Final Word

    Wrapping up this course with a new knowledge base of the Catholic Church and it's history, I was presented with many themes and ideas that flourished throughout the Church's rich historical timeline.  Three of these themes, sacrifice, art, and politics, took the center stage in the events of the Church's history and shaped or were shaped by these occurrences.  Today, these themes remain and continue to be active elements within the Catholic Church's structure.

    The death and resurrection of Jesus was the first sacrifice that Christians witnessed.  Christians were so moved by this grand sacrifice of Jesus, he willingly giving up his life so that we could have salvation and eternal life as well.  Early Christians were devoted followers of Jesus and spread the good word as best they could, however, they were persecuted harshly after some time.  Martyrs were the next example of the sacrifice theme in Catholic history.  Brave men and women who lived and died by the gospel and for the gospel were murdered because of their beliefs.  For example, in Rome we saw churches dedicated to martyrs such as St. Prassedes and St. Pudenziana who were sisters and martyrs that held mass in their home and willingly died to send the message that Jesus was their salvation and Christians were ultimately on the right side of history.  Following the crucifixion of Jesus and the deaths of many martyrs, there came a time when Christians were not being persecuted as fiercely because they gained acceptance in the Roman Empire's society.  This prompted the rise of monasticism or the way of life of monks and nuns who separated from society to pray for the world.  This practice came to replace martyrdom as the model of Christian perfection.  Many monastic orders were vowed to chastity, poverty, and prayer.  They live strict lives as a way to carry on the sacrifice that Jesus made as well as the martyrs that followed him.  In addition, the  Eucharist now serves as the bloodless sacrifice of Christians today.  The Eucharist embodies God and Jesus sacrificing for us, and us sacrificing to God and Jesus in return.  The Eucharist is participating in the life of God through the blood and body of Jesus.

    Art is a theme largely seen in the Catholic Church throughout time.  Art was reflective of what was happening with the church at the time.  For example, during the black death many religious artworks were created in a realistic approach.  Bloody and gruesome artworks of Jesus being crucified and Mary mourning after him were commonly seen at this time, relating to the suffering of the black death.  Not only was art influenced from suffering, but from social and cultural movements as well.  The Renaissance brought new types of art and architecture that was utilized by the Catholic Church.  Gothic architecture that replaced Romanesque architecture brought in large stained glass windows to churches and pointed roofs to raise the minds of worshippers and let in the light of God.  Several churches we saw in Rome had overwhelmingly beautiful pieces of art within them, most commissioned by the Church to famous artists such as Caravaggio and Michelangelo.  For example, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew painted by Caravaggio was placed in the church of San Luigi dei Francesci.  The cardinal whose chapel the painting was to be placed in left specific instructions for what he wanted in the painting; architecture, the saint being murdered by a soldier, and crowds of witnesses displaying heavy emotion.  The artist was paid for this work, so they were to paint what their commissioner asked of them.  Of course, the artists found ways to incorporate their own styles and visions for these religious works of art, many of them being deeply religious as well.  There is often the question of whether it is truly right for the Catholic Church to have these glorious art filled and beautifully architected churches. It can be argued to be just in many ways, for one, it can be seen as a commemoration of looking at how far the Catholic Church had come.  Once a persecuted group of outcasts, Catholics continued to follow the gospel and eventually flourished, the places of worship can be used to remember how far they've come and what they've been able to build out of nothing.  It can also be argued that it is okay for the church to be so heavily decorated, because it is not one person's belongings.  The Church belongs to everyone, the donors who spent money to put art in the churches could be seen as a testimony of how generous they were to give back to the church.  The rich did not own the Catholic Church, it belonged to everyone and anyone who followed the gospel.

 
     Politics and the church is another theme that has been played out in the history of the Catholic Church.  Once Constantine converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the Roman Empire, it meant both good and bad for the church.  The positives were the Romans would pray for the clergy, Christian values influenced the law of the land, Christianity being the state's religion gave Christians a deeper sense of civic duty, and Christians could justify defending the state by referring to the Bible.  On the negative side, emperors often overstepped their powers and intervened in church affairs, there was corruption of the church through wealth and political gain, it tested the Christian conscience, and led Christians to persecute non-believers.  Once Christianity and politics mingled, it was hard to separate the two and for a long time the two institutions would influence each other to a great extent.  Pope Leo I was a key figure in centralizing the papal authority and declared that Popes are direct successors of St. Peter, thus having a lot of power.  There was often power struggle or power cooperation between the Popes and the Kings throughout history.  For example, Pope Stephen crowned Pippin the King of the Franks in 754 which had advantages for both parties.  Pippin could cement his claim to kingship over the Franks and create a central monarchy and have full authority because he was appointed by the Pope.  In return, the Pope was given a large chunk of Italy to rule over as a spiritual leader and a king.  Instances such as these show the dysfunction of the Church and Politics, and how at times, the Church's leaders went against what they preached.  This of course led to revolutions within the Church and some groups subsequently breaking off on their own, such as the Lutherans.

