople, and took the rest to Rome, with other relics of the Passion, as well as some earth from Calvary.  These relics were buried for over 1000 years in the wall of the chapel dedicated to St. Helena and later transferred to the chapel where they are now venerated.  In 1997, they were again transferred to the marble tabernacle which is now on the altar of the side chapel.


It was then a short bus ride to the Church of St. John Lateran.  This church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and where the Pope presides when he is functioning as the bishop of his Diocese. The full name of the church is: The Basilica of Jesus the Savior, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. The facade is a 16th Century addition to a front that had been only brick for centuries. This church, like many other early churches has been rebuilt a few times. This one is important because it is the very first building to be built specifically for the worship by the Christians. Built by the emperor Constantine in the 4th Century, the church that we see today stands on the exact spot and with the exact dimensions of Constantine's first basilica.
Our first part of the visit was to the Baptistery which is a detached building, as are a great many baptisteries in Europe. This Baptistery was built on the sight of a praetorium of the Roman army. You may recognize that word from the reading of the passion of Jesus in the Gospels on Palm Sunday. The praetorium was essentially the barracks of the soldiers. Part of the barracks usually included a bath house so the soldiers would not be with the general public in the many baths around the city. The Baptistry of the cathedral is built directly over the soldier's bathouse - most likely because it had a readily available source of water.

A Quick Summary thus far

It is hard to believe, but we have been here three weeks already ....

Week 1 -

Orientation & Introductions

St. Peter's Basilica: Vespers for the World Day for Consecrated Life (Thursday)

Apostolic Blessing (Thursday)

Mass at the tomb of St. Peter (Friday)

Tour of some of the major landmarks of Rome (Saturday)

Sunday Mass with Seminarians at North American College (Sunday)

Week 2 -

The Priests and the Liturgy: An Update by Rev James Moroney

Preaching the Lectionary by Rev. Craig Morrison, O.Carm

Christian Art & Architecture: Elizabeth Lev

Guided Tour of the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel

Week 3 -

Fr John Fuellenbach, SVD - Following the Lord: Discipleship

Holy Hour

Fr John Fuellenbach, SVD - Jesus's Central Message: Kingdom of God

General Audience with Pope Benedict XVI

Fr. Craig Morrison, O. Carm. - The Art of of Reading the Bible

The New Cardinals

Consistory

I am realizing how difficult it is to blog while in Rome.  Yes, the internet connection is slow, and it is certainly not because of nothing to say!  Rather, it is like trying to tell a child to come in from the playground to do homework.  There is so much to see ... so much to experience and so much to take it that it becomes difficult to leave it and sit at a computer an update a blog.

Yesterday, was the consistory ... the creation of the new cardinals of the church.  We were given tickets to admit us to the Vatican, but warned that in true Roman style over 25,000 tickets were issued for the less than 7000 seats inside St. Peter's.  Several of us walked down to St. Peter's Square, but opted to stay outside in the sun and watch the proceedings on the jumbotrons set up.  (We found  out later that we really did have the best seats in the house; men from the house got into St. Peter's and saw nothing!)

The ceremony is brief: after the arrival of the Holy Father and an opening prayer and scripture, each of the new cardinals approach him and receive the new baretta, ring and scroll.  There local Roman church is also announced following the tradition that now the cardinals are priests of the Diocese of Rome and therefore need a 'home' church.

The unique thing is that the Square really was an extension of the church ... quiet, prayerful and applause when a particular cardinal was introduced.

Following the ceremony, the North American College (our home here) held a reception for Cardinal Dolan and Cardinal O'Brien (each former rectors of the NAC.)  Thousands of people attended.  We had a chance to see each of the newly created cardinals, but the lines to greet them went on forever.

Then, according to custom, the papal palace is open to the public and folks are welcome to greet them.  To be honest, most of us went to see the rooms of the palace that are not usually open to the public.  Again, hundreds of folks filled the hallways and rooms.  All in all, a unique and special experience.

A quiet dinner ended the day.

Barcelona

Having had enough of the snow and cold, I took advantage of the inexpensive airfares and hotels to visit Barcelona, along with some of the others here at the PNAC.

It is a wonderful city, easy to get around, clean, neat and very friendly.  Our hotel was in the heart of things, and after a half day bus tour, we discovered many places at which we wanted to spend more time...too many places and too much time.

One major attraction was the Sagarda Familia. La Sagrada Família was begun on 19 March 1882 from a project by the diocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar (1828-1901). At the end of 1883 Antoni Gaudí was commissioned to carry on the works, a task which he did not abandon until his death in 1926. Since then different architects have continued the work after his original idea.

The building is in the centre of Barcelona, and over the years it has become one of the most universal signs of identity of the city and the country. It is visited by millions of people every year and many more study its architectural and religious content.

I am not sure how to begin to describe the church, its artwork or its symbolism. I hope the pictures help.  If you visit the website, you can see some profession pictures of this artistic wonder.



