Faith

 

GPS- God’s Positioning System- Monday, 6th Week of Easter- Acts 16: 11-15

Earlier in Acts 16 we were introduced to Timothy whom Paul made his companion and would later write a pastoral letter; the letter of St Paul to Timothy. After having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to evangelize to Bithynia and Asia (not to be confused with our understanding of Asia) they are led by the Spirit to Macedonia, modern day Greece.

The same God who calls Paul, Silas and Timothy to evangelize in Macedonia also forbids them from evangelizing in other regions. God is in charge of His Church and not man. This is why Church leaders both lay and ordained need to be in tune with God’s Spirit and not popular opinion. For God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not ours.

Verse 12b is an interesting line in the narrative. Even though God’s Spirit leads the trio to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of the district in Macedonia, their mission is placed on pause for we are told that they “remained in this city for some days”. It is not only the place of God’s choosing but also His choice of the time to act.

It is interesting that while in verse nine, Paul was prompted in a vision by a ‘man’ and a native of Macedonia to come to this place, the one who first embraces the Good News is a woman, one who is a foreigner in this land.  The text now gives us an interesting detail about Lydia for it tells us she was from the city of Thyatira which is in Asia, the very place that Paul was forbidden to go to.

We are told that Lydia “listened” to God’s word but it was “the Lord who opened her heart”. I have often held that it is foolishness on the part of some to believe that humankind can convert anyone; humans are mere instruments of God’s ultimate mission. While we preach the Good News and perhaps passionately, it is foolishness on the part of the preacher to draw attention to themselves, for while our eyes are set on the first pew God intends His message for the last. It is our words but His voice that brings conversion.

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Art/ Heritage

TEMPTATION V/S VIRTUE: ‘The Triptych of Temptation of St. Anthony’ by Hieronymus Bosch (1501) PART 1

 ‘Eccentric and secret genius that he was, Bosch not only moved the heart but scandalized it into full awareness.’ – Wendy Beckett

Welcome to the world of Hieronymus Bosch – a cryptic cipher in the world of art! Precious little is known about the man’s life. A Netherlandish artist, he is thought to have been born in the 1450’s. Yet what remains of this eccentric is his crazy imagination that has baffled critiques over the ages. His paintings are flooded with unique visual apparatus that bear profound metaphysical comprehension. Worlds collide in his canvas – be it the sacred and the profane or the natural and the divine. His genius leaves the shallow empty and the rooted yearning for more. Through today’s painting let’s penetrate into his brilliant mind and his wacky vision.

The subject is his favourite. It is the temptation of St. Anthony. Before we attribute the protagonist to the more famous namesake in our Archdiocese, let’s understand that the saint in consideration is St. Anthony Abbott (251 – 356 AD) and not St. Anthony of Padua (1195 – 1231)

Born in 251 CE, St. Anthony Abbott was widely venerated in the Middle Ages. One of the greatest figures of Christian asceticism, St. Anthony is held as the ‘father of all monks’. He lived most of his life as a hermit in the Egyptian deserts. During this period the devil inflicted upon him every affliction. This affliction in an abbreviated manner offered Bosch a wonderful opportunity to activate his imagination and invent a rich reserve of fantastical symbolism.

As it appears, the painting can be divided into 3 parts. The left panel depicts the flight and fall of St. Anthony. In the central panel the saint is subjected to a series of mental temptations while in the right panel the saint is portrayed in contemplation and prayer, oblivious to the persecutors that surround him. The secondary scenes are infused with demonic apparitions of diabolical significance. The narrative of the scenes is derived from ‘The Lives of the Fathers’ and ‘The Golden Legend’. (Medieval text that was translated in Dutch)

The left panel
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Travel

Rome sweet home (5)- Twelve things you must see in St Peter’s Basilica

  1. The Façade and Portico or Atrium

The façade of St Peter’s built between 1608 and 1612 is one of the most recognizable structures in the world. Yet there is something quite not right with it for it disproportionately wide for its height. The problem began with the old St Peter’s Basilica built by Constantine. He decided to erect the Basilica on top of what was rumoured to be the shrine dedicated to St Peter on Vatican Hill.

To do this he had level one side of the hill which besides having a cemetery was also swampy land. Constantine destroyed most of the cemetery which was in use and transferred approximately 1,500,000,000 cubic feet of hard blue clay from the upper part of hillside, to the lower part, in order to carve a level platform upon which the basilica could be built.