    The Church has seen many changes over the course of history, but I believe it is okay to assume that sacrifice, art, and politics will see their way into the coming future of the Catholic Church.

Religion and Sciene

     Yesterday we had the pleasure of traveling to Castelgandolfo where the Pope's summer house is located.  It is a quaint little town right on a gorgeous lake and inactive volcano.  We met Brother Guy Consolmagno who was a Jesuit brother who is an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory.  He explained to us some of the history of the Catholic church and science and debunked the myth that Catholic Popes did not support science.  He told us the majority of Catholic Popes do indeed support the research of science and have hopes that science and religion can coexist and bring us closer to God.  

He mentioned Pope Urban the 8th who we've learned about previously and how he was a liberal Pope who changed the way the Catholics viewed science in the world.  Brother Guy explained that the widely held view that Catholics opposed religion was created by Anglo-Saxon Americans during the age of immigrants of Catholics into America.  This was an interesting fact because previously I had thought that Catholics truly did not want science to impose on the religious values presently held. 

     Brother Guy was a living example of a Jesuit in the present day.  He was both a brother and astronomer, out in the world actively seeking knowledge and spreading faith and education.  In the past he was a professor at an American university and in the peace corps teaching science to young people in Kenya.  It is no surprise that he became a Jesuit because he clearly loves teaching and spreading knowledge to everyone.  I really liked his presentation he gave to us and all of the misconceptions he cleared up that in the past have been troubling to people when pondering religion and science.  

Panoramic view of the lake and volcano at Castelgandolfo

Outside of the Vatican Observatory

Audience With the Pope

   Yesterday we had the privilege of sitting right next to the stage during the Audience With the Pope.  This was my second time seeing the Pope in person, but being so close to him made it that much more exciting.  Crowds of people gathered from all over the world to hear what the Pope had to say this Wednesday.  Cardinals and Bishops who spoke various languages welcomed all of the groups who pilgrimed to the Vatican to see the Pope.  We cheered loudly when they welcomed our group from DePaul University.  The Pope sat on a small white stage in a big white chair.  A large wooden crucifix was placed next to him and large white pillars blocked my view just a bit.  I was eager to hear what the Pope would say, in the midst of Advent I predicted it would be something along the lines of reflecting on Jesus' birth and life, or about giving and selflessness.  Much to my surprise, Pope Francis' talked about the Last Judgement.  He said to not be afraid of the Last Judgement, in a nutshell.  He also said that anyone who believes in Christ will not be condemned.

    I thought this was an interesting topic, seeing as we had many lectures and on site visits that displayed the Last Judgement mostly in artistic ways.  For example, at the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio the large fresco painted on the nave of the church displayed a detailed Last Judgement portrayal.  As I posted in the earlier blog, the fresco's main idea was to tell us that dying should not be looked at as a scary thing.  If you live well, you will die well.  I believe this is what Pope Francis was telling us at the audience on Wednesday.  If you are a believer in Christ, follow His teachings, and live a good life, you will be accepted into Heaven.  Another interesting connection is that Pope Francis is a Jesuit just like St. Ignatius of Loyola.  His idea of living well and dying well and not fearing the Last Judgement corresponds with the fresco in St. Ignatius's church here in Rome.

Caravaggio Day

     Yesterday we learned a great deal about the famous artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio who lived from 1571-1610.  He was born in Milan but painted all over Italy including Rome and Naples.  He was extremely famous during his time and had a group of followers and admirers of his work.  He painted many still life paintings that expressed the beauty and dignity of things observed in daily life.  He had an attraction for classic art and painted what was going on in ordinary life on the streets.  Caravaggio eventually moved on to painting sacred subjects which caught the attention of important religious figures.

     I covered the painting "The Martyrdom of St. Matthew" done in the years 1599-1600.  This is a captivating scene of St. Matthew just moments before being killed by a soldier sent from the King of Ethiopia.  The story goes that the King was upset by St. Matthew telling him that he cannot marry his own niece who was a nun.  The King sent out a soldier to kill St. Matthew and it happened while the saint was celebrating mass at the altar.  You can see that Matthew appears to be holding off the soldier by raising his hand up to protect himself, but actually, he is grabbing a palm branch extended by an angel, allowing himself to be martyred.  This is interesting because in a lecture here in Rome we learned that palm branches are used to symbolize life because the branches never die.  Like palm trees, we will never die if we believe in Christ and ascend into heaven for eternal life.

     This particular painting is now in the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi and hangs opposite of another Caravaggio painting, "The Calling of St. Matthew".  The painting is impressively large in person.  You can clearly see how Caravaggio put the spotlight on St. Matthew and the soldier while the witnesses in the background are much darker and display looks of varying emotion and horror on their faces.  Caravaggio purposely did this to further dramatize the scene of St. Matthew being martyred.  I truly enjoyed being able to view this amazing painting in person.  It gave me a better sense of what Caravaggio wanted to display because I was able to study the emotion on the figures faces, the ferocity of the soldier killing St. Matthew, and St. Matthew's willingness to give up his life for Jesus in that very moment.  It was a moving painting both artistically and religiously.