 



2000+ Years in a few hours

On Friday, February 10, our schedule included a tour of the Vatican Museums. We met our guide, Liz Lev at the main entrance of the Vatican Museums (Plural, because there about a dozen museums at the Vatican.) I have visited these museums on several occasions but I have never experienced them like I did today.

Our tour guide with the Dome of St. Peter's in the back.

Liz introduced our tour by saying that not only is this one of the premier collections of human genius in the world, but that the various museums and their exhibits are arranged so that the message of the gospel becomes evident. After going through the security, obtaining group tickets and the closed circuit headsets so that Liz could address our group privately, we gathered on a terrace with one of the most striking views of the dome of St. Peter's.

The dome is visible rising out of the gardens. It is one of the few places where the entire dome is visible, including the drum, that cylindrical portion below the actual curved dome which is hidden from view in St. Peter's square because of the extension forward of the nave by 200%. For Michelangelo who always thought in terms of the human form, even in architecture, saw his dome as the head rising above the shoulders of the basilica. In the basilica are the statues of the saints, depictions of the human elements of the church, and burial vaults of all those awaiting the resurrection. In the dome are the angels, the blue sky, and the light radiating down to enlighten the world in its quest to reach that eternal life promised by the God incarnate.

 The series of museums are arranged for one purpose: to get us into the summit of all Christian Art; the Sistine Chapel. And so we begin with pagan pre-Christian art. People have asked why would the church preserve art from a culture that was trying to eradicate the faith. As the curator of the Ancient Christian Museum told us as he happened to walk by, (Liz snagged him. It was a real treat.) The church wants us to see what it was that we triumphed over. And so above, in the Pre-Christian Museum, these are mosaics of the floor taken from the baths of Caracala. These ruins show a huge complex of baths with both hot and cold running water and pools where wealthy Romans wold go every day. It was for bathing, exercise, gymnastics, everything was designed to glorify the human body alone as the summit of creation. Human perfection was achievable by the perfection of the body. So these figures are super muscular, super human. The goal was to achieve the perfection of the gods. Humans who looked like the ideal of the gods was the achievements of life.

Liz began by explaining to us what this art would have meant to the ancient people through modern times. This art and these images would have had an impact on them not unlike the impact of television, cinema, and now the internet has in our culture. Art was information, education, political propaganda, news, and it defined social structures and order. It was not exclusive, because most of it was public. It was on display in public buildings and open spaces, on facades of buildings. There were private collections, but for the most part, art was accessible to the average person who would have been moved, excited, terrified, warned, and would have learned religion, culture, and stories of one's world. It is difficult for us to comprehend how much impact a single piece of art would have because we are inundated with images and media every day. We take it for granted. But a new work of art could take decades and people would wait expectantly for an unveiling, and if it was good art, it would move them and change them. A single work of art could change the course of history. This was the nature of Christian art particularly. For greats like Michelangelo, it was all about telling a story of faith.

After visiting the pre-Christian Museum, we get a chance to visit the early Christian Museum. The earliest Christian art is mostly in the catacombs, wall frescoes, burial plaques, and especially the sarcophagi. These relics tell us that there were very wealthy early Christians buried alongside the poor who did not have the elaborate tombs. The first Christian art was in the form of symbols - fish, ship, lamp, the acronym in Greek spelling the Name of Christ. These symbols told stories. But later the carvings in the catacombs and the sarcophagi tell the complete story of salvation. This is the pat of the tour that was totally new for me. It was curious that there was no evidence of a cross on any of the examples of early Christian art. The early Christians were horrified by this instrument of torture and death. Again it was not until the persecutions ended and Christianity decriminalized that the cross began to take on a new meaning for the church. Then, Christian art would begin to evolve. We need to remember that until 321AD when it was still a capital offense to be a Christian, most Christian art was funerary. After the legalization of Christianity, the art begins to change dramatically to include images of salvation which were huge by comparison. Now Christian art could be displayed publicly and the scale begins to grow dramatically.

Art work on tomb

You have to read the two levels simultaneously. It is the entire story of salvation. In the upper left hand is the depiction of the Trinity. (and remember, this is 220 years before the council of the church which defined the Trinity in our creed.) The three figures to the upper left are the Spirit, Father, and Son. The Son's hands are on two children, representing creation. Next three figures are Adam and Eve, with God between them instructing them not to take from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent and the tree are visible next to Eve. On the lower level is Joseph, barely visible behind seated Mary, holding the infant Jesus. Coming to them are the wise men. The first one is pointing not to 1 star, but 3 stars, not visible in this photo. Each star is directly below one of the persons of the Trinity. These are the wise and learned people who are seeking the truth in this child and the Trinity. The naked figure in the lower center is Daniel coming out of the lion's den. This is a powerful figure for these early Christians, many of whom had seen their fellow Christians thrown to the lions themselves. Survival from the lions was a powerful force and a sign of hope in the faith life of these early Christians. Next to the scene of Daniel, are scenes of stories in Jesus' life: Jesus welcomes the child, on the upper level, the miracle at Cana, and below, the denial of Peter, (see the rooster on the ground), and Jesus' arrest. Remember many early Christians were being arrested as Jesus was. This was seen as a sharing in the suffering of Jesus that would win them the crown in heaven. The large medalion in the center is probably the images of the couple who were buried in this tomb.

