What is a sacrament? The sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). A sacrament is a sacred and visible sign that is instituted by Jesus to give us grace, an undeserved gift from God. We covered in the last post the seven sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony). This year, I will likely be receiving the sacrament of confirmation, as I am working towards becoming a fully integrated member of the Church. Working towards this has opened my eyes to the marvel of the faith and its importance in our lives. Charlotte and I will also be entering into the sacrament of matrimony. I wanted to have a look at this painting with you, ahead of this wondrous day.
Jesus told the Pharisees, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” Matthew 19:6
Pope Paul VI wrote: “By it [the Sacrament of Matrimony] husband and wife are strengthened and…consecrated for the faithful accomplishment of their proper duties, for the carrying out of their proper vocation even to perfection, and the Christian witness which is proper to them before the whole world” (Humanae Vitae, n. 25).
The composition of this painting is beautiful. The priest is standing over the engaged couple, who kneel at the altar. The light is falling on the priest and also the heads of the two betrothed, which makes for a beautiful effect. The bride has a rosary draped over her robe. The scene is plain, and the robe is not white or elaborate. Rather, the priest is the one in white in this painting. I imagine this was done this way in order to accentuate the importance of the sacrament, rather than the wedding itself. This was done as a series of paintings on the seven sacraments so it stands to reason Crespi would have wanted to keep the focus on the sacrament itself. The couple here are confecting the sacrament of marriage. This is a very important moment in the Mass, which I look forward to taking part in later this year.
This is a beautiful painting which represents a beautiful moment. Charlotte and I have both said the Nuptual Mass is the part of our wedding day we are most looking forward to (as well as the panettone bread and butter pudding).
I came across this painting as it was the feature image on an article by a priest who was rather upset at Pope Francis’ off the cuff remark that nobody should be denied absolution in the confessional. This is not in line with the Church’s teaching, which states clearly that if a sinner is not repentant, he should not be given absolution (essentially wiping the slate clean) in the confessional. In any case, the painting is quite striking.
The sweet yet pert woman kneeling in the confessional was thought by some contemporary critics to represent a young mother who had yielded to the advances of an admirer. Meticulously captured in all the details of furnishing and dress, the contemporary scene was instead seen by the Catholic critic Pietro Estense Selvatico as designed to illustrate the moral beauty of everyday life. Google Arts & Culture
This is a beautiful painting, to me. The situation is not necessarily in keeping with confessionals which I have seen, most of which are closed and private, but it is impressive nonetheless. A young lady is kneeling in humility on the outside of a confessional box. A priest, wearing a beautiful purple stole is listening attentively to her words. Confession involves a a ritual praying for the healing of a person from the power of evil and a reunion with the God. I won’t go into any great depth about sin here, but I wanted to include the wording of absolution which the priest utters, after hearing a confession (and if the penitent makes a firm purpose of amendment, mind you):
God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church, may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Part of the reason I wanted to share this painting was to show you a beautiful work of art, with wonderful proportions, depth, colours and hues. I also wanted to pipe up as an advocate of confession as a humbling and beautiful sacrament. It is not something to take on lightly, but when done, we are kneeling in the confessional, speaking to a priest who is in persona Christi, representing Christ opposite you. Confession unburdens us from our sins, makes us white as snow, and is a humbling as well as therapeutic. It helps us to consider what we have done to put us far away from God in the week(s) between confessions. Considering what we could do better in our every day lives is key to continually improving, and building momentum in our growth towards grace and God.
It is said that this painting may have been inspired by Guiseppe Maria Crespi’s Confession, which he painted as part of a series on the Seven Sacraments (Baptism, Confession, Confirmation, Communion, Extreme Unction, Ordination and Matrimony). I will likely do a post soon on the latter.
One day Crespi saw a man in the confessional at San Benedetto’s confessing his sins to the priest. A ray of sunlight fell on the man’s head and shoulders, and was reflected inside the small chamber to produce the most beautiful contrast between light and dark that can be imagined. He [Crespi] studied it very carefully and, as soon as he was back home, did a small drawing of the scene. Then he sent two porters to fetch him a confessional, which he promptly installed in his room with staged lighting. He introduced Ludovico Mattioli, who chanced to be there, into the scene of the confession, and painted him so well that everyone recognised him, as they did the priest, who was the same person who had lent him the confessional.’ Zanotti further recounts that Crespi made a gift of the painting to Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni in Rome, who was highly delighted and commissioned the remaining six paintings. Web Gallery of Art
I will try to post more regularly going forward. Life does get in the way sometimes!
Heartfelt thanks to my dear Papa who first suggested this to me. I am not as familiar with Graceland as I ought to be but I understand this is an album which was sufficiently weighty to square up to it. Indeed I have listened and re-listened to this album countless times over the year, by myself, with Charlotte and with Nick and it has improved on every listen. It covers themes like love, ageing, and the onslaught of modern life. Regrettably I do not have enough time to give this album the depth of review which it deserves. However, the album does not need my endorsement, it sold two million copies and was nominated for two Grammys.
