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Devotions from the Prayer Chain -
Thoughts from Rome

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Roman Meditation #25 - The Pantheon

“Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we did not make him.
We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
Enter with the password, “thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him, worship him”
Psalm 100: 3,4
The Message

The Pantheon served as a landmark to us our entire trip. It is a building that is centrally located, so we could find sites based on their proximity to it. It was also nearly right around a corner or two from our apartment at Campo di Fiore. For those of you who, like me prior to going to Rome, do not know what this building is, allow me to educate you.

The Pantheon is an old building that is not a ruin. It was built by Agrippa in 27 BC . It was dedicated to all (pan) the gods(theon). It was reconstructed by the emperor Hadrian between 118-125 AD to its present form. Hadrian is said to have been an amateur architect and a help in designing the reconstruction. It supports the world’s largest concrete dome (43.30 meters in diameter) It was made by a single caste of pumice stone poured into a wooden frame. This kept it light enough to be supported. The concrete is thinnest at the top and is thicker at the base of the dome. There is a round opening at the center that is called the oculus, which keeps it very light and airy. This is the only light source in the building. It makes the Pantheon NOT a good place to be in a rainstorm. The dome is as high as it is wide. This dome has been very pivotal in art history, as it has been the model for St. Peter’s in Rome, St. Paul’s church in England, and the US capital building in Washington DC.

The Pantheon was converted into a church in 607 AD. This is the reason that the building has been maintained. During the dark ages, buildings that were not Christian were destroyed. It became a mausoleum for the kings of Italy in 1870. The building is loaded with a long history, and the only new things that have been added have been the graves of famous people. The artist Raphael lies to the left of the main altar. I was not familiar with Italian royalty, so Raphael was the only one of the famous graves that I recognized.

We had lunch at a sidewalk cafe outside the Pantheon. Modern Rome, which isn’t modern at all by our standards, has been built up around this very ancient building. The hustle and bustle of daily life goes on around it. The Pantheon stands there with all of its columns, like a backdrop on a movie set. Lunch at a cafe in Rome can last for hours, so watching the tourists going in and out of the Pantheon with their guidebooks in hand was part of the adventure.

The Pantheon is the only ancient building in Rome that has been continuously used since it’s construction. This is a point for reflection. The dome is a candidate for one of the wonders of the world, but that alone would not have saved the building. Great art and architecture were not held sacred unless they were Christian. It has been used continuously because it was converted to a Christian Church during the dark ages, and then to a burial ground for kings in the 1800’s. Today it is a fascinating blend of the sacred and the secular.

The light source pouring in from above when you are standing inside the Pantheon is breathtaking. That oculus is the eye of God, beams of light hit at different places throughout the day as if the Holy Spirit is surveying the area thoroughly and carefully, and maybe finding welcome from awestruck tourists. God’s handiwork illuminates the area, and illuminates the beauty of what men created to place there. God and man work as a team in this place. Their goal perhaps being the awe of those who walk through the space each day.

This past Monday morning at around 7:00 AM, the sky was a bright pink as the sun was coming up. For some reason, there was a beam of light shining down through the pink clouds like it was focused on something. It was like the light shining into the Pantheon, only it was shining through a dome of clouds down onto south Grand Forks. It might have been the gaze of God beaming through the pink sky. I got to school and met my friend Cindy as she came in the door with her daughter. “Did you see that?” she asked. “I think Jesus has come” I said. “I know”, she said, “ I said a prayer of thanksgiving right out loud!” “Oh mom!” said daughter Marilyn, as she rolled her eyes. Sometimes adults get “funny” over sunrises. I am thankful to have friends that are that type of adult.

It is the time of year when we reflect on our many blessings. How wonderful it is to have the awe of God every morning as the sun comes up. Remembering the day spent at The Pantheon reminds me that our changing world has a place for all things, both sacred and secular. Our secular is sacred to God, as He created it. In that sense, secular really does not exist.

All things under God are holy. We may have trouble remembering that, but God does not. The eyes of God see beauty that our eyes miss. Our eyes catch all the flaws. I am thankful for the eyes of God.

“On your feet now! Applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.
God is sheer beauty, all generous in love,
loyal always and ever”
Psalm 100:1,5
The Message

Roman Meditation #24 - The Calling of St. Matthew

“Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said ”come along with me”. Matthew stood and followed him.
Matthew 9:9
The Message

Another church in the Pantheon area is the church of San Luigi dei Francesi. We entered this church on the rainy day I described last week. It was very crowded. I guess lots of people needed to get out of the rain, and churches are great places for that. There was lots to see, and plenty of pew space for sitting.

Every Basilica we entered held a surprise, and this one was no exception. This basilica is the home of 3 Caravaggio paintings. “The Calling of St. Matthew” is a painting I remembered studying in humanities in college, and here it was right in front of me.

The painting was done in 1598-1599. It is large and covers the left wall of a small chapel. (the center wall has St. Matthew and the angel and the right wall has the martyrdom of St. Matthew. All three paintings are by Caravaggio.

I hope that you can open the web site and see this painting for meditation.

I couldn’t examine it closely in Rome because of the crowds, but what struck me then that I didn’t think of back in college was how secular the painting appears.

At first glance, you might think that the painting has been mistitled. How could this be the calling of St. Matthew? The setting isn’t right and certainly the way the men are dressed can’t be right. It doesn’t look very biblical at all. It looks more like a Rembrandt painting from a different time all together.

St. Matthew is the older guy with the beard who appears to be pointing at the guy next t o him. The light in the painting hits his face just right so your eye is drawn to him as the central figure in the group of men. This is the moment when Matthew becomes a disciple. He is sitting in a tavern with his tax collector buddies, and two men enter. Jesus is the one with the outstretched hand that looks like it came right from the Sistine Ceiling. He is reaching toward Matthew. Peter is the man who has his back to us My art book says that Caravaggio set the scene for the drama in a simple tavern, accentuating Christ’s commanding gesture and Matthew’s amazed wonder with a powerful, form-defining light from an unseen source. Great art always seems to be about light and where it comes from. Our lives in Christ could be said to parallel that concept. Where does the light of Christ hit us and how do we reflect it.

It was 29 year old Caravaggio’s first large-scale work and it shocked art critics of the time because it shows holy figures in a very secular setting. The models were lower class people in everyday clothes and they are sitting in a bar that where the young Caravaggio was a regular. The figure of Jesus has a very thin gold halo above his head, that you might miss if you don’t look close.

Seeing Jesus in such an earthy location was startling to the religious folk of Caravaggio’s time. We know it was shocking in Jesus time too. The book of Matthew reminds us that the disciples thought that Jesus should not be seen with the likes of Matthew. It appears that Caravaggio placed Jesus in his own time, calling a Matthew of his own generation in this painting. It is an interesting thought to prayerfully consider. It is as if Jesus might walk into Starbucks coffee and beckon to me when I am sitting there visiting with friends.

Caravaggio’s calling of Matthew has made the story about all of our calling. He changed the setting to where it could have fit his own calling. The words of our faith teach us that Jesus is with us where ever we invite him to be. Why do I have to challenge myself to really believe that? If Jesus is beside me in the classroom every day, why doesn’t he stop me from getting annoyed when a certain 6th grader always has his recorder in about 4 pieces on the floor when it should be in his mouth being played? Maybe that is when Jesus is frantically calling to me and I am to distracted to hear it. Or maybe Jesus doesn’t behave the way I want him to. He doesn’t control me the way I often wish he would. He leaves me far to much free will and far to much of my own human weakness is out there flailing around making trivial things matter more than they should

Sister Petronilla (my spiritual director) gave me an meditation exercise to do at the end of the day. I walk through my day from beginning to end and see if I can reflect on when I was aware of Jesus presence with me. When did I close him off? When was he obviously speaking out through me, if he ever was? What did he call me to?

The calling of St. Matthew could be the calling of any one of us. We are all called to discipleship. The everyday stuff routine we are called from is not much different from that of Matthew . He set his life down and followed, according to the story. I know I try to set my life down, but how often to I pick it right back up again? Unfortunately, God’s plan is not to knock me out cold in order to work through me. God’s plan is to use me in my weak inept, dimness.

A desert father, when asked to explain his faith journey, said “I fall down, and then I pick myself up, and then I fall down, and then I pick myself up, and then I fall down.....”

I am after mercy, not religion. I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders”
Matthew 9:12
The Message

Roman Meditation #23 - Ancient Rome

“He’s God, our God
In charge of the whole earth.
And he remembers, remembers his covenant,
for a thousand generations he’s been as good as his word”
Psalm 105:7,8
The Message

The Republic of Rome was founded in 753 BC. There is a legend of twin brothers named Remus and Romulus who were raised by a wolf. Romulus founded the republic of Rome. The 12 month calendar was formed close to that time.. The first settlements in the area of Rome were much earlier. They can date it back to 1400 BC with the first noted settlements on Palatine Hill, where the ruins of the Roman Forum stand today.

As I mentioned in an earlier meditation, my 12 year old friend Connor told me that Rome was built in layers and that the lower you went, the older it was. From the steps of the monument to Victor Emmanuel, you can see Ancient Rome, and Connor’s words are a visible reality. The monument is a newer building (built in 1885) and if you climb to the top of it, you get quite a view of ancient Rome below.

My preconceived notion of the Roman Forum was all wrong. I thought it was a building at one time. It was about 18 buildings. It looks like a dilapidated movie set for “The Robe”, or for “Ben Hur”. There are the roadways once used by chariots . You can almost see those movie actors running around in their togas and leafy laurels making decisions about putting Christians to death.The only thing is, the forum buildings are so much older than anything AD. The forum dates all the way back to 179 BC. That is when the first basilica (Basilica Aemilia) was erected. There is not much left of this building on the site today. It is a series of broken off pillars. Anyone worshipping at this site had never heard of Christianity.

There are ruins of temples and buildings where the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire made the choices that determined the direction that civilization was to take. Julius Caesar was a real person, not just a character in a play who said “Et tu Brute”. I knew that intellectually, but when I saw the ruins of where he lived, I realized that it was God and not William Shakespeare who created him.

The last dated building to go up as part of the Roman Forum was begun in 306 AD and completed in 312 AD. which gives a time span to the life of the neighborhood. Only one column of this building still stands and it has been moved to another area of the city.

Reflecting on all this is a wow moment. Our lives are so wildly significant, yet in the timeline of the history of the world, we are a grain of sand. Civilization as we know it had its roots in the Roman Empire. Do I really get how long ago that was? From a monument built in 1885, I can see back to 1400 years before the birth of Jesus in my imagination, because the forum ruins are giving me hints. The layers of time send me into a state of awe. It is beyond me that the God of those days and the God of these days not only keeps us all straight, but values us.