The finely crafted carving is the beginning of Christian art as it would evolve.  We need to remember that until 321 AD when it was still a capital offense to be a Christian, most Christian art was funerary.  After the legalization of Christianity, the art begins to change dramatically to include images of salvation which were huge by comparison.  Now Christian art could be displayed publicly and the scale begins to grow dramatically.

One of the favorite stories of the early Christians in Jonah. It was understood as a prefiguration of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It was stories like this one that gave the early christians hope in the resurrection, not the cross as we know it today. The following sarcophagus is a magnificent telling of the Jonah story for this person buried in the hope of rising again. I decided to photograph it in three sections. It will be clearer to view and there are actually three scenes depicted here.

Jonah is thrown overboard because he tells the crew he is running away from his God. They blame him for the storm that threatens to destroy them all. The head of the fish is ready to swallow him.

 The figure of the fish is now turned around and is spewing out Jonah onto the land. You can see only the upper half of Jonah's body coming out of the mouth of the fish, his lower body is still in the fish's mouth.

Jonah is lying under the fig tree whitch eventually withers and forces him to do as God asks of him. In the sand, you can see a crab, and a snail on the beach. Also there are two scenes; one of a man and boy fishing, and a shepherd with his flock to serve as a precursor to Jesus' ministry and his call to his disciples as shepehrds and fishers of men.

 The tour continues for another 2 hours before we finally got to the Sistine Chapel. There are no pictures because photographing in the Sistine Chapel is forbidden. Flash and frescoes do not mix.

What you ought to do, as I try to recall some of her descriptions of the ceiling and the last judgment, is to Google an image of the Sistine Chapel to try to understand it.

Michelangelo was not trained as a painter, he was a sculptor. He thought in three dimensions. He thought always the human body. He was fascinated by what he considered to be the epitome of God's creation. And unlike what many think that his obsession with the human figure was some kind of "Freudian thing", as Liz called it, Michelangelo believed that portraying the human body was to glorify God. His figures in both the ceiling and in the Last Judgment are sculptural in vision and in form. The ceiling tells a story. This is a first in the history of art. Until now, ceilings were to finish a room, blue sky, stars, and an occasional medallion in the center, or corners, surrounded by architectural shapes as frames. No one had ever attempted to tell a story on the ceiling. The original commission was to paint portraits of the 12 apostles. Michelangelo came back with another proposal - to tell the story of Creation in Genesis. He was able to convince the pope that he could do it. Oh by the way, Michelangelo did not paint the ceiling lying on his back; he stood through the whole thing. He wrote a sonnet describing his technique, and even supplied a drawing of himself doing the work while standing.

The days of creation begin with God being an almost opaque figure, as he creates the light, the sun, stars, and separates the sea from the land. Now as he creates the man, God is seen in full detail. In the very center of the room is the fall from grace. The scenes continue through the prophets who would foretell the coming mystery of the incarnation. These all come down the center axis of the room. Then is the story of Noah, Abraham and Isaac. The prophet Zechariah, who tells of the God who will enter our life once and for all, sends the eye back towards the front of the room with the prophets and the gentile sibyls until we come to the last of the prophets portrayed - our friend Jonah again.

This leads our eyes back to the Last Judgment. In this masterpiece, there is virtually no landscape, no architecture, no animals, only 421 human bodies engaged in the struggle towards salvation, and some to eternal damnation.

I have seen the before and after of the 10 year restoration of this chapel. The stories that have come from the new view of this work are remarkable. Liz mentioned one today. In the center of the image, there are two figures being pulled up into heaven as they are grasping on to a rosary. It was always thought before the restoration that these figures are a male and female. As it turns out, they are men, one white, and the other black. We are talking mid 16th century when slavery was just getting into high gear in the Americas. Another detail, is St. Bartholomew who was martyred by being skinned alive, is holding his skin. But Michelangelo put a caricature of his own face on the skin. Also, one of the Vatican Cardinals hated this work and demanded that it be covered over and repainted. Michelangelo painted his face on the person at the lowest point in hell at the lower right hand corner. He added donkey ears for special effect. The pope must have really disliked this cardinal because he declared that it should stay.

I don't have the space, the time, or frankly the memory to tell you more of these stories. I'm sure I'll think of them as I go on. I just think this one is significant enough to give you a good idea of not just the Michelangelo’s genius, but of his spiritual and social consciousness, his humility and his sense of humor.

Mea Culpa

I know I have not been keeping up with the blog; but I will get at least one new entry tonight from our trip to the Vatican Museums.

A Very Unusual Snow Day in Rome



Vatican's answer to Rockefeller Center



Out the window of my room



From the Window of the TV Room