Though he recorded the album’s prominent percussion tracks in Brazil, Paul Simon fashioned The Rhythm of the Saints as a deliberate follow-up to the artistic breakthrough and commercial comeback that was the South Africa-tinged Graceland.
In the opening track, the protagonist seeks solace in a higher power when he considers his own mortality. The cross is in the ballpark,” Simon sings. “Why deny the obvious child?”. This is followed by The Coast in which a family of travelling musicians take refuge in the harbour church of Saint Cecilia, who is the patron Saint of music.
In counterpoint to these portraits of human affirmation, Simon casts haunted images of damage and helplessness. On the hypnotic “Can’t Run But,” he parallels with unrelenting grimness the steady erosion of the environment, romantic love and even the ability of music to transport the soul. Rolling Stone
This album does require a few re-listens in order to be fully appreciated. Simon paints abstract musical and poetic tableaus with the tracks in this album. The Cool Cool River is one such track, and is worth having a few goes at. The rewards are legion.
Powered by a surging, jagged 9/8 time signature, “The Cool, Cool River” runs through the thematic center of the album. After sketching a canvas of violence, oppression and isolation, Simon fixes the moment when a soul takes flight: “Anger and no one can heal it/Slides through the metal detector/Lives like a mole in a motel/A slide in a slide projector/The cool, cool river/Sweeps the wild, white ocean/The rage of love turns inward/To prayers of deep devotion.” In a startling moment, Simon offers this stark epiphany: “And I believe in the future/We shall suffer no more/Maybe not in my lifetime/But in yours I feel sure.” Rolling Stone
Overall, while I wish I had more time to explore this wonderful album, I shall leave it there. Suffice to say, this is one of those rare albums which hit hard and stay with you for many years, as I am sure will be the case here.
Holman Hunt worked on this between 1870 and 1873, on his second trip to the Holy Land. It shows Jesus as a young man, taking a break from his carpenter work, which he is doing with his mother, Mary. This painting is replete with details, as I have come to expect from my probable favourite artist (sorry Henriëtte Ronner-Knip). See the painting below.
Mary is kneeling, fetching something from a box. The eagle-eyed among you will spot the Magi’s gifts in this box, which she has kept from the birth of Jesus. We have just celebrated Epiphany within the Church, a feast where we celebrate the Magi came to Jesus and offered him gifts of frankincense gold and myrrh. The first to celebrate his divinity, the second to celebrate his kingship and the third foreshadowing his death. To emphasise this, the painting casts a shadow onto the rack of tools behind our Lord, giving the distinct impression his shadow is being crucified. This is an electrifying painting. We do not know much of the hidden years of Christ’s life. Several of the Gospels do not mention his childhood, and Luke’s Gospel stops at the finding of Jesus in the temple, which I covered in another post. This is a rare insight or impression of what Christ might have been up to in the years leading up to his ministry, which he began aged thirty.
The level of detail is astonishing. From the fabrics, to the skin tones, to the discarded red bandana signifying the crown of thorns Christ was to wear – all of these and more than I have the bandwidth to write about at the moment. John Everett Millais did a similar painting called Christ in the House of his Parents, which I shall cover in a separate post, because it is beautiful.
This painting was criticised as theatrical by some while it was first exhibited, but I think it is a masterpiece. It is grand and somehow reverent, pensive and remarkably detailed. Our Lord’s death and resurrection is at the very centre of our faith. It was foretold in the old testament and indeed by the wise men during their visit. To see it foreshadowed in such vivid detail here, is quite moving to me. I hope it is as moving to you.
Firstly I should like to apologise sincerely for my lack of posting ere these last four weeks. My life has become rather hectic with a combination of wedding planning, Christmas holiday, bereavement and changes at work. I have not had the time which I would have liked to have to dedicate to this blog. However, I shall make an effort to return to normal scheduled programming.
The album cover of the month is Gentleman by Fela Kuti. I have mentioned this before in Five Favourites, but it struck me today as uniquely funny. The track Gentleman is about a local in Nigeria going to the west, becoming Westernised (the opposite experience which Fela had) and coming back home. This man has come back and is dressing inappropriately for the climate, in western gear, sweating and making a fool of himself in order to appear cultured. Fela ridicules this idea. The cover explains his views far better than any explanation can. This is why it is the album cover of the month!
Jaroslav Čermák (1831 – 1878), a Czech born painter, produced this beautiful painting of Saint Nicholas. This Saint’s feast day was celebrated on December 6th. He was the bishop of Myra, a city in modern day Turkey, in the 4th Century AD. Interestingly, he is one of the foremost Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church. He is the patron Saint of children, but not for the reasons which advertisements would have you believe…
Saint Nicholas is the patron Saint of children because during a grizzly famine in Myra, three local children were killed and pickled in order to be sold as ‘ham’. Saint Nicholas intervened, by working a miracle, and brought them back to life! There is a painting by Gentile da Fabriano depicting this scene.
He is also the patron Saint of unmarried people, fishermen, pawnbrokers, and the falsely accused.
This is very far indeed from the usual depiction of this Saint, astride some garish sleigh and pulled along by an assortment of ill-paid reindeer. I think the painting evokes the kindness and bravery of this Saint in splendour.