Even more hard to fathom is that a loving God watched over those Caesars with a plan in mind to draw them close, and that plan took generations. In our self centered view of the world, we are the culmination of God’s plan. In the mind of God, we are a breath. There is an ever evolving process going on that we can’t begin to understand. 1200 years from now will their be remnants of our civilization left for contemplating? Will the next generation figure out how NOT to destroy the earth so that thought could be a reality?

How small we are. How hard it is to imagine the promise that we are indeed loved by the God who created Palatine Hill in the first place. How unfathomable it is to me that my name was written on the palm of his hand since the beginning of time.

Can we comprehend the beginning of time? 1400 BC is pretty much beyond me. Yet, in my own self centered human ness, I cling to the promise that the hairs on my head are counted...that I am loved beyond reason, by a God who created Remus and Romulus, and saw them raised by a wolf during the Bronze Age. I guess while God was talking to Moses, he was also yearning for the pagans on Palatine Hill and slowly but surely finding his way to get their attention.

Ancient Rome and the Vatican are a few miles apart geographically. Historically there is more distance. God was slowly at work. God is slowly at work. How blessed we are when we can be part of that work. In the mind of God, a few centuries is not so long.

Write this down for the next generation
so people not yet born will praise God.
God looked out from his high holy place,
from heaven he surveyed the earth.
He laid the earth’s foundations a long time ago
and handcrafted the very heavens.
Psalm 102:18,19,25
The Message

Heavenly Father, I do not understand how it can be that I am significant to you.
I thank you that I don’t have to understand it in order to know it. Help me to remember it.

Roman Meditation #22 - Piazza Farnese - A story of grace

Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate!”
Luke 15:22, 23
NIV

Our last full day in Rome was a Friday. We decided to walk in the direction of the Spanish Steps, visit all the basilicas on the way, and shop. Mom and I were very excited, as we are fond of shopping.

Well, the best laid plans sometimes are not meant to be. Rome is not in the United States. We are not Italian. We had no idea that day was a holiday. All stores were closed. Of course it took most of the day for us to figure that out. We kept thinking that things would open within the next hour. As I said, Rome is not in the US. Stores are not open at set times. Shops open when the shop owners feel like opening them, from what we could tell. The Spanish Steps are in a nice area of Rome. we made the best of things. There were some wonderful Basilicas to visit, and we weren’t all that far from the Borghese Galleries, which our guide books said had nice gardens. Unfortunately, it was raining. We kept thinking it was going to clear up.. It did not clear up. It rained all day. It rained into the evening. The stores were not going to open. We were a long way from our apartment. Luckily we had umbrellas but that did not keep us from getting wet and chilled.

Since it was our last day in Italy, it seemed like a good idea to go out and eat dinner. The rain meant that we would be eating inside. Cafes are set up outside on the piazza’s in Rome because the weather is usually great and there are no insects. We stopped at the apartment and put on sweatshirts, as it was cold. I hadn’t brought socks, so I put on my fuzzy footie slippers and wore my sandals. I had been soaked all day. I had on a skirt because you wear skirts over there. It isn’t respectful to go into basilicas in shorts according to the guidebook.

We walked around the corner from our apatment in Campo di Fiore to the Piazza Farnese. There was one establishment lit up and open for business so we went in . We hadn’t been inside too many restaurants because of the outside cafe custom, but we were aware once we were inside, that we were in a really nice place. The waiters were in black coats and ties. There were a lot of them. We were greeted cordially and brought to a table in a back corner of a very elegant room.

We sat down. We looked around. People at other tables were dressed up. We had not seen this in our week of Italian dining. We had mostly seen tourists like ourselves. This out of the way place appeared to be where people who actually live in Rome go out to eat a nice meal. We have been cordially greeted and we were seated. It was raining outside. We were going to make the best of it.

I looked at myself with my fuzzy slippers with sandals, the multi colored skirt I had worn all week ,my dirty SPA sweatshirt.(it was our last day. Most of our clothing was no longer clean) thedroopy white hat on top of wet hair that I hadn’t thought to brush. There hadn’t been many options as far as clothing went, but I could have done brushed my hair. There was no question in my mind that I would never have been out in public looking like this at home. Things are different when you are traveling. There was nothing to do but go with it.

The china plates were sitting on gold chargers. There was LOTS of silverware. It was one of those places where you have a different fork for the salad dish,and the dessert fork is set above the plate. We each had a water glass, and a wine glass.

A waiter was pouring us water and wine before we knew it. The plates were whisked off the chargers and plates of what looked like an artichoke and eggplant salad were placed in front of us. There were two waiters and they were charming.

The menu was Italian, and the things being placed in front of us had not been ordered. They were presented graciously, and my hearted was instantly lifted, because it didn’t seem to matter a bit to the waiter that we were bedraggled wrecks.

When I think back on it, the waiters simply had good manners. At the time, I was greatly blessed.

I have to step out of the story to explain the little I had learned about eating outi n Italy from the 4 days up until this point. A meal takes as long as you want it to. It is a time for relaxing. A waiter brings you to a table and it is yours for the day if you wish. You will be given bread which you are charged for, and you will get bottled water, which you are also charged for. It would not be required to order more, and you could bask in the afternoon sun and street watch the day away and no one would care. You order ala carte. there are several courses. You have to order everything separately. It was nice because I had hoped to avoid pasta, and it was easy to do. You just don’t order it. You are never brought your check until you ask for it. Waiters keep an eye on you but do not hover. It is not the US. No one hurrys you and no one is waiting for your table. It is a relaxing experience. My friend MIke confirms all this and he knows much more about Italy than I do.

Anyway, the unordered eggplant and artichoke dish was wonderful. We said a prayer of thanksgiving that all three of us are now of the age where our credit cards will cover just about anything we do, so we were not going to be in danger of having to wash dishes, as we might have been years ago. Being older is a blessing that I am reminded not to take for granted. We would be able to afford the evening, so why not enjoy it? No one knew us, and the situation was funny. It got funnier.

Restrooms in Italy are always toward the back, and usually they are unisex. After all, I was a 5 day veteran of Roman dining and I knew this. I headed toward the back and tried to open a door to what I was certain was a bathroom. The door was locked,so I waited. The door opened and I was face to face with a handsome young waiter carrying wine.I had been trying to get in to the wine celler. I once again became conscious of my appearance and headed back to the table. MIke taught me a full sentence in Italian that had the word banyo in it so I could say something besides “toilette?” when I asked for direction. The bathrooms were at the front of this dining room. And, as mom learned the hard way, they were not unisex. She came out the restroom and found herself face to face with a disgruntled Italian gentleman pointing at the sign that said "messeur" outside of the restroom she had used.

We were disheveled foreigners. We were out of place. We were inappropriate.

And we were embarrassed about it. We were treated royally. The food was wonderful. The service was wonderful. The waiters were charming. Our water glasses were never half full. We were given the impression that in spite of our clumsiness, they were very glad to serve us. It felt wonderful.

Our day up until the meal at Piazza Farnese had been disappointing. The meal reminded us that being treated respectfully is grace. I know it made the wonderful food taste all the better. I wondered if dirty, foreign would be treated so beautifully everywhere. I shared this story with one of the small groups I am part of at Zion and Doug Peters shared a similar story about a restaurant in Paris. Their story did not end the same way. Their appearance after traveling and being out in weather did not meet the dress code of the restaurant and they were not served.

Grace is not something to take for granted. It is not a small thing. It is not something you forget. Jesus looked an awful lot like an Italian waiter to me that night. Who knows? Maybe they were good Catholic boys,and they knew Jesus also looks like a wet, badly dressed American..

“when did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?And the king will say”I’m telling the solemn truth. Whenveryou did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me. You did it for me”
Matthew 25: 39, 40
The Message

Roman Meditation #21 - Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva - Catherine of Siena

“Catherine of Siena was a woman whose life God flung out across our sky to out-meteor, out-comet, out-star, and out-brighten every sick and squalid age to come, to touch and sear even yet, even now, even us, even here. we too must learn to go against the natural inclinations to buy peace at any price”
Joan Chittister
A Passion for Life
Fragments of the face of God

The Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is one that you might pass by if you were traveling the streets of Rome. It is in the neighborhood of the Pantheon, which means if you have been to Rome, you probably did walk by it.

The church has an obelisk on top of an elephant in front of it. It is built over (sopra) a pre-Christian pagan temple to the goddess Minerva.

It is gothic in style. It is the only gothic style basilica in Rome. This is unusual because Gothic architecture is found everywhere in Europe, except in Rome.

This was the first random church that we entered out of curiosity. (note thatI have not been doing these meditations in the order that we experienced them) It was our second full day in Rome. We were to learn that every building you enter is a historical treasure.

The first surprise we found was a beautiful white marble statue of Jesus holding the cross. Who was the artist? Michelangelo of course. It was a statue I didn’t know about before going to Rome. The statue was originally nude. The cloth draping was put on later. As I have mentioned in earlier meditations, Michelangelo’s naked figures embarrassed many clergy. Many works of art were “clothed” after being created.

The second surprise was that Catherine of Siena’s tomb is under the main altar of the church. Rome is a graveyard for saints and popes. Of course the guide books made it very clear that parts of Catherine could be found in other places. Her head is in Siena. I know that her finger is somewhere too. Catherine is an important saint, so it would stand to reason that her body parts would have been spread around.

Catherine of Siena is the patron saint of Rome. She was born in 1347. What I knew about Catherine of Siena before looking anything up to do this writing was that she managed to convince Pope Gregory to move back to Rome. Popes had been living in Avignon, France for 74 years up until this point. The area around Rome was a war zone, so it was safer. The amazing thing about this is the date. It was 1376 when Pope Gregory made the move back to Rome. Catherine was 29 years old. She was female. Where did she get the courage to take on a pope? What made them listen to her in the first place?

Catherine of Siena was a well known mystic. Her best known mystical experience happened in 1366 when Jesus and Mary appeared to her in a vision along with a crowd of angels. Mary took her hand and held it up for Jesus and he slipped a ring on her finger and told her to have courage and take on some of the mess that was the world. Catherine could always see the ring on her finger although no one else did. The ring gave her the courage to speak to men about making peace and ending the fighting. “How can I be of any use in the work of saving souls?” she asked Jesus, who spoke to her in visions. ”I am a woman, and it is not seemly for me to try to teach men, or even to speak to them. Besides, they take no notice of what we say”.

"All things are possible for God who has created everything from nothing" is the response she received.

Her words changed lives. Priests heard many confessions from people who reported their life change was due to a word from Catherine.

After getting Pope Gregory back to Rome, Catherine continued to bully him into acting for peace. “She called the rulers of Europe to be men rather than ruthless, adolescent bullies whose war games pitted the pitiful against the innocent. “ writes Joan Chittister.

