Art/ Heritage

SACRED ART IN 100 WORDS -The Betrayal of Christ –  Anthony Van Dyck, 1620, Minneapolis Institute of Arts

The painting illustrates the betrayal of Christ amidst the darkness of Gethsemane. Christ is depicted off-center, yet we are drawn to His stillness in the thick of a frenzied crowd. The red mantle is a sign of His bloody passion. Notice Judas as he approaches his Master and gingerly leans forward to deliver the historic kiss.The gnarled tree reminds us of Judas’s forfeited soul and imminent suicide. The mob around them is closing in with spears and lanterns. The guards are impatient to arrestChrist. Two raised hands hold a rope right above Christ’s head. The moment is tense. In the right foreground of the painting, we see Peter cutting off Malchus’s ear. As the official shrieks in pain – his gleaming eyes gaze at Christ. Christ sees, heals, and restores him. The stench of betrayal is replaced with the fragrance of love.

Archdiocesan Heritage Museum

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Art/ Heritage

SACRED ART IN 100 WORDS -The Grotto of the Agony,James Tissot, 1886-1894,Brooklyn Museum

The painting recounts Christ’s inner turmoil in the Garden of Gethsemane. Upon the uneven ground lies the fragile Christ. His body is twisted and his feet, unstable. Surrounding him are a host of brilliantly illuminated angels. They seem helpless as they solemnly unfold the brutal passion awaiting Christ. While the first angel holds the chalice of suffering, the others present globes with scenes of the Passion, including Veronica’s veil, the Crucifixion and the lamentation of the Blessed Virgin. Notice that Christ attempts to look upwards but appears too faint. This resounds the Scriptures –‘The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak’. As Christ firmly joins His hands in prayer, He once again whispers to His Father – ‘Not My will but Yours be done.’

– Archdiocesan Heritage Museum

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Art/ Heritage

SACRED ART IN 100 WORDS -The Last Supper-Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1486, San Marco, Florence

The painting depicts the Apostles seated around a long C-shaped mensa. White cloth andFlorentine cutlery are spread across the table. Christ sits at the center while the youngest apostleJohn leans towards Him. To Christ’s right sits Peter, the imminent First Pope. Notice that Judas sits on the other side, facing Christ.

The painting is highly symbolic. On the table, together with bread and wine, are placed cherries symbolizing the blood of Christ. The lunettes in the background depict a Tuscan Garden with fruit trees and cypresses (symbolizing redemption). At our right is perched a peacock. It represents resurrection and is supported by the immortal lark. However, the most engaging symbol is the cat. Seated behind Judas, it announces deceit and thus serves as a precursor of the events to follow.

– Archdiocesan Heritage Museum

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Art/ Heritage

SACRED ART IN 100 WORDS

The Man of Sorrows –Sandro Botticelli, Circa 1500, Private Collection

In Botticelli’s Man of Sorrows, we see Christ wearing a pleated crimson robe. His arms are bound and His hands cross over His chest. This gesture symbolizes humility and piety. Notice that his left hand guides us to the deep wound at his side. Christ wears a crown of thorns, thick as a snake – symbolizing both sin and suffering. Tiny balletic angels armed with the instruments of Christ’s Passion form a halo around His head. Together, they lament His bitter pain. Christ suffers silently. His gaze is vulnerable, yet steady. He is sorrowful, yet serene. The painting presents to us Christ, both human and divine.

– Archdiocesan Heritage Museum

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Faith

Three steps that could change your life – Monday, 5th Week in ordinary time – Mark 6:53-56

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/mass-appeal-not-some-fringe-teaching/

The disciples have seen the Lord calm the sea not once but twice and this time he walked on the water to them. They have now landed in Gennesaret. Gennesaret was a district on the Northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee that covered about four square miles. It was home to the cities of Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin, places where Jesus frequently ministered. Gennesaret translates loosely as the ‘garden of the prince.’

The text of today tells us that the disciples have now moored their boat and scripture tells us that ‘at once’ people recognized him and ‘rushed about the whole region’ bringing to him the sick on mats to where ever they heard he was. The mats on which the sick were brought were called krabattois. These were the mattresses commonly used by the poor and right away we understand the desperation that poverty brings to our lives and the love of a saviour who desires to heal us.

Where ever Jesus went, the crowds followed and brought to him those who were sick. They placed them in front of him; be it at a farm or in their villages or cities and even in the marketplace (6:36). They begged that they might touch him or touch the fringe of his cloak. This fringe is probably the fringe or tassels worn by Jewish men in compliance with Torah to remind them of God’s commandments (Numbers 15:38-39; Deuteronomy 22:12) thereby marking Jesus as an observant Jew, concerned with obedience to Torah law.
Scripture tells us that all who touched him were healed. The RSV Bible translates the Greek word ‘sozo’ as ‘healed’ in our text. Yet, sozo also translates as saved. As anyone who has survived a serious illness knows, to be healed is to be saved, not only from death but from suffering and incapacitation, which can be even worse than death.

But how does all this tie in with our lives today? We are all in need of healing. While some of us may be blessed with physical health, our soul or heart or head may not. We need to ‘recognize’ the Lord like the people in the text of today did. Recognizing him means that we acknowledge who Jesus is and what he alone can do for us. The Pharisees and the religious establishment knew where Jesus came from and who his family was but they did not ‘recognize’ him as the saviour.

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