"The Martyrdom of St. Matthew" in the Contarelli Chapel

The nave of San Luigi dei Francesi 

The Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

     I was really excited to be able to see the church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola today because I've heard so much about Saint Ignatius himself.  Ignatius was a Spanish knight who underwent a conversion while resting after being badly wounded in battle.  This occurred in the 1520's right around the counter-reformation of the Catholic church.  He went on to found the religious order called the Jesuits which stands for the Society of Jesus.  Ignatius and his followers vowed themselves to poverty, chastity, and obedience.  Saint Ignatius is also the patron saint of soldiers.

     The Church of Saint Ignatius is a baroque style church with artwork inside reflecting that period of time.  What is unique about this church is the large fresco painted on the ceiling of the nave.  It is a colorful representation of Ignatius of Loyola's ascension into heaven.  Other saints surround him in the sky as if they are all ascending together, however, people lower to the ground are seeing as being rejected from heaven.  This judgement scene is commonly depicted in Baroque art because it represents the need to understand what salvation means and what could happen if you do not live your life following Jesus.  However, this scene isn't as dark or scary as other last judgement artworks.  It was common in the Baroque period to capture a happy death, meaning one must live well to die well.  Death will not be tragic and miserable knowing you lived a good life and will be accepted into heaven.

    The fresco itself has a lot going on Ignatius is shown going up into Heaven with Jesus shining a beam of light that reflect into Jesus' heart.  The idea is that Jesus' light reflecting into Ignatius is spread from Ignatius to others.  Also on the fresco there are different representations of the continents of the world.  The purpose is to show that Jesuits went to the four corners of the earth to spread the gospel.  We learned in class Jesuits truly valued knowledge and education and wanted to share that with others. Their mission trips to Asia were most successful with Matteo Ricci who tried to assimilate and educate those inhabitants without imposing on their culture and present beliefs.  This church overall represents the active spirit of Jesuits in the world striving to make it a better place by helping and educating people.

     

The Vatican Museum

     The Vatican Museum was a special place to visit because it isn't an ordinary museum.  It is described as a collection of collections.  A museum that does not only represent the past but reflects on the future as well.  The Vatican Museum was created by Pope Julius the Second in order to educate people about the Catholic faith as opposed to being a tourist hot spot.  It's main purpose is to showcase the unity between faith and human reason.

     A painting that struck me as being very unique was Raphael's "Transfiguration".  Raphael's large painting hung at the center of a large room where people could crowd around and study the grand image.  The painting shows Jesus coming down from the sky highlighted with bright colors, below him a crowd of people amazed at his appearance.  The painting was created to emphasize a glimpse of hope for what's to come, for God's great plan.  This painting was associated with death in early Christian art. Two men are floating in the sky at both of Jesus' sides.  They are the prophets Elijiah and Moses.  Moses represents the law while Elijiah represents the prophets, the meaning of their presence is that Jesus incorporates the law and the prophets in his life, works, and message.  An interesting point in the painting is a young boy who is possessed and is pointing up at Jesus.  This figure shows that Jesus is his only hope in curing his own demons and that ultimately Jesus has power over evil.

     This painting embodies many of the key points that we've studied in Catholic theology.  The belief in Jesus as the son of God, the faith in Jesus to help us rid ourselves of sin and evil, and the promise of His return to Earth.

St. Peter's Basilica

     This morning we returned to St. Peter's Square for the third time and got to explore the grand basilica.  We spent a few minutes out on the square and took a closer look at the structure of the square itself.  The impressive sized basilica is centered in the middle with a tall obelisk directly in front of it.  Rows of columns on either side of the basilica direct out forward, and then curve in a rounded figure.  A large opening welcomes in visitors to the square.  These columns are representative as two arms opened up encouraging pilgrims and other people to enter into the home of Catholicism.  It is a nice universal way of welcoming all kinds of people into the church without using words or language that would exclude any type of person.

   

Outside of St. Peter's Basilica

     

     It was quite overwhelming when we first stepped foot into the basilica.  The ceiling seemed to go on forever and the walls were covered in gorgeous statues and mosaics of various saints and religious figures.  We focused our attention on a sculpture of Mary holding the lifeless Jesus done by Michelangelo at only 22 years old.  The image was familiar to me because I had seen it in photographs several times beforehand.  While studying the sculpture you can see clearly that Mary is represented much younger than she would have been when Jesus was crucified.  Her youthful face is that of a young woman around 16 years old.  This is because Michelangelo wanted to depict her as the Virgin Mary and have her in this sculpture as eternally youthful.  Mary is holding Jesus as she would a baby, cradling him.  This further adds to having Mary seen as the young Virgin mother of the Son of God.  Jesus is draped over Mary's lap and appears to be falling onto the altar, which symbolizes his life and work transforming into the gospel for all believers of Christ.  Jesus is also shown with a wound, which was much different from other works of art that show a more gruesome take on Jesus after the crucifixion.  The small wound on his side tells us his death was not just a morbid, dark, and gory occurence but rather a blessing to all who believed in him because of his resurrection.  

Pieta by Michelangelo