I thought it was ironic when I read that the people of Siena during the 1300’s were pretty split on what they thought of Catherine. Some thought she was a saint, but many thought she was insane. It reminded me of Jesus being driven out of Nazareth.

The point is not Catherine’s sanity. The point is that she had a relationship with Jesus. She knew him. Her visions were her prayers. Her courage came from her prayer life. That is what gave power and influence to her words. Pope Gregory recognized the authority of Christ in her voice and he responded. It shouldn’t amaze me. It should be what I know to be the truth. A relationship with Jesus gives us all the power and all the strength we will ever need. Why is that so hard to believe?

If we are looking for a definition of” passionate spirituality”, St Catherine gives us a very dramatic one. God is calling us to a passionate relationship too.

We may not get to see visions that speak, but the words are being said. A passionate spirituality may still look like madness to some. To others, it is the only bit of sanity we can find in a world that seems to have gone haywire.

The body of Catherine of Siena rests beneath the main altar in the basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva near the Pantheon in Rome. Her soul is with the one who loves her.

And hers is the voice inside the head of many Christians today who long for peace.

“Personal sacrifice, Gospel insight, Christian feminism, and patient prophetism is the legacy of Catherine of Siena to the twenty-first century.”
Joan Chittister

Roman Meditation #20 - The Vatican Museum

"Oh Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth.
When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place
What is man that you are mindful of him?"
Psalm 8: 1, 3,4
NIV

There are many things that must be seen when visiting Rome. High on that list is a trip through the Vatican Museum. You have to do it. In spite of the fact that it costs 12 euro (somewhere between 15 and 20 dollars, depending on how the dollar is doing) and you are guaranteed at least an hours wait in line outside in the heat before getting in, you have to do it. Once you are finally inside, you will be fighting crowds the entire way. Why can’t it be skipped? Because it is the only way to see the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel is the private chapel of the popes in Rome. Oddly, I think it is filled with tourists Monday through Saturday all day and one Sunday a month. If it is a private chapel for the Pope, He can't use it very often as it is such an attraction to tourists.

You could spend days in that museum. You have to make a plan in order to get through it. My plan was to see the Sistine Chapel. All the other art I saw along the way was a bonus. We went through room after room, hallway after hallway filled with religious art all created before the reformation. Note that this has more to do with the fact that before the Renaissance all art was for the church. There were not many secular paintings in existence.

I had often wondered why the Catholic Church owned so much valuable art. I learned by reading “Angels and Demons” that there is quite a fortune in art stored at the Vatican. I wondered if the church wasn’t “storing up treasures on earth” and I wondered why that was. I never wondered about it long enough to do research until I visited the Vatican Museum. Part of the discipline of writing the Roman meditations is to learn the “whys’ of things. Here is what I now know.

The Vatican Museums are one of the most famous and renowned cultural institutions of the Holy See (The high church office in Rome). The masterpieces there have been commissioned by Popes over the years. They have been collected and preserved. More than 300 people are employed to preserve, study and promote the heritage of sacred art. Why? Because the universal language of art can speak to persons of different cultures, languages and religions. It also can bridge the gap of centuries and allow us to see into the past. It is one of the principal ways that we communicate with each other and with our forefathers. The vast and valuable art collection at the Vatican is costing the church a fortune to keep. The gate cost for the tourist entering the museum is a tip toward meeting some of that cost.

The church valued art. The church supported artists. Great artists and musicians were employed by the church. Bach was an organist. With that salary he raised 20 some children. Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini were paid their living by the church. Yes, the church of the past valued art. Every basilica in Rome is a museum onto itself.

I have reflected on this before, I know, but it still amazes me that the church of the infamous inquisitions also hired Palestrina to write motets. I guess they couldn’t see God in non Catholics, but they did see God in artists.

I wonder if our ancestors during the middle ages looked out of their windows on beautiful fall days and saw clearly that God must value art. The beauty of the season is a living canvas of color telling us the story season after season of our own journey from birth to death and to new birth again. I wonder if the pope that commissioned Raphael to turn his living space into a canvas saw God the creator in Raphael. (The Raphael rooms are part of the Vatican Museum.)

After all, if man was created in God’s image, God gifted artists and composers with maybe a bit more of that part of himself. Maybe that is why the early church supported them. Maybe the early church saw a glimpse of God in them.

I am a lover of art, but not an artist. What bit of God is in me?

Protestant history went through an unfortunate stage in its development where in order to not appear Catholic, there were no paintings and no statues. Buildings were plain and functional. The excuse for this was that statues were idolatrous.

Here in Grand Forks one need only go into United Lutheran Church and see the David Hetland mural to see that the church still values art. The mural is the central focal point in the sanctuary. When I attend a concert or a service there, I can’t keep my eyes off of it. I study every bit of it and it does draw my attention, I don’t see that as a bad thing I can’t help but feel that gazing into the face of David Hetland’s Jesus is worship.

God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.
God, Brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world
Psalm 8:1, 9
The Message

Roman Meditation #19 - The Last Judgement and the Reformation

Comfort, oh comfort my people
says your God
Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem,
but also make it very clear
That she has served her sentence,
that her sin is taken care of-forgiven!”
Isaiah 40: 1-3
The Message

Last night I watched the Joseph Fiennes “Luther” movie. I have seen it several times. Of course I am at the age where every time I watch it, it is a new story to me. This time I would like to think it was new because I have had Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” fresco in my meditation time.

Martin Luther was sent to Wittenburg to study in 1508. This was very near to the time when Michelangelo began his 4 years of work on the ceiling. According to the film, Martin Luther was sent by his spiritual director because Martin was so angry with God. He was angry with God because the God he knew through the church was angry and vengeful. No one could measure up and the threat of hell was constant.

Martin Luther met Jesus when he was able to read the New Testament for himself. The film is quite clear in portraying that no one, not even priests and cardinals actually read the bible for themselves. In my head I knew this. When I saw it on film, I got it. There was no printing press, so books were copied by hand and they were very rare. God ordained the Pope as the interpreter of the word. Others had no need to read it. They had faith.

Martin Luther had faith in the Catholic Church. He trusted her popes and her cardinals. During the time of Julius II, we can imagine that the study and the interpretation of scripture was not happening much as Julius was off fighting wars most of his life. The church was in the hands of God and who was to doubt her?

I love the transformation of Luther as he comes to know Christ. I love the fervor with which he leads his congregation in Wittenburg to experience the God of love. I also love the naive shock when Father Martin hears a cardinal from Rome preaching the selling of indulgences to pay for the building of a new basilica to “house the bones of St. Peter.” People could buy their relatives a way out of hell for just a few coins. What a deal! If you looked at hell as portrayed by “The Last Judgment,” it would be worth a sum to get Grandma out. And Grandma was burning for sure, because we all were. The God of forgiveness was not the God they knew.

I was glad to see Pope Julius be put to rest in the Luther movie, as I have gotten attached to him. I didn't want him to be the villain in the Luther story. He was not. Pope Paul came after Julius, and then Pope Leo. The latter was the “bad pope” of the time. It was his plan to sell indulgences to raise money to pay for St. Peters. Well, they attempted to sell them in Germany. Father Martin was certain that Rome would be delighted to know that the selling of indulgences was not biblical. And father Martin was so filled with joy to point that out. And the rest is history.

It is a great story. It is full of blood shed and horror. It also lends a level of understanding to The Last Judgment painting and to the Reformation itself. The Last Judgment painting represented the theology of the time that the bad popes used to keep people oppressed and frightened.

Imagine what it must have been to Martin Luther to finally realize that the corruption and evil he hated started in Rome with the pope himself.

How often do we invest our faith and our energy in the wrong things? How often does something appear to be godly? Is the story simply history, or does it have to repeat itself again and again? Reflect on what you might know of Hitler's rise to power through religious goodness. Reflect on the lives of Gandhi and of Martin Luther King. Reflect on the Muslim situation in our own times. Will mankind ever stay close enough to God to learn love?

May God grant clarity to the person who can make a difference. May God grant clarity to all of us.

After the reformation, the New Testament was translated into German so that all people could read it. The love of Christ could be known first hand.

Catholics and the new Protestants were made anew by first hand knowledge of the gospel of Christ. We have always had it for ourselves. Let us not take that for granted. I pray that we might all know the love of Christ first hand...and not depend on the experience of others. Frescos like The Last Judgment are there to remind us of the theology of rules that must not be broken. Let us remember that there is danger in that theology. Let ours be a theology of love.


“If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything as plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, Jump, and it jumps, but I don't love, I am nothing.
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love”
I Corinthians 13: 3, 4
The Message

Roman Meditation #18 - The Last Judgement

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing...nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable-absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our master has embraced us.
Romans 8: 37-39
The Message

23 years after finishing the Sistine Ceiling, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint an enormous fresco on the alter wall of the chapel. This time it was Pope Paul III who did the commissioning. The Last Judgment is an interesting theme for the largest fresco ever painted at the time. Although the fresco is magnificent, it is horrifying. The same artist who painted the face of God so beautifully on the ceiling gives us demons pulling sinners down into hell. Why?

The Protestant reformation had forced the Catholic Church to clamp down on free thought, and religious wars raged. The Renaissance spirit of optimism was fading. One source says the Michelangelo himself had begun to question the innate goodness of man.

The Last Judgment can be divided into 5 parts and Christ the judge is at the center. Above him you see angels carrying the cross and the column of Christ's scourging. At Jesus level in heaven are the various apostles and saints. Right below Jesus are angel trumpeters with books of good and evil deeds. At the lower left side the dead are being resurrected and they are ascending to heaven. On the lower right side the damned are being dragged into Hell. Not one figure on the entire fresco is smiling. Close up details of the hell corner are horrifying. Demon like serpent creatures wrap themselves around the damned and pull them down. The saints and apostles are somber. In this heaven, there is no rejoicing, and the horrors of hell overpower the viewer.

Reactions to the fresco during the 6 years it took to create it were strongly negative. It was interesting to read that the negative reactions weren't because of the horrific portrayal of hell, but because so many of the figures are nude. It was seen as indecent and immoral. The nudity bothered some so much that an artist painted clothing on some of the figures after Michelangelo's death. if you had heard a story about Michelangelo painting a likeness of one of his severest critics with donkey ears and demonic features, it is true. It is there. You would never see it by standing in the chapel, you have to study details of it in art books...or maybe web sites.

When The Last Judgment was unveiled to the public in 1541, it caused a sensation. Pope Paul III is said to have dropped to his knees crying 'Lord, charge me not with my sins when thou shalt come on the day of Judgment.'

This is not a painting I want to pull many details from, for prayer, as even the resurrection of the dead holds a horror. The figures being carried to heaven are pale and skeletal. Christ the judge is not a comforting image. His arm is raised as if casting sinners away from him. The figure to his right is Mary, and she is turned away, giving the impression that the time for intercession had passed.