It was Carlo Maderno who changed Bramante’s plan of St Peter’s from a Greek cross (equal arms on all sides) to a Latin cross and it was he who began to work on the façade. However he was bound to the  Michelangelo’s designs of the wings and the attic that would run all around the building. As a consequence of this design and the change from a Greek to a Latin cross design the dome of St Peter’s got obscured and what stands out is the façade.

The 376 feet wide and 150 feet high façade by Maderno originally had two  bell towers, one on each end of the façade as part of its design. This was done to lighten this issue caused by the attic, but the idea had to be abandon because the land  on which both St Peters and façade began to settle.

Pope Urban VIII then commissioned the Baroque sculptor-architect-painter Gian Lorenzo Bernini to complete the bell towers. The south tower (left hand side) was completed. However a war known as the ‘War of Castro’ with the Italian Farnese family brought this construction to a grinding halt as the project was hit by a financial shortfall.

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Faith

The winds of change- Friday, 5th Week of Easter- Acts 15:22-31

Yesterday, we heard of the deliberations that took place in the first council of Jerusalem. There was much debate about the issue of the Gentiles. There were some converts to Christianity, who were formerly Pharisees, who believed that the Gentile Christians whom Paul had converted to the faith in Antioch, must be subject to the Law of Moses which demanded circumcision.

The council could be divided into four parts; a debate which obviously included the views of both sides, an opinion expressed by the head of the Church to give the debate some direction, sharing of testimonies related to the debate and finally, a decision. This was the high council of the newly formed Christian Church in full action, yet it was not governed by a legalistic framework but one of openness to the Spirit and to one another.

It was Peter who suggested that the demands of the Christians, who came from a Pharisaic background be disregarded, as he felt that it placed on the new Gentile converts, “a yoke that neither their (Jewish) ancestors not they could bear” and yet, this was demanded from the Gentile Christians of Antioch. Peter thus signalled the winds of change in this ‘new sect of Judaism’ which over time was called Christianity. This new path envisioned by Peter was backed by the testimonies of Barnabas and Paul to the wonders that God had worked among the Gentiles of Antioch and the neighbouring areas.

It was James who finally decided the matter for the Church (not Peter) when he suggested that the ritualistic demands of the Mosaic Law be done away with for the Gentiles. This however does not mean that the moral and natural law of God as read in the Law of Moses and experienced in our lives, does not stand. The Ten Commandments continue to be the foundation of Christian moral law. Remember that in Matthew 5-7, Jesus calls us to a higher standard of living the Law; the way God wanted it to be lived.

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Travel

Rome sweet home (4)- How do I get to see the Pope?

Even though I had scheduled this article way down on the list, I can sense from the number of mails that this, for obvious reasons, is number one on the list of most Catholics visiting the Vatican. So let’s just address the issue.

Besides certain public celebrations of the Eucharist for which you need a pass, the Holy Father also makes two public appearances each week if he is in the Vatican. It is advisable to check the Vatican website and check the Holy Father’s public schedules. Simply use the link http://www.vatican.va/various/prefettura/en/udienze_en.html

Once you are certain that the Holy Father is in the Vatican you have a choice of seeing him on a Sunday or Wednesday. Both these audiences are free so don’t get conned by anyone trying to sell you a ticket and trust me Rome is full of them, some masquerading as priests and nuns.

The most popular audience is the one held every Wednesday. In summer this is held in the Piazza (St Peters square) and in winter in the Paul VI Audience Hall also known as the Hall of the Pontifical Audiences which seats 6,300 people. Both experiences have a charm of their own.

In order to attend the Papal audience on Wednesday you need to write in or fax the Vatican requesting for tickets. As soon as you plan your trip to Rome (and I hope that’s at least two months in advance) you should contact the prefecture of the Pontifical household. Write to:  Prefecture of the Papal Household, 00120 Vatican City State – Fax: +39 06 6988 5863. Before you write in download the form and indicate the date of the general audience or liturgical celebration (for mass), number of tickets required, name / group, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers.

Provided here is the link with the details and the form you need to download, simply fill and send. If you have special circumstances you should mention that too, for it might get you a yellow ticket permitting you to be seated in the podium area besides the Holy Father. If you are recently married in the last six months, you might even get to meet the Pope himself. You could write to the same address attaching your marriage certificate and letter from the parish priest. If you do get a response then you have to present yourself in your gown and suit. I have just applied for a couple and am now hoping we get a positive response. http://www.vatican.va/various/prefettura/en/biglietti_en.html

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