Art/ Heritage

 

 

With every passing year, the challenges at the Parel Seminary increased. Besides, Parel too had ceased to be Parel. The once quiet grounds were now a twenty-four-hour rendezvous of all kinds of folks. The area was congested and noisy. Above all, due to the soot and dirt of mills, the situation was dangerously unhealthy. The future seemed bleak.

However even amidst the edging uncertainty, a ray of hope flickered. The appointment of the first Indian Archbishop in 1950 and subsequently the consecration of the first Indian Cardinal in 1952 yielded fortunes for the Bombay Seminary. Valerian Cardinal Gracias was utterly predisposed to shepherd his Seminary into the Promised Land.

A little over a month after receiving his red hat from Pope Pius XII, the Cardinal called for a special meeting of the Diocesan Council on February 26, 1953. The purpose was to discuss and, if possible, to resolve once and for all, the future of the Bombay Seminary.

The meeting was eventful indeed. It included onboard the right persons namely the Treasurer of the Archdiocese, the Jesuit Superior, the Rector of the Seminary, and some leading members of the Staff. The advantages and disadvantages of Parel were meticulously analyzed and it was finally decided that the Seminary needed to move to the suburbs. Andheri was no longer an option and for the benefit of all, this procedure had to take its due time.

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Faith

There must have been a sense of frustration that Jesus experienced. I can almost see myself wanting to give a smack right across the head of some of those apostles. Close on the heels of Jesus’ second passion prediction of his powerlessness before human beings (9:44) and Jesus’ instructions about taking up ones cross and following him (9:23-27) comes this narrative about the disciple’s quest for power. They want to know who will be the greatest amongst them; they jockey for key positions!

How can one be so preoccupied with selfishness in one’s lust for power? It’s like a life that’s slipping out of a human body, the body is still warm as life ebbs away and the relatives are hunting for the will. No wonder they say, where there is a will there are relatives! The irony is that these are the ‘relatives of Jesus’, these were his brothers. He has twice told them that he will be handed over to be killed and all they do is argue and jostle for posts and positions.

We may judge the twelve as much as we want but the truth is that we are but a shadow that pops out of the apostles; for their ambitions are ours.  Over and over again Jesus tries to get his disciples to see that they are called to serve, not to dominate. In the kingdom of God everyone is equal: there are no positions of power, no hierarchy.

Ironically, the titles that define our roles of service have now become titles of honour and power. The Pope is the servant of the servants of the people of God. The word Pontiff really indicates his task as ‘builder of bridges’. The same applies to a Cardinal which really indicates a role as ‘chief or essential.’ In figurative use, it pertains to a ‘hinge’, that on which something turns or depends.

Yet people grasp at greatness. So powerful is the desire to be great, or to own something that provides greatness that people are willing to compromise core values. We grasp at greatness. We desire “likes” on our Facebook page.

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Art/ Heritage

 ‘Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. ’

For centuries, Catholics all over the world have clung on to the Blessed Mother through word and song, imploring her protection and desiring to be covered by her precious mantle of love and mercy. In the quattrocento, this tender expression of faith was charged by the colors of art and the conviction of the artists.

One such famous masterpiece is the ‘Polyptych of the Misericordia’ by Piero Della Francesca. He painted it for his hometown of Sansepolcro, a region of Tuscany, Italy. Commissioned in 1445 by the Compagnia Della Misericordia, today the painting is conserved in the Museo Civico di Sansepolcro. The gigantic size of the canvas indicates that the Polyptych was intended to be used as an altarpiece.

Piero was born in c 1415 to Benedetto de’ Franceschi, a tradesman. His father died before his birth and hence Piero was called ‘Della Francesca’ after his mother. Although a painter of the Early Renaissance, Piero was contemporarily known as a mathematician and geometer. Nevertheless, today Piero is primarily appreciated for his art characterized by monumentality, mathematical rigor, and naturalism.

As the name suggests, the Polyptych of the Misericordia is executed on multiple panels merged on hinging folds. The ‘Madonna Della Misericordia’ or the ‘Madonna of Mercy’ occupies the central part of the Polyptych and was the last image to be painted. The iconography of the Blessed Virgin sheltering the faithful under her mantle was extremely popular in medieval Italy. Its origins can be traced to the Byzantine tradition.

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Embracing Suffering – Luke 9: 43-45 – Saturday, 25th week in ordinary time

It’s tough to keep your cool when you have to get you message across twice. Today’s passage has Jesus communicating the truth of his passion and death to his disciples who seem to find this hard to swallow. Jesus has already predicted his passion in Luke 9:21 -22 and that itself came as a shock to the twelve. It seemed like this message needed to sink in before Jesus leaves Galilee and makes his way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51)

Jesus has just descended from the mount of Transfiguration only to drive out a demon from a young boy. The opening lines of our Gospel text tells us that “all were amazed at all he was doing.” Perhaps it is this constant ‘high’ that keeps the apostles from accepting the ultimate reality; Jesus came to die for all.

Some scholars exonerate the disciple’s inability to understand and accept such suffering. They call this text of Luke the “suffering secret”. In the Gospel of Luke, it is only after the resurrection and the gift of insight that Jesus gives them (24:13-35 – road to Emmaus) that the disciples truly understand the meaning of the cross. It is the two men in white who remind the women at the tomb 24:5 of the words of Jesus; “ Remember how he told you, while still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners  and be crucified and on the third day rise again.”

The inability of the disciples to accept the hard truth is a reflection of who we are too. The prosperity Gospel is appealing, not so the suffering of Christ on the cross. Yet looking at the signs of the time the cross beckons us to get out of our comfort zone and open our eyes to the reality of suffering.  It is for this reason that a Church must have the crucifix displayed prominently and not the resurrected Christ as some opt to.

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enTRUSTed  – Luke 9:1-6 – Wednesday 25th week in ordinary time.

This text based on the Gospel of Mark 6:7-31 must be read in conjunction with the entire section of Luke Chapter 7:1- 8:56 of which this text is the culmination. In chapter 7 and 8 Jesus shared the nature of the kingdom mission with the disciples; now he hands on the mandate to execute that mission to the twelve. However, Jesus wed great ‘power and authority’ to compassionate love and service.

There is an unwritten ‘promotion’ in these six verses. The disciples have moved from being faithful followers to entrusted collaborators. At the ascension, Jesus will once again reiterate this mandate; “as the father has sent me so I am sending you.” Jesus has entrusted his disciples to carry on the very task that he set out to do. This collaborative ministry should not be lost on us for the entrusting of mission is a handover of divine trust. Jesus places his trust in us to do what he began. Ministry is thus a privilege and not a duty in the Church.

But this mandate came with riders; they had to travel light and travel fast for they had to go ‘everywhere’ (verse 6). Ministry can’t be shackled with niggling concerns or material attachments. This was one journey which demanded zero baggage allowance. Baggage, physical and emotional can slow you down and simply complicates life; the collaborator had to be unencumbered by baggage.

Perhaps the words of Jesus leave the Church red faced today. These are hard words and the verse seem less embarrassing when glossed over for over the centuries we have become a church with much wealth. Living in total providence seems easier to preach when the reserves in one’s bank are full. Yet when resources are scarce, creativity abounds and that brings spontaneity to ministry. Perhaps we as an institutional Church need to take a hard look at what we have become. The death of spontaneity and creativity could be an indicator of a Church that has found comfort in its structures and financial resources. Pope Francis has often pleaded for a poor Church for the poor.

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