Last week I was struck by the optimism of the ceiling art during such a bleak time in church history. This week I reflect on the voices of the prophets calling out to israel to repent and to turn from their evil ways. Maybe Michelangelo has created this nightmare for the church of Rome as a wake up call. Holy wars are not of God. The direction the church was taking was not following the course that Peter and Paul and begun, and the figure of Christ at the center is crying 'no!'

More likely, this fresco came at the end of the Renaissance, and the age of optimism in the church was gone. The reformation had happened. Images like this one were used by the church to scare people into paying indulgences to keep their relatives out of hell.

What is there in this fresco that I can find to latch onto? I spent some time with that question. I think the image in the painting that grabs me is not Christ, but a bit lower and to the right. Michelangelo painted his own image being held by St Bartholomew. He looks like he has melted. It looks like St Bartholomew is holding onto sagging skin devoid of a body. He has no form. The saint is holding him by his sagging shoulders and his skin is in folds. At first I thought this was creepy. It doesn't even compare to the creepiness of the lower part of the painting. The sagging figure is being kept from falling. The sagging figure is heaven bound. This image is actually encouraging. And then, as I looked at it, I could identify with it. I know the feeling of being totally crushed to nothing and being lifted up. There is nothing left of me. I have no more energy for anything. I am folded up and flattened...and a saint lifts me up. Maybe that saint says a kind word, or offers a prayer. Maybe it is a hug, or a card...but my flattened out sore sagging soul is lifted.

Michelangelo's flattened form is heaven bound. God will get him there, empty as he is. God will get me there too. He sends saints to minister to me and to lift me up when my world becomes as discouraging as this fresco.

I am picked up, dusted off, and the demons are no longer so haunting.

Art books say that the drama in The Last Judgment signaled the beginning of the Baroque era in art. The twisted figures from every imagineable angle give it a 3 D effect that no other artist of the time could match. The subject matter may be horrifying but the artistic effect is monumental.

Michelangelo is very near the end of his life. I hope that his own theology was not as frightening to him as this portrayal suggests. The image of God he gave the world 23 years earlier is the God he knew, according to journals containing his letters. That comforts me. This last judgment scene was painted for a commission for the church. The church has not always been as loving as the God it worships.

May God grant us grace. May God breathe through us with love and heal us of our ungrace.

Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set thngs right in this life of contradictions, and when I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different
Romans 7:23-25

Roman Meditation #17 - Sistine Ceiling: The Prophets and the Sibyls

The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a good long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see; eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.
Romans 1: 19-20
The Message

After spending Saturday and Sunday of this past week painting at Zion, I was reminded once again of Michelangelo and his 70 foot high ceiling. There are 5900 square feet of the ceiling and it was nearly all done by one artist. MIchelangelo designed and built scaffolding that would not touch his ceiling. All materials had to be hauled up by a pulley system. Also, my source says that when you are painting a picture on plaster, if you don't get it right the first time, you have to scrape it off and start over. Cliff, Renee Meagher, Gerri Eck, Bette Olson and I worked in a Sunday School room all day Saturday. We painted a ceiling and the walls. I scraped some nasty stuff off the window well walls. As a matter of fact, I had to stop scraping because the window well walls were rotting and the windows themselves might have fallen out. The Zion Church building is not 50 years old yet. (That fact puts the maintenance of the Sistine Chapel into perspective.) I climbed up and down a ladder about 100 times, and by the end of the day, I was pretty much covered with paint that had dripped into my hair and my eyes. Needless to say we didn't paint any images on the ceiling. My arms ached. And when I was cleaning the paint off of my glasses, I thought of Michelangelo. He devoted 4 years of his life to that ceiling.

Besides the Genesis stories, he has ten paintings of prophets and eight paintings of ancestors of Christ on the Sistine Ceiling. These images surround the Genesis images. It truly makes looking up a visual overload. To say that it is breathtaking is an understatement. You can't get an idea of what all of it is without studying it in a book..Of course I have several books, so I looked into this and I learned something really interesting. Between the prophets are figures called Sibyls. These figures belong to the pagan world. If you go from the back and move right, you find Jonah in a state of ecstasy at the vision of God. The whale is in the painting, so you know it must be Jonah. Next to Jonah is a figure called a Libyan Sibyl gently turning toward an open book. Daniel is the next figure. He is transcribing what he finds in the giant book. The Cumaean Sibyl has an aging, lined face and she is absorbed in meditation. Isaiah is next and he caught in a thought as he turns his head. The Delphic Sibyl has wide, staring eyes and Zechariah is studying a book. Joel has a mature, wise look. The Erythraean Sibyl is about to open a book. Ezekiel wears a turban and stares and a child beside him. The Persian Sibyl is reading, and Jeremiah is in deep contemplation. The author I am reading claims that both Prophet and Sibyl see into the future. It should be noted that while the Prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah to the Chosen People, the Sibyls belong to the pagan world. In the larger context of Michelangelo's spirituality, the expectation of redemption does not and can not belong exclusively to one people. It must involve all of mankind.

This is something that I would never be able to figure out by looking at the ceiling. You would never get the fact that the whole thing is pointing to the coming of Christ. You can tell who the Prophets are because they are named. Some of the Sibyls are named. The Sibyls are female. They are all engaged in study or contemplation. It is interesting to me that the Pagan looks no more or less Godly than the Prophet. They look just as wise, and just as capable of seeing God.

It is awesome to know that in the midst of holy wars, crusades, and horrific things that were happening in Michelangelo's world, God is present. He shows himself right there on the Sistine Ceiling. Rome had its share of corrupt popes doing their share of ungodly things in the name of Jesus. Pope Leo followed our friend Julius II, and it was Leo that imposed the indulgences that set Martin Luther to write his 95 thesis. The Sistine Ceiling reminds me that God was present.

I have learned through the ministry of Spiritual Direction that not all people experience God in the same way. Not all people come to God in the same way, and not all people come to God through Jesus first. Christian faith traditions are diverse. In our diversity, one thing is the same and that is what Michelangelo's Prophets and Sibyls foretell in their study. Jesus came for all. This week I meditated on the fact that we are all children of God and Jesus came for all. For all. When watching the news I reflected that Jesus came for Pope Benedict. Jesus came for Muslim zealots. Jesus came for George Bush. Jesus came for Hugo Chavez. Jesus came for Alfonzo Rodriguez. Jesus came for Dru Schodin. Jesus came for Osama Bin Laden. This is the good news. This is news that is hard to remember. The Sistine Ceiling is one of the reminders God put in place for us to come across in prayer. There is always the call to go to a deeper level of understanding. There is always the call to love the unlovable. Jesus does.

I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies.
I'll call the unloved and make them beloved.
In the place where they yelled out, 'You're a nobody!'
They're calling you God's living children.
Hosea 2:23
The Message

Roman Meditation #16 - Expulsion from Paradise

Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me. By hiding within God's good commandment, sin did far more mischief than it could ever have accomplished on its own.
Romans 7:13
The Message

Panel number 6 at the center of the Sistine Ceiling is 'The Expulsion from Paradise'. Michelangelo combines two images in this larger masterpiece. On the left of the tree of life is the temptation of Eve. The serpent is wrapped around the tree and has the upper body of a woman. Adam has picked the apple, and the serpent is handing it to Eve. To the right of the tree Adam and Eve are leaving the garden. They are being driven out by an angel with a sword.

There are plenty of things that are interesting about these images. The feminist in me doesn't like the portrayal of the snake as female, but my sources say that it was common practice in medieval times to portray the snake as feminine. I suppose Michelangelo can be forgiven for that. He does portray Eve as physically strong. Her right arm is nearly as muscular as Adam's arm.

It struck me that God is not in this picture. If you explore the web site, you can see that the figure of God is in the first 5 panels. Panel one has God dividing light from darkness. Panel two has the creation of the sun and moon. That panel is worth looking at for the image of God. His face is amazing. At first glance it appears angry, but when you look close, the face is concentrating so hard. The gaze is determined and strong. Panel 3 has God separating the waters from the land. Panel 4 we looked at last week, Panel 5 has God creating woman, and in panel 6 God is absent. God is not present in any of the panels after panel 5. I was curious about this, so I went to Genesis chapter 3 and read it. God is all over the chapter with messages for Adam, Eve and the serpent. It is God himself who banishes them from the garden.

Why is God not in the painting? Maybe it is because Michelangelo is defining sin as separation from God. Because of their sin, Adam and Eve can no longer see God. Maybe Michelangelo couldn't put the face of God in the painting. Maybe that face would have broken his heart.

The story of the expulsion from the garden has been interpreted as the story of original sin. It is the metaphor that explains our sinful nature. Because of the sin, snakes crawl on their bellies, women have pain in childbirth and men will have to work hard to eat. Because of this, we all will return to dust at our deaths. That is what Genesis 3 tells us. MIchelangelo's painting suggests that because of sin, we can no longer see the face of God.

Did you ever think about the sin of the apple eating? It is seemingly slight. God said no, but he didn't way why. The tempter plays upon the slightness of it, and manages to make the woman think she will be like God. She listens to the snake. What voice do we listen to? What voices pull us away from God?

The sacrament of confession in the Catholic Church helps people to reflect on their own sinful nature. Spiritual Direction provides me with a similar outlet. It forces me to be reflective. God holds a mirror into my soul and it is hideous. It is the presence of my director on the journey with me that is my assurance of grace. She points me to Jesus. I am a work in progress. Underneath the ugly stuff is where Jesus lives in me.

God sent Jesus to do what he could not do as God. He could not reach us. My separation from God is me, not God. God is there, as he is in the creation painting, reaching out. Jesus makes the connection possible.

How does God allow you to see dark sides of yourself? How does He draw you back into his grace? It is something to reflect on.

C.S. Lewis wrote quite a bit on the subject of sin. He said that the worst sins are spiritual. (The 4 Loves) Ouch. The comfort in that to me is that C.S. Lewis was human. He struggled with sinful nature. There is hope for me!!

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Romans 7:21-23
The Message

Roman Meditation #15 - The Creation of Adam

"God spoke: Let us make human beings in our image. Make them reflecting our nature."
Genesis 1:26
The Message

The Sistine Chapel is sensory overload at its best. The walls, ceiling and floors are covered with art. As I said last week, the ceiling art tells the story of Genesis. There are 33 pictures in all. Pope Julius' original plan was that Michelangelo would paint the twelve apostles and that decorate accordingly. God had a different plan, and Michelangelo responded to God. He was 33 years old when he began work on the ceiling. When he finished, it took years for his eyesight to return to normal. Probably the amount of paint that dripped into his eyes in those four years did the damage.

