7 Quick Takes - Good Friday Edition

I know I'm a little late for this, but still going for it...

For more quick takes, visit Jennifer Fulwiler's www.conversiondiary.com blog extravaganza. [UPDATE: She didn't do 7 Quick Takes and I didn't realize until afterward.  But anything she writes is worth reading, definitely check out her blog!]

1) Sacred music for Good Friday: Stabat Mater

Check out this for a beautiful, polyphonic treatment of the hymn...

2) Sacred art for Good Friday: Michelangelo's "Pieta"
I've seen this in person and it truly is an incredible work.  As one deficient in the sculpting skills department, it blows my mind that Michelangelo turned an enormous rock into one of the greatest masterpieces in western civilization.  I was amazed at how lifeless Jesus looked.  I remember half expecting Mary to breathe or turn her head.  The technical skill to carve such a scene is one thing; the ability to capture the mood of Good Friday is extraordinary.







3) Sacred art for Good Friday: Dali's "Christ of St. John of the Cross"
I've been exposed to this image before, mainly on holy cards.  Whenever someone talked to me about the image, they'd always point out one thing: there are no nails on the cross.  "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have the power to lay it down, and the power to take it up again; this charge I have received from my Father." (John 10:18, RSV-CE)

4) Beautiful church for Good Friday: Sainte Chapelle, Paris, France

A travel book described this church like "walking into a gem," such was the magnificence of the architecture and the stained glass windows.  It truly was breathtaking!  King (later Saint) Louis built the edifice in the 13th century to house relics from Jesus' Passion; among them, the crown of thorns.  Thankfully the chapel survived the French Revolution... although not all of the windows did.  Hidden but present behind the brutality of the crucifixion is the radiant glory of the resurrection; this chapel really captured that for me. 

5) Church for Good Friday: Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome, Italy

This church houses one incredible relic of the Passion of Jesus: the titulus crucis, the sign that hung on the cross above Jesus' head.  "Jesus the Nazarean, King of the Jews" was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin--as noted in St. John's Gospel (19:19-20).  Since that phrase was a little long to put on devotional crucifixes, an acronym was used instead: INRI, the first letter of the Latin portion of the titulus crucis... "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum."  As you probably learned from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," the letter J is not found in Latin.  Check out this news clip:

6) Devotion for Good Friday: St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy

(shout out to my sister Kristy and her household at Steubenville)  Three o'clock is the hour of mercy, as it's the hour that Jesus uttered His last breath.  His death bought redemption to us all, and His sacrifice opened the gates of heaven to us.  PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!  It's extraordinary that God would be so merciful to us, in light of all the sins of humanity from the original one to now.  St. Faustina was privileged to be visited by Christ in visions and in prayer; the fruit of that is a special devotion to Jesus' divine mercy.  Check out the webpage of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception for a deeper description.  

7) Sacrament for Good Friday: Confession

Be healed by the divine physician; let go and seek forgiveness of the spiritual death (i.e. sin) in the soul.  Here are Fr. Z's tips for a good confession and a quick story of the great graces that ensue from confession.

7 Quick Takes the Second, 3/15/13

7 Quick Takes

For the other quick takes, go to Jennifer Fulwiler's www.conversiondiary.com. 

1) HABEMUS PAPAM!!!!!!!!!!!  I wanted to write about my interest in the conclave, but the time for that post has passed.  I even had a title ready: “I Got a Fevah!”  Next time... 

I had no clue that Cardinal Jorge Brogoglio was a serious candidate; actually, that was the first I heard of him.  So far, he looks like a simple, humble, holy man.  I’m excited for his pontificate, and I can’t wait to “get to know him” through his writings, etc.  His gesture of asking the prayers of the crowd at St. Peter’s Square—beautiful.  And from everything I’ve read?  Utterly genuine.  

2) Thank you to Catholic bloggers!  I realized the other day how much I enjoyed frequenting them.  Thank you to Rocco Palmo @ Whispers in the Loggia, Fr. Z @ What Does the Prayer Really Say, Robert Moynihan @ the Moynihan Letters, John Thavis @ Decoding the Vatican, John Allen Jr. @ the National Schismatic Reporter (shout out to Fr. Z), and anything that George Weigel writes.  Thanks also to FOCUS for doing the white smoke text alert—although my older sister beat them to the punch.  Good quality Catholicism from good quality writers.  Keep up the good work!

3) It’s an interesting time in western Oregon; we not only have a new pope but also a new archbishop.  What will the church look like in 5 years, when both have had time working in their respective positions?  

4) Hearing of the happenings in Rome reminds me of two trips there.  The first was in 2004, I think, when I went for two weeks and stayed at the Pontifical North American College (the NAC).  I was a seminarian at the time, treated wonderfully by my hosts, some of my then-diocesan brothers at the NAC.  The things I saw!  Being a history major deepened my appreciation, and I was lucky enough to have taken a history of art class the semester immediately prior to the trip.  

Walking into St. Peter’s Basilica was breathtaking (literally).  The Pietá truly is a masterpiece; I kept looking at it, thinking I’d catch Our Lady turning her head or caressing her Son’s hair.  The four major basilicas were awesome—and to think, these were the burial places of St. Peter!  St. Paul!  On my second trip to Rome, I was part of a World Youth Day group going to Cologne in 2005.  The tour began in Rome, and one of the big highlights was having Mass in one of the catacombs.  

The greatest gift from that whole trip was experiencing the universality of the Catholic Church—presently, with pilgrims from every corner of the world in Cologne; past and future, seeing the tombs of saints and martyrs, knowing they were in heaven praying for us.  And the capstone: seeing the pope and St. Peter’s, the touchstone of unity in the Church.  

5) I’ve been watching the History Channel’s Bible show.  I’ve enjoyed it!  Honestly, I didn’t think I would.  I felt obligated to watch it at first—how can you say ‘No’ to the Bible???  Once my wife and I started watching it, however, we didn’t want it to end.  I appreciate seeing the biblical figures as real people.  I’m always wary of a secular channel doing a project like this; effectively, they’re telling the story of the Bible with their own reflections.  Skip this, show this, make a connection there with this figure that wasn’t explicit in the text (but doesn’t contradict the text), etc.  I’m excited and nervous for the New Testament.  And I wonder... are they going Catholic or Protestant?  That is, those books that are the “apocryphal books” to Protestants and conversely part of the Old Testament canon to Catholics.  The Maccabees’ revolt would be a neat thing to see!  

6) Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Let's not forget amidst the beer drinking and music that St. Patrick was a devoted and zealous pastor.  He loved his people and loved the Lord even more. 

7) Go Dodgers! (author deflects responsibility for lazy quick take to braindeadedness)