Holy Things

We spent this morning in Vatican City. I hate to think of everything we missed due to our lack of knowledge regarding fine art and the Renaissance, or what we have forgotten since Art Appreciation 101 at Mizzou. We thoroughly enjoyed the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo totally hit it out of the park on this one. How one mind could create such an original tribute to the glory of God is just beyond my scope of reference. The details included in each fresco bring the story of Christianity to life. No picture I could take would do this room justice.

We then went to St. Peter's Basilica. I have no words for all of the emotion this building brought to me. I knew better than to do this, but as you enter the basilica, the first thing you see on your right is the Pieta. I was going to save it for the grand finale, but I caved and went straight for it.

I wept as I looked at Mary holding her son's dead body. Some of my tears were shed because I put myself in her place, but some were shed as I marveled at the ability of someone to put such emotion into a piece of rock. With paint, an artist can use color to shade and tone and add nuance and depth to a subject, but to think this began as one slab of rock, shaped only by a chisel is stunning.  Mary's face shows such sadness. Her upturned left palm hints that she might be talking to herself as she tries to make sense of Jesus' death. Jesus' body looks spent and weak. Mary looks older and wiser than she is often depicted, but still so vulnerable. Though I was nearly knocked over by a tourist with a camcorder as I studied this sculpture, it was probably the most sacred moment of the trip for me.

The majesty and grandeur of St. Peter's can't be captured on film. The bronze altar, at the bottom right, is 17 feet tall. The very top of the dome, which contains the image of God, is 400 feet tall--higher than a football field is long. The church can hold 60,000 standing worshippers. The word awesome doesn't even begin to describe this church.