The nine panels in the center are based on creation. The fourth panel is the famous Creation of Adam. I am not certain that a picture can do justice to the full effect of being surrounded by the Sistine Chapel. It is overwhelming. In that same light, you can not look at detail when you are there. The ceiling is 70 feet high. You need a photograph to actually see God and Adam.

I am choosing the Creation of Adam panel for prayer this week because it is arguably the most famous work of art attempting to define the relationship of God to man. I can not remember the first time I saw this image. I think I have always known it. The hand of God reaching out with such strength and effort to try and touch the index finger of Adam is awesome. There are several ways to see it.

Look how much harder God is working to make a connection. Maybe he would fall out of heaven if the angels were not supporting him. Adam's arm is lifted, and his hand could grasp the hand of God with just a bit more effort. I want so much for their fingers to touch! God's intensity seems to be willing Adam to be.

Maybe God has just willed Adam to be, and is backing away to allow his creation to stand on its own. The index finger of the creator gives life to the creation as the to hands reach toward each other against the background of an empty sky. Heaven reaches to earth, and wills it to exist. God reaches for man with an intensity that could lead man to fulfill any destiny.

Look into the face of Adam. Look into the face of God. The pure childlike innocence on the face of Adam seems a contradiction to the powerful body Michelangelo has given him. It makes me remember what I have read about Michelangelo and his study of the muscle structure. What he was famous for doing in stone he has done here in paint. The body of Adam is muscular and strong. The face of Adam is trusting and adoring in an almost puppy like way. The eyes of God are on him with power and love. The eyes of God are on Adam alone. God wills Adam to exist in God's own image, reflecting God's nature!. The purity in the countenance of Adam maybe could reflect the intense and powerful love of God.

If only Adam could always keep his gaze on God, and not let it stray. If only the world could keep its eyes on God. How different the earth might be if humanity could accomplish that one thing? It is the way we are praying, isn't it? We are praying to be part of what God will bless. May God help us to see him and to hear him.

In coming to a prayerful closing, I return to dialogue from the movie between Julius and Michelangelo concerning The Creation of Adam. Julius has climbed the scaffolding to see the painting up close.
Julius: and this is how you see man? Noble, beautiful, Unafraid?
Michelangelo: how else would I see him?
Julius: as he is. corrupt and evil, hands dripping with blood...destined for damnation. Your painting is beautiful, but false
Michelangelo: I can not change my conception.
Julius: you have taught me not to wait my time trying to change your conceptions. How did you arrive at this?
Michelangelo: well, I thought my idea for the panel was that man's evil he learned from himself, not from God.
Julius: ....yes
Michelangelo: I wanted to paint man as he was first created, innocent, still free of sin...grateful for the gift of life.

Julius: And is that truly how you see Him, my son?
Michelangelo: yes, Holy Father
Julius: Not angry? not vengeful? but like that? Strong? benign? loving?
Michelangelo: he knows anger too, but the act of creation is an act of love.
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Irving Stone

Roman Meditation #14 - The Agony and the Ecstasy: The Sistine Ceiling

"Julius: What you have painted, my son, is not a portrait but a proof of faith
Michelangelo: I hadn't thought that faith needed proof
Julius: Not if you are a saint....or an artist. I am merely a Pope."
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Irving Stone

'The Agony and the Ecstasy' is a biographical novel on the life of the artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. It was written by Irving Stone in 1961. It tells a colorful story of how the Sistine Ceiling came to be. It was made into a wonderful movie starring Rex Harrison and Charlton Heston. I am a very visual learner, so In my mind I can never picture Pope Julius and Michelangelo any other way.

'The Agony and the Ecstasy' is a wonderful metaphor for the relationship of the two men to each other and their relationship to God. The Pope is a warrior Pope who is rarely out of his armor. His job is to protect Rome from the rest of Europe. Michelangelo Buonarroti is a sculptor who lives in Florence.

In March of 1508, Pope Julius II called Michelangelo to Rome to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The chapel was originally built in 1475. It was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV. This is where the name Sistine came from. The original ceiling was covered with blue stars. It was 70 feet tall, and Julius thought it was a big barn in need of a face lift. Michelangelo saw himself as a sculptor, not a painter, and was not excited about the job. He was working on the tomb of Julius at the time, and had to set the work aside. He started work on the ceiling in May of 1508 and finished in November of 1512. It was a very rough 4 years. The Pope's original request for the design of the ceiling be paintings of the 12 apostles surrounded by some sort of 'decorative design' of the artist's choosing.

Michelangelo started with that idea, and hated it. The Apostles looked freakish and distorted to him, and there seemed no reason at all to put them on the ceiling. One night in frustration, he destroyed his work. He ran off and hid in a rock quarry, much to the irritation of the pope. The ceiling did not have a suitable plan, and the artist was unwilling to simply paint designs. He could not make himself continue it.

The movie has a wonderful scene in it where Michelangelo is staring at the sky and slowly he begins to see a vision of God in the shape of a cloud. It is God reaching to Adam. That vision of God reaching to man became the focus of the ceiling and gave Michelangelo a new theme. He returned to work. Pope Julius could not argue with a vision from God, after all.

"It costs more to paint a ceiling than to lay siege to a city!" rages the Pope, to which Michelangelo replies "I couldn't give you something mediocre, even if that is all you asked for."

The relationship between the artist and the pope is turbulent yet respectful. Many of the cardinals were critical of the nudity in the work. Michelangelo was painting many men from the book of Genesis as God created them, and Julius supported him. Michelangelo fell sick, and Julius let him have time off, with the understanding that Raphael would finish the ceiling. This manipulation helped hurry the artist's recovery.

Julius II served God as a soldier and as a priest. There are a great many things in Rome that history gives him credit for. He knew that his most important contribution was the patronage of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the arrogant young artist whose genius was a miracle. "I fear that I shall be known not as a Pope that drove the invaders out of Italy" said Julius, "but as one who forced an unwilling artist to complete his work...which is so much greater than both of us".

It struck me in watching the grueling frustration that both men felt in the four years it took to paint the Sistine Ceiling, that 'The Agony and The Ecstasy' is a good metaphor to use in starting a new year at Zion. In the past year, we have experienced both frustration and joy. We had our struggles and we had rewards. I hope that the rewards that came through Miracle Sunday last Spring will help us to keep the faith as we start another year. We are not fighting off invaders or painting ceilings, but we are hoping to hear God, just as the artist and the Pope heard God.

As we start up again in the Fall, we are going to be focusing on passionate spirituality. I had that on my mind as I re-watched my favorite parts of 'The Agony and the Ecstasy'. If a study of art is anything, it is passionate. An artist has a burning passion for the work at hand. It is the only way art can come into being. We want to inspire that kind of passion at Zion for a relationship with God. Those of us on the prayer chain have a call to pray for the passionate spirituality of our church. I think it is going to be an exciting journey.

Like Julius, we will be warriors, although we will use prayer rather than swords. Like Michelangelo, let us be caught up in the passion of the expression of our faith and in our ability to wait on God for the vision.

In the closing scene of the movie, the Pope asks the artist if he is glad that he was not allowed to quit work. Save your gratitude for one who deserves it. Oh no, not I." says the Pope, "I take no credit. I was moved by another hand . . . as easily and as skillfully as you move your brush. Share pride in having been made His instruments."

May God allow us a similar blessing.

Julius: What has it taught you?
Michelangelo: that I am not alone.
Julius: It has taught me that the world is not alone.
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Irving Stone

Roman Meditation #13 - Agnes in Agone

"Don't be afraid, I have redeemed you,
I've called you by name. You're mine."
Isaiah 43:1
The Message

The Piazza Navona was very near to Campo de Fiore, which is where we stayed in Rome, so we walked through it daily. The Basilica of St. Agnes in Agone is centrally located in that piazza, and it is a site of one of the murders in Dan Brown's book 'Angels and Demons' so of course we visited it. In the book they wrongly assume that the clue is fire, as St. Agnes was martyred by being burned, but the clue was water. The body was found in the Bernini fountain in the center of the piazza, in front of the basilica. Probably in this day and age, the piazza is more noted because of the novel.
I found the names of the basilicas intriguing. St. Peter in Chains, and St. Agnes in Agone. It seemed to me that there was a reverence for suffering. I found out when researching Agnes in Agone, that the word Agone is not agony. Agone means 'arena' or 'stadium'. Apparently in ancient Rome, the Piazza Navona area was a large arena. Remains of the ancient stadium can be found in the cellars of some of the buildings that now stand in the piazza. All the buildings looked pretty ancient to us. Once again I was reminded that Rome is built in layers.
The basilica was built on the site of where St. Agnes was martyred, or so they believe. Of course the saint's skull is said to be kept inside an alcove in the chapel dedicated to her.
St. Agnes was martyred in the year 304. She has a string of marvelous stories that have been handed down about her. The date of her death makes it impossible for any of the tales to be factual, but nonetheless, they are pretty interesting. St. Agnes died around the age of 13. The most interesting story is that she was very beautiful. A young Roman Prefect was very attracted to her, but she was devoted to God, and not interested. So, the Prefect and his friends dragged her off to a brothel and stripped her to humiliate her. Her hair grew miraculously to protect her. The young men lit her on fire, but God protected her, and the fire was deflected and burned the Prefect instead of Agnes. The young man's father demanded that Agnes be executed. She was beheaded, and her head was kept in a shrine. The basilica was built during the 1600's. The story of Agnes had been passed down.
The basilica has a chapel to honor St. Cecelia, and one to honor St. Sebastian as well. I have written about the martyrdom of Cecelia. St. Sebastian was tied to a tree and pierced with arrows. He survived it with God's protection, and lived to be bludgeoned to death when sentenced again. My friend Mike gave me a St. Sebastian pin cushion once as a joke. Now that I have seen a statue of him pierced with arrows yet alive, I get the joke.
Ancient history is so full of tales of agonizing death that you get hardened to it, and St. Sebastian pin cushions become funny. People who came before us had great respect and reverence for people who faced horrifying deaths with courage. When I watch the tributes to the victims of September 11, 2001 on television, I am reminded that we are not different. Like our forefather's, we want a monument for those who died that day so that what happened will be remembered. They looked to great art to immortalize their stories. At the time, they likely didn't realize it was great art. Still, there is a Basilica in Rome named for a little girl who was brutally killed because of her devotion to God. That fact alone seems miraculous to me.

As I reflected on little Agnes, I was awed by the fact that stories of the murder of a little girl in the year 304 would be handed down. It was a time when women were not significant, yet those years produced a large number of female saints. Little if anything could have been written down, yet stories of great faith are told from generation to generation. Works of art in the style of the time keep tourists like me interested in the stories. It is also interesting to note that both Sebastian and Agnes seemed to be protected at first and then taken home to heaven. It was the protection that has been immortalized. Sebastian lived through the arrows, and Agnes survived the fire. The miracles are the things that we cling to. The miracles are what we want to believe in. May God help us with that.

"When you are between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end
Because I am God, your personal God.
I paid a huge price for you."
Isaiah 43: 2, 3
The Message

Roman Meditation #12 - The Swiss Guard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Guard
"Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."
Ephesians 6: 13-15
NIV

In a real sense, the prayer chain at Zion is like the Swiss Guard. We don't wear Renaissance uniforms, but we dress ourselves in the armor of God, as Paul describes to the Ephesians. We fight battles on our knees. Prayer is our calling, and in being part of the prayer force here, we must lift our church up constantly so that God is aware of our presence and our readiness to do his bidding. It also is an act of faith and obedience.

"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
Ephesians 6:16-18
NIV

Roman Meditation #11 - The Basilica of San Clemente

Basilica of San Clemente

True, God made everything beautiful in itself, but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he is coming or going. I have also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No additions, no subtraction. God's done it and that is it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
Whatever was, is.
What ever will be, is.
That's how it always is with God.
Ecclesisates 3:11-13
The Message
Legend teaches us that St. Clement was martyred by drowning. Angry Romans tied an anchor tied to him and threw him out of a boat. It was fun to know this before visiting the Vatican museum, because there are so many paintings there that reflect various saints being martyred. Every time we saw a painting of someone being thrown from a boat, we would know what saint it was.
There is so much richness in the history of our faith. My coursework in Spiritual Direction required me to do a lot of reading in that area. What a a blessing. I did not expect to be so fascinated. It also provided great preparation for going to Rome.
(same text as I opened with, different translation, different feeling)

He has made everything beautiful in his time. He has also est eternity in the hearts of men., yet they can not fathom what God has done from beginnning to end. I know that everything God does will endure for ever, nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Whatever is has already been,
and whatever will be has been before
and God will call the past to account
Ecclesiastes 3: 11-13
NIV

Roman Meditation #10 - The Basilica of Santa Cecilia



"When I get really afraid
I come to you in trust.
I am proud to praise God.
Fearless now, I trust in God.
What can mere mortals do?"
Psalm 56: 3, 4
The Message

On the edge of a neighborhood called Trastevere (trahstayvuhray) We found a small basilica dedicated to Saint Cecilia. As you might expect, we found the church built above the place where the saint supposedly lived, and we found her tomb.
I had a bit of knowledge about St. Cecilia, as dad had the UND choir sing Benjamin Britton's "Hymn to St. Cecilia" last spring. I looked her up in my Butler saint book and I knew her story. ( Butler's Lives of the Saints is the best resource available.) She is the patron saint of music, but only because of a misunderstanding in the translation of her story. At her wedding, she 'sang to the Lord in her heart.' There is no other indication in any story about her that she had a love for music.
The legend of St. Cecilia can be traced back to the 5th century, but there are no exact dates recorded of her birth or her death. The story about her that has been handed down is as follows.
Cecilia was a girl from a noble family in Rome who loved the Lord with all her heart. She was determined to become a nun and serve the Lord but her father had other ideas. She was given in marriage to a young man named Valerian. On her wedding night, she told him of an angel of God who watched over her and promised him that if he would believe in the living and one true God and submit to baptism, he would see the angel. He agreed. He also agreed that they would remain chaste. Bishop Urban was sent for and the baptism took place. (Bishop Urban became Pope Urban, and that is the only way the story can get traced to an exact time in history) Well, Valerian saw the angel. Valerian convinced his brother Tiburtius to give up his false gods and come to know the one true God. From that time on, the two men gave their lives over to good works.
Because of their zeal in burying martyrs, the two men were arrested and asked to proclaim Jupiter the one true god and they refused. They were beheaded. Cecilia was also asked to deny her faith. Instead she converted those who came to induce her to make sacrifice to the gods. When Pope Urban visited her home, he baptized over 400 persons there and a church was established in her house, which is the site of the basilica.
Cecilia did not go on happily ever after as this was a time when Christians were persecuted. Cecilia was sentenced to death by suffocation in the bathroom of her own house through a furnace that would receive 7 times the amount of fuel. She remained in her bathroom a day and a night without being harmed. A soldier was sent to behead her. He struck her neck three times and then left her. She did not die for three days.
Pope Paschal ( reigned from 817-824) had the place of the saints burial revealed to him in a dream. Her remains were moved to the site of her home.
The only exact date mentioned at all was October 20, 1599. On that date, the coffin of Cecilia was opened. The body was found intact. Pope Clement VIII came to visit the remains along with a young sculptor named Maderno, who made a drawing of her body and created a beautiful work of art for the top of her tomb. (I have attempted to link a web site that will show the tomb.) The story is that after the artist had seen the body, it instantly turned to dust.
The story of Cecilia is handed down, and because of the time frame, very little of it can be validated. The intact body so many years later is once again, the one thing that has a date set to it at least. For us, the blessing came not so much in the story of the saint, but in the place. The basilica was smaller, although not small. There was a wedding going on, and there were lots of Italians around in dark suits and in dresses. It felt like we were on the set of one of The Godfather movies. The crypt below the basilica has all the appearance of a crypt until we got to the living quarters of the saint, and that was beautiful. And the little lady in the gift shop spoke no english, but went through great lengths to please us. Mom got a small replica of the carving on the tomb, and I got a booklet on the church. We communicated mostly with our hands, and as the basilica is out of the way for tourists, we were made to feel that our presence there was a blessing.
With a wedding in progress, the basilica felt more like a place of traditional worship than others did. The lack of tourists added to that as well. The idea that 400 people were baptized on that site during Ceciliass life sounded like something out of Acts. The Saint Cecilia story is a story of evangelism and faith. Early Christian martyrs are an inspiration. What part of my journey has made me strong enough to face death , or even any adversity at all, with serenity?

The possibility of a story of a woman of faith from as early as the 5th century being handed down over the years is a blessing. Historically we know that women did not hold much importance, yet God has provided us with a number of martyrs. Women were apparently worth executing, which must have meant they were listened to enough to cause concern. I was blessed to see that not only has a story been handed down, but a basilica was built in the name of a woman of faith whose life and death glorified God.

"Fearless now, I trust in God
What can mere mortals do to me?"
Psalm 56: 13
The Message

Roman Meditation #9 - The Pieta revisited

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/michelan/1sculptu/pieta/1pieta1.htm

And Mary said:
My soul glorifies the Lord.
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has been mindful of his servant
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
for the mighty one has done great things for me
and holy is his name.
Luke 1: 46-49
NIV

There is much more to say on everything I learned in Rome. I write pages and then I edit. Since I am out of town this week, I am revisiting The Pieta. I am giving you some of the edited ideas to take or to leave. I imagine that not all of you will find the same things in the statue, as God comes to each of us in unique ways. I can only share my own journey.
Did Michelangelo think of Mary's song as he formed her from stone? I think of it as I look at her here. I think of the young girl filled with joy at being chosen to be the handmaiden of God. She submitted herself to the will of her heavenly father with joy. When I read Mary's song in Luke, I know the end of the story. I know the face Michelangelo gave her as he depicts her living the will of God, holding her son. We have often reflected on the anguish of Good Friday and the pain that was inflicted on Jesus. The pieta reminds me that Mary was there. Mary watched. Is not the greatest pain any person can bear the death of a child? When I zoom in on this face, I see something I almost can't define in my own life. I see acceptance.
Pastor Cliff has given some wonderful sermons on grief. He has told us that only when we embrace the grief and face it can we ever heal. Only when we own our emotions and allow ourselves to feel them, can we ever be whole.
"If life pleases us, death, being made by the hands of the same creator, should not displease us" wrote Michelangelo. Intellectually we accept that. Emotionally, we are afraid of the finality death brings. That is all we are allowed to know. Here I think maybe Michelangelo has given us a glimpse of something more. He intentionally portrays Mary as young and larger than life. He intentionally portrays Christ as broken, yet with veins distended by a pulse. I read that in an art book, I am not making it up. Michelangelo did carve out a living form. Christ appears to be merely sleeping. She holds his body with one arm and her lap while the other hand is palm upward. This moment captured in stone is not the end of the story.
Christ has no body now but ours. We are Jesus to each other and we don't remember that. I remembered it this past week, as Zion put on the love feast. Being Jesus to the people we serve as well as meeting Jesus in the people we serve is the scripture that is always read to us before we begin to serve. When it is not the week of the love feast, I forget. However, I can look at this picture and place myself in the arms of God being held and being carried, and being loved.
We all have our own set of wounds to accept, to own and to allow God to hold. In our youth, we came to Jesus with joy. We asked him into our hearts and we lived in a mountaintop exuberance of invincible faith. But life went on and the scars came. I would like to think of Mary's song of acceptance in her youth as being the same acceptance of fate portrayed here. That quiet God given strength I see is a consolation. It is an assurance that in eternity, the wounds are healed and the scars are no longer festering.

Brad Holt from Augsburg College(Lutheran) told our direction class that one of the most unfortunate things that happened after the reformation for Protestants was de emphasizing Mary. In fear of appearing too Catholic, Lutherans shoved Mary totally aside. Reverence for Mary became a 'Catholic' thing and so the most significant woman in the Bible was passed over by Protestants for centuries. She got mentioned at Christmas time, but that was about it.
Professor Holt told us that does not need to be an 'all or nothing' sort of thing with Protestants and Mary. I was glad to hear that. Mary provides an example of strength and grace for us and I know I need all the examples I can get. Mary is a model of perfect submission to the will of the Father. The Pieta has shown much about God through the artist's image of Mary.

"I am the Lord's servant", Mary answered.
"May it be done to me as you have said."
Luke 1:38
NIV

Roman Meditation #8 - The Pieta

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/michelan/1sculptu/pieta/1pieta1.html

"But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him
and by his wounds, we are healed."
Isaiah 53: 5
NIV

Works of art have breathed the essence of God to people for centuries. A work that has lived with me for many years is a statue called "The Pieta" by Michelangelo. It lives in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This was something I knew I would see and I was ready and waiting for the first glimpse of it.
You don't need to travel to Rome to experience this piece. It is easier to experience it in a photograph, as you can't get close to it at St. Peters. It is enclosed in a chapel that is closed off by a pane of bullet proof glass. This is because the statue was vandalized in 1972. (Zoom in on the hand of Mary and you will note the damage) The floors were being repaired when we were there as well, so we only saw this masterpiece from a distance. Before you look at the link, here are some facts about the work.
It was created for a commission in 1499. Michelangelo was 24 years old. He was virtually an unknown artist. The work made him famous immediately. Some credited the work to other sculptors, assuming that a work so beautiful could not have been done by a man so young. The offended young artist immediately signed the masterpiece. This is the only work of his that is signed. You can see his name in the ribbon running down Mary's chest.
The word pieta means pity.
My first encounter with The Pieta was in a humanities class in college. The professor was a former priest and he was passionate about all art, especially religious art. We were assigned to sit with a work for a time and let it become part of us. He told us that we could not dismiss a work of art until we had lived it, breathed it, and let it get under our skin. I did not know it then, but that assignment was prayer.
Michelangelo's Pieta is a prayer. Open the link and experience it. Just as one can pray scripture, one can pray this image. Please understand that I did not say pray to the image, I said pray it. There is a difference. The statue is not an idol, it is God's word breathed into stone. What is that word for you? Choose one, all, or none of the following and use it for prayer this week.
  1. Look at the 2 figures together. Mary is holding Jesus. We are holding the names of people needing prayer. Place those people from our list or from your own list in the position of Jesus in the image. Allow Mary to hold them(or allow God to hold them, if you prefer it) Allow the love of God to enter them.
  2. Place your own pain and and hurt in the arms of the parent God. Zoom in on the face of Mary. Note the tender acceptance in her face. Note her youth. Remember that God said our names were engraved on the palm of his hand. Spend some time with the face of Mary and feel God the parent holding you.
  3. Zoom in on arms and legs of the body of Christ, dead yet living. Look at the life in the veins of the arms. What does God tell you of life or death in this?
  4. Zoom in on the wounds on the body. The clean holes in the feet and the wound at the side. Then zoom in on the face of Christ and the face of Mary. The image is one of peace and tranquility. Think about that.
  5. Zoom in on the hand of Mary, reaching out with an open palm. What is she asking of God or of us?
  6. Note the shine of the marble. Michelangelo polished it by hand many times to create it. See the marble as a large slab of rock and then see it as the image of perfect love. What word does God have for you in this?
  7. Use music as you look at this image. I like to use "Pie Jesu" sung by Charlotte Church, or "Holy is his Name" by John Michael Talbot.

May God allow The Pieta to become a part of who you are.

Michelangelo created the figure of Jesus in The Pieta as life size. The figure of Mary that envelopes him is larger than life. If she stood, she would be 7 feet tall. This was not done by accident. The artist intended to create an image of the mother’s love wrapping itself around the son and enveloping it.
The facial expression is serene and sad. This was the first time that the image of the passion of Jesus was depicted in serenity. Books tell me that young Michelangelo hoped to stir the viewer to reflect on that. It is easier for me to believe that God speaks to us than it is for me to believe that a 24 year old artist would have that much spiritual depth. God has shown us many times how he uses the voice we least expect.

Roman Meditation #7 - Mass at St Peters. and the toe

"Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left.
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise, Christ to shield me.
from "THE DEER'S CRY"
author unknown

We attended mass at St. Peter's basilica on Sunday morning. We stood in line to get into the church! It was not a short line. We came plenty ahead of time, but we still did not get into the church in time to find a spot where we could sort of see until the Mass at already begun. I had looked forward to this. I expected that it would be thrilling to attend mass at St. Peter's in Rome. I hadn't thought to anticipate crowds. I hadn't thought to anticipate the picture taking tourists who were not totally sensitive to the fact that a worship service was going on. We had worked our way through the standing crowd to get up close enough to where there were rows of chairs set up behind the pews. Eventually several people got up out of chairs to go look at something else. Mom could sit down at least.
The thing I have appreciated about attending Mass is how holy it all seems. There is so much silence. I also like the kneeling. There is a reverence in the worship experience that always blesses me. This experience was not that. Mass was being said in Latin, German, Italian and English. It seemed to me that there was less English, because I really could not follow it as well as I thought I would be able to. I am usually not distracted by people moving around, thanks to Zion's informality, but this was more than I could focus on. If we had been nearer the front, it would have been easier.
The pope was not saying mass that day. He was out of the country, so lots of expectations were not met that morning.
I remembered Pastor Roy telling us that when we did not feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in worship, perhaps we should take responsibility for that ourselves. God always has something to say to us if we listen. If the Spirit is not present to me, why did I not invite him? And why would the Holy Spirit not show up for this large crowd? I needed to pay attention to God in the midst of all the distraction!
When it came time for the Eucharist, mom and I went up for a blessing. All you do is cross your arms in front of you and instead of getting the body of Christ, you get the sign of the cross made on your forehead and a blessing said for you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even in the confusion of the crowds, that part was awesome.
Blessings don't always come in the way we expect them. There is always more than one way to see a situation. The blessing in this experience was the fact that we stood in line for 45 minutes to get into a worship service. There were so many people attending the service that I could not get close enough to immerse myself in it. Annoying? Maybe, but on the other hand, WOW!
A Cardinal in full attire put the sign of the cross on my forehead and blessed me. The music was majestic and I finally remembered that I was on holy ground.
There is a bronze statue of St. Peter in the basilica that sits high enough to just touch the toe. For centuries people have stood in line to kiss that toe and now the toe is completely worn way. It looks like the sculptor did not make any toes. There is more than one way to look at that as well. Early followers of Martin Luther got rid of statues in their churches for fear of falling into the sin of idolatry. I stood in line and touched the toe. This worn down toe on the statue says something to me about reverence for tradition, and reverence for Christ in Peter and Christ in us. This is another consolation. Christ is with us, and for hundreds of years his people have been blessed by that knowledge.

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me.
THE DEER'S CRY

Roman Meditation #6 - Chiesa del Gesu

"I call it consolation when the soul is aroused by an interior movement which causes it to be inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord and consequently can love no created thing in this world for its own sake, but only in the Creator of all things."
Spiritual Exercises
Ignatius of Loyola
1491-1556

The Chiesa del Gesu, or the Church of the child Jesus is near the Pantheon and we walked past it on the way to just about everywhere, so we stopped in. You can't just walk past places in Rome or you miss something. I did not expect to find the tomb of St. Ignatius of Loyola there. Two years ago I would have not noticed that tomb. In the field of spiritual direction, Ignatius of Loyola is an icon. He is credited with founding the Jesuits. The Jesuits are an order of monastics whose focus today is education. They were likely the 'evangelicals' of their time. They spent their energy in countries like South America and India converting pagans.
In my two years of Spiritual Direction training, I have had to read about and study Ignatian spirituality. There is a library full of books written on that subject. I will just give you a bit here as it applies to this meditation.
"Consolation" is what Ignatius calls the high moments of our faith walk. "Desolation" refers to the hard times and the valleys where we don't feel God quite so easily. We are in a constant state of going back and forth between consolation and desolation. The discipline of prayer and worship helps us to get through the times of desolation.
I had recently been immersed in Ignatian stuff so I was amazed to walk off a street and into a church and find his tomb. After all, I knew that he was a Spanish saint. What I did not know what that he founded the Jesuit order in Rome with the help of Pope Paul III, and that this very church was built after his death to house the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit order) in Rome.
This church is also where we found the arm of St. Francis Xavier displayed in a glass case. This was the most startling relic I saw because you can see the arm. I had seen a case that held the heart of St. Charles, and a case that held the skull of St. Catherine, but this was a visible arm and it was not pleasant. The question I had was why? St. Francis Xavier died in 1552. He was part of the first order of Jesuits. He was canonized in 1662 along with Ignatius and Teresa of Avila. (This was a great year for Spanish mystics) Why this whole thing with body parts of saints? As a Spiritual Director, I am to practice listening to all kinds of theology and spirituality without being shocked or judgmental. Looking at Christians in the 1500's hacking off body parts and not being outwardly disgusted is good practice so I read up on St. Francis Xavier. He was busy. My saint book has pages filled with his good deeds. He was an evangelist and a healer. He spent much of his life in India as a missionary. I guess there were times that his arms were so tired he couldn't lift them.
Early Christians liked to open up the tombs of righteous people because there bodies did not always decompose. They stayed intact and sweet smelling. I guess the body of St. Francis Xavier stayed fresh and pure. Purity of a soul that resulted in flesh that did not decompose is solid proof of something. Don't we long for that solid proof? That arm did nothing for me, but seeing the tomb of Ignatius made that life real to me. Perhaps what seems like a horrifying act is nothing more than a celebration of the existence of God. That is consolation in its purest form. The arm of St. Francis Xavier was actually the arm of Christ in life. In death, it is a reminder that God lives in us and that St. Francis Xavier now lives with God. He no longer has need of flesh. What lengths the human race has gone through to feel the reality of God with us.

This week I revisited the Chieza del Gesu in some of my art books. I looked at photographs of the chapels that house the tomb of Ignatius and the arm of Francis Xavier. I noticed something that I had missed. I noticed that the chapels are filled with great art. There are magnificent statues and frescos. All the art glorifies God. The rooms were dedicated to men, but the content of the room is about God. I also remembered that at this time in history, art was used to teach. The majority of people at that time did not read or write. They depended on the art to give them a sense of the reality of God. The arm of St. Francis still looking like an arm made God real. That arm that Jesus used in life glorifies him in death. Unexpected blessings come to us all the time and they sometimes come from unusual sources. Those blessings are what Ignatius termed consolation.

"It is likewise consolation when one sheds tears inspired by true love of the Lord, whether it be sorrow for sins or because of the Passion of Christ our Lord, or for any other reason that is directly connected to his service and praise."
Spiritual Exercises
Ignatius of Loyola
1491-1556

Roman Meditation #5 - St. Peter's Square

"Who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rockI will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Matthew 16: 13-18
NIV
The largest church in the world is St. Peters at the entrance to Vatican City. This is not the same church as St. Peter in Chains from the previous meditations. The 2 churches are not even close together in Rome. St. Peters is a famous and familiar site, whereas St. Peter in Chains is kind of out of the way and hard to find. The entrance to Vatican City is not missed by any tourists, if I were to judge the daytime crowds. St. Peters Basilica was the first thing mom and I saw in Rome. Our friend Mike brought us there on our first night. It is a holy place to him and he was very eager to share it.
My first view of St. Peters Square was at night. It was probably the only sight that struck me as holy at the very moment. Oh, I knew I was on holy ground everywhere I went, but that first night at St. Peters was truly holy. We were not with a large crowd. St. Peters Square holds up to 250,000 people on occasions like Easter when the Pope says a special Mass or gives a blessing. The night that we were there, it felt like it was just us. The sight of the square brought tears to my eyes that no one could see because it was dark out. The lack of a crowd allowed me to feel the sacredness in the moment. The square is encircled by a ring of columns(284 in all, 56 feet high) These are topped by 140 10 foot statues of sculptor Berninia's favorite saints and martyrs. They loom above the square as if to connect us to heaven. The idea was to give the impression of the churches arms welcoming all pilgrims in an embrace. It gave me the feeling that the 140 saints that Bernini selected to watch over the square were watching me and giving a personal blessing on my Roman pilgrimage. It was a mountaintop experience to be there in person, just to stand there in awe of our very first church.
There is enough material in and at St. Peter's for a book of meditations. Michelangelo and Bernini were the architects and the artists that created it. The Basilica took 120 years to complete and 20 different popes came and went during those years. Our friend Julius II was one of the earliest. In this prayer experience, I want to stay out in the Square in front of the church.
St. Peters Square has an obelisk in the center that marks the site of Peter's crucifixion in 65 AD. (I am not good at descriptions,so know that the Washington monument is a large obelisk. That may help if you aren't sure what the word means) The 140 saints and martyrs look down on the spot and surround you if you are standing in the middle. It is an awesome feeling.
When I was standing there with 140 saints looking down on me, I wondered who they were. Who are the 140 saints? None of my reading on Bernini or St. Peters has named them. When I was standing there, the prayer in my head personalized them. I didn't know them all, but in my mind, 140 of my own ancestors watched me and welcoming me as I hope they do at the entrance to eternity. Maybe Bernini had a vision of heaven when he designed this place. Maybe 140 of my ancestors are interceding for me now. In our Protestant tradition we are all saints, so my grandparents and great grandparents are on the list of the possible 140 who kept an eye on me there, and hopefully here. It is an awesome feeling to think that one is prayed for and loved by the generations that came before. So much of our faith is choice, and in choosing to believe we are choosing to be special, called and loved by140 saints. After all, aren’t we special favorites of Jesus?

It is no accident that St. Peter's is built on the location it is. The actual tomb of St. Peter is below the basilica. The church is literally built on top of the tomb of Peter, thus literally fulfilling the scripture that calls Peter “the rock on which I will build my church” How great is that? The great part is that as Protestants we also claim this history. It belongs to us every bit as much as it does to the Catholics. Yes, Vatican City houses their church offices and their Pope, but St. Peters is a monument to the very root of Christianity and we are part of that.

"I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loose in heaven."
Matthew 16: 19
NIV

Roman Meditation #4 - St. Peter in Chains

Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!
Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: "Hurry!" The handcuffs fell off his wrists.
Acts 12:6, 7
The Message

As you might have expected, there is more to say about the basilica called "St. Peter in Chains". As you also might have expected, there is a reason for its name. It was built to house the chains that at one time held St. Peter.
There are actually two sets of chains linked together. One set is said to have held St. Peter when he and Paul were in the Mamertine prison in Rome. The other set dates back to when Herod jailed Peter in Jerusalem, as described in Acts 12. My Rome guide book says that the Jerusalem chains ended up in Rome as a gift from an Eastern Empress to her son in law, the emperor. ( Emperor Valentinian III) They were then given to Pope Leo the great. He placed the two chains together and they miraculously fused to form a single chain. This chain is preserved today in a bronze urn with glass sides, so that the chain can be seen.
There is stuff like this all over Rome. To me this one is significant for meditation, not because of the miracle of the chain so much as the miracle of the transformation of St. Peter. This is the same Peter that Jesus took fishing when they first met. This is the same Peter that betrayed Jesus 3 times on the night he was taken. This is Peter, that Jesus called 'the rock on which I will build my church'. Somewhere or sometime after the resurrection, Peter was transformed. Peter became a healer. Peter became a fearless apostle. Peter and Paul evangelized much of the world as they knew it, and the religion known as Christianity formed and grew. Peter had a vision in a dream that led to evangelizing Gentiles (Acts 11) It is said that Peter asked to be crucified upside down, as he was not worthy of the same death as Jesus had suffered. Supposedly St. Peter in Chains is built on the site of that crucifixion. The church has art to depict it.
God surprises us always with who he chooses. Moses was a surprise at first and then a miracle. Peter was another surprise. Philip Yancey has described the transformation of Peter as the strongest proof of the truth of the resurrection. He points out in 'the Jesus I Never Knew' that 12 simple, weak human beings began a religion that changed the world. It did not happen by accident. That miracle is hard to explain away. We know the inept human qualitys of the disciples we meet in the gospels. The acts of the apostles seem to be written about different men. The transformation at Pentecost may be the most significant miracle of all. What God can do with a human being is beyond what we can understand.
The chains of Peter are a reminder significant enough in ancient times to build a basilica to house. The chains of Peter are a reminder significant enough to touch us with the possibility that God is waiting for each of us to come into the role that he designed us to play. Possibly we are already in that role. It is true that wonders never cease.

Peter fairly exploded with his good news. "It's God's own truth, nothing could be plainer. God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you're from. If you want God and are ready to die as he says, the door is open."
Acts 10: 34, 35
The Message

Roman Meditation #3 - The Tomb of Pope Julius II

The Israelites completed all the work, just as God had commanded. Moses saw that they had done all the work and done it exactly as God had commanded. Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39:42, 43
The Message
There is a walk described in our Roman Guide book as the pilgrimage walk. The basilica of St. John Lateran was on that walk along with 3 other incredible basilicas. The walk on a map makes a sort of circle which can either start or end with the basilica of St. Peter in Chains. Our walk ended there, as it is a moderate challenge to find. St. Peter in Chains sits on a hill and in order to get to it, you have to walk through what appears to be an alley by our standards but in Europe is a full fledged street, and then up an awful lot of steps. There is no such thing as 'wheel chair accessible' in Rome.
I was insistent that we not skip this place because the tomb of Pope Julius II is there. This tomb is significant because Michelangelo's Moses is a part of the monument. If you had an image of a tomb being something like a headstone in a cemetery, you would be way off! The monument contains 7 sculptures, and three of them are Michelangelo's. I found it so interesting that these works of art that I had seen pictured in books are so off the beaten path by American standards. Once again, I was reminded that Europe is so delightfully different from the United States.
Pope Julius II can be pictured easily if you remember the movie 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' Rex Harrison played Julius and Charlton Heston played Michelangelo. The movie portrayed the relationship between the 2 men much as art books do and that was turbulent. It was Julius II who forced Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel much against his will, and it was that ceiling that made Michelangelo renowned as a painter as well as a sculptor. Julius died shortly after the ceiling was finished, and Michelangelo was to spend the next 40 years working on the monument that was to be the tomb.
In 2006 Michelangelo has fame and Pope Julius II is not known to us. I looked him up and learned that he is credited for moving the center of the Renaissance from Florence to Rome because he used his power to force things to be rebuilt and art to be created. He was a pope that led his own armies into battle. He was rarely out of armor. During his time the city of Rome had a population of 40, 000 people. It was roughly the size of Grand Forks.
I would venture to guess that Methodists from the Dakota conference have not had occasion to think much about Pope Julius II. He died in 1503. If we were Roman, we would have, as much of the art and architecture there now is due to his forcefulness. He played a significant role in the rebuilding and redesigning of Rome. In this past week we have been celebrating the life of our own influential man of God in remembering Ray Siegle. Ray Siegle was pastor of Sharon Lutheran Church for 24 years. In those years, Sharon grew 1000 to 4000 members. In those 24 years, Pastor Ray touched more than the congregation of Sharon Lutheran. How many non Lutherans traveled with Ray and Ruth to the holy land? How many of our youth joined their Lutheran friends for ski trips? How many of us attended the wonderful seminars on caring that Pastor Ray led in the community? How many of us were at weddings or funerals where Ray blessed us with his comfortable and insightful words? A person did not have to be Lutheran to have come into contact with Pastor Ray.
In this day and age, we don't build monuments or have statues carved. How do we acknowledge a life lived in Christ that has affected us? I am not sure why Michelangelo chose the image of Moses to commemorate Pope Julius II. I could guess that it was because the hand of God transformed Moses from a stuttering weakling to a great leader. I would guess that although history paints Julius II in a questionable light, God has used him in powerful ways. People who knew Pastor Ray well could probably say the very same thing of him. His was a life that was allowed to be transformed by the voice of God. I would encourage you to find a detail of Michelangelo's Moses and look at the physical strength in the arms and hand that stroke the long beard almost as if the stone itself is hearing God speak. It is a powerful statue.
The voice of God, if we hear it, connects us to Julius II and to Michelangelo through marble rock. That same God has loved us through Pastor Ray Siegle. God reaches out to us through lives that hear him. Also, whether you can believe it or not, God reaches out to those he loves through you and me. We are the marble and our lives our the work of art. A battle- hungry pope, a sculptor, a piece of rock, a retired Lutheran Pastor, and each of us...all created, connected, used and loved by that very same God. This is the thing that is often most hard to realize. It is the very miracle of how God works.
May the transforming breath of God change us as it changed Moses; as it changed stone into shape through the inspired work of a great artist, created by a great God.

"God spoke to Moses....Moses did everything God commanded. He did it all."
Exodus 40:1,16
The Message

Roman Meditation #2

"The hour was noon, and PIlate said to the Jews, 'here is your king.'
They shouted back 'Kill him! Kill him! crucify him!'
Pilate said 'I am to crucify your king?'
The high priests answered, 'we have no king but Caesar.'
Pilate caved in to their demand. He turned him over to be crucified."
John 19:14-16
The Message

St. John Lateran, or San Giovanni in Laterano, was the first Christian Church in the city of Rome. You wouldn't guess that to look at it. The present exterior was done much later, more like about 1780. The original church,however, was opened in about 318 AD by the Emperor Constantine. Up until 1870 all popes were 'crowned' here, and it is still the church home of the Bishop of Rome. (that would be the pope).
On the eastern side of the Piazza of St. John Lateran in a separate building is 'the holy staircase'. These are the 28 marble steps that were in front of the residence of Pilate. It came to Rome from Jerusalem. It was sent by St. Helena, who was Constantine's mother. . Supposedly these are the steps that Jesus climbed on the day that he was sentenced to death. Each day hundreds of pilgrims climb these steps on their knees. At the top of the stairs is a chapel that was at one time considered to be the holiest place on earth because of all the relics stored there. Now these relics, whatever they were, are in the Vatican.
We visited the holy stairs and saw people climbing them on their knees. Some had their heads on the steps, some had hands raised. I was intrigued by it but had no inclination to take part There were tourists everywhere, and we were part of that. Italian worshippers can't be concerned about the public, as tourists seem to invade every possible worship space they have. I felt more like I was an invader than a potential worshipper.
My friend Mike told me that he had read that Martin Luther had climbed half way up the steps and then left in disgust. The reverence for the relics at the top held no meaning to him. This makes sense, if you place yourself with Martin Luther. He was educated, and possibly saw that the relic thing was close to idolatry, at least from his point of view. I have to remind myself that very few people could read back then, and they depended on the visual and the concrete things that they could see since there was nothing else. When we view the religious art of that time, we can thank God for all of that, as it blesses us today.

I truly wish I knew what relics were once up there. Relics, if you aren't sure, are remnants of saints. They aren't always body parts, but they can be. They lost a good deal of significance even for Catholics after the reformation.

The relics ar