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Contents1 History of Mary Magdalene2 Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute?3 Gospel of Mary Magdalene4 Maddalena: meaning of the name and name day Among the disciples, there were also several women. We know better Mary Magdalene, the apostle who left everything to follow Jesus. Santa Maria…
Contents1 The names of the 12 apostles2 The jobs of the twelve apostles3 What are the Acts of the Apostles4 The letters of the apostles5 Difference between Apostles and Disciples6 What did the apostles do after the death of Jesus Who were the 12 apostles,…
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We all know, thanks to the accounts of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. But where do the images of the cave, the ox and the donkey next to the manger that warms Jesus with their breath come from? These details do not appear in the gospels of Luke and Matthew but in the apocryphal gospels. The word “apocryphal” comes from the Greek and indicates something kept hidden and away from use. In the Christian context, it is used for texts that are not part of the four canonical gospels and are not recognized as part of the New Testament.
Saint Matthew, apostle, evangelist and martyr
On 21 September, Saint Matthew is celebrated evangelist, apostle and martyr. Who was he and how did he become an apostle?
The apocryphal gospels are texts, mostly fragmentary, that tell facts of the history of Jesus and the people around him, but that were not accepted as canonical by the magisterium of the Church. These texts were produced after the Apostolic Age, that is, in the decades following the preaching of the Apostles and the birth of the first Christian communities, probably because of the need to enrich the Christian teachings with additional information and explanations.
Most apocryphal gospels do not distort the facts described in the four canonical gospels, but add interpretations or anecdotes of dubious veracity. In some cases, the apocryphal gospels were born from the influence of other currents of thought, such as Gnosticism, considered heretical positions not in line with the Church’s teaching.
Apocrypha are classified into several groups:
It is thought that the Apocrypha were written in the second century A.D. and therefore much later than the preaching of the apostles. In the case of the canons, however, the three synoptic gospels are all dated to the second half of the first century and the gospel of John, the most recent, between 95 and 110 A.D. The temporal distance in the drafting of the apocryphal texts implies a doubt on the authenticity of the messages present because they are hardly attributable to the direct teaching of the apostles.
To decree the theological acceptability of the New Testament texts, in fact, the ancient Christian Church believed in four essential principles:
A further difference between apocryphal and canonical gospels lies in the literary form and content. The apocryphal gospels are often characterized by devotional tales rich in detail, with legendary or fable traits, which seem to be born from popular piety.
Holy Trinity: meaning and iconographic representation
The concept of Trinity summarises the fundamental doctrine of the Catholic Church: God is One and Only.
As we have said, some of the apocryphal gospels refer to Gnosticism. It is a philosophical and spiritual current, partly linked to ancient esoteric religions, according to which the soul is saved thanks to a higher and enlightened knowledge, derived from personal experience and search for truth. From the beginning, Christian-Gnostic interpretations were considered heretical by the Church: according to ecclesial doctrine in fact man cannot save himself alone, but he needs the Saviour.
Here are the main apocrypha gnostics:
We have deepened the theme of the Gospel of Judas in our article dedicated to Judas Iscariot. This text, starting from a Gnostic basis, argues that betrayal was a mission entrusted to Judas by Jesus himself. The apocrypha attributed to St Matthias, St John and St Peter are an example of pseudepigraphic attribution: it was erroneously thought that the three apostles were the authors.
24 June Saint John the Baptist
On 24 June we celebrate the birth of Saint John the Baptist, one of the most venerated Saints in the world.
Contents1 The Origins of Judas Iscariot2 Judas’ role among the Apostles3 Judas’ betrayal in exchange for 30 dinars4 “One of you will betray me”: Last Supper5 The kiss of Judas Judas’ name is linked to the sad story of the apostle who betrayed Jesus: read…
Contents1 Holy places of pilgrimage2 Madonna of the Crown history3 Sanctuary Madonna della Corona how to get there4 Pilgrimage Our Lady of the Crown The Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Crown is one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations in Italy. Let’s find out…
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It is rare to hear the name of Saint Clare of Assisi without being associated with her name that of her fellow citizen and great friend Saint Francis.
The two young people were linked by a friendship so tender and profound that it became an integral part of their journey of faith and their mission in this land. We told of this special bond, which made God smile, when we spoke of the World Day of Friendship celebrated on 30 July.
World Day of Friendship
July 30 is the World Day of Friendship, a celebration born to celebrate one of the most wonderful aspects of coexistence between men.
But Saint Clare deserves to be remembered and celebrated not only under her unique and special bond with the poor man of Assisi. The courage and the spirit of sacrifice demonstrated by this girl who decided to leave all the privileges that her illustrious birth would guarantee her to embrace a lifestyle at the limit of poverty, are to be admired, beyond the inspiration that encouraged them. The same girl, belonging to one of the richest families and because of Assisi, will come to beg Pope Gregory IX to obtain the “privilege of poverty”.
This determination, this desire to dedicate one’s existence to a transcendent spiritual value, imitating Jesus to the point of feeling at one with him, are merits that Saint Clare could carry out alone.
This is not to forget that there have been women who have changed the church and the world, not necessarily with the help of men. Saint Clare, the founder of the Poor Clares, who became the patron saint of television and telecommunications, deserves to be considered one of them. This particular patronage, attributed to her in 1958 by Pope Pius XII, was born from the legend which Chiara could not participate in the Christmas Mass celebrated by Saint Francis because she was indisposed. The Mass would appear to her as a vision and with it even an angel who brought her the Eucharist that she could not otherwise receive.
It remains true, however, that to arouse in her the religious fervour and rebellion against the wealthy future that the family had destined for her was almost certainly the gesture of that out-of-the-ordinary boy who in the winter of 1206 scandalised Assisi stripping himself of his rich clothes in the Bishop’s Palace, to return them to his father Pietro di Bernardone.
The boy was Saint Francis, and Clare was only twelve years old, but we like to think that on that day, before that inconceivable act consummated before all the Umbrian nobles, the germ of holiness took root in her. He certainly never forgot that boy, who continued to follow from afar, thanks to the accounts of Rufinus, one of the young men who followed Francis, who was also the girl’s cousin.
Saint Clare matured her choice of life and faith over the next seven years. We cannot speak of a reckless act dictated by simple emulation! Little do we know about her in those years, except that she was a shy child, brought to the contemplative life, and that she soon learned from her mother the dowry of charity.
Certainly, the young Francis provided her with the model of life and spiritual vocation that she finally decided to embrace. As soon as Clare was eighteen, she went to him for advice, and Francis was happy to help her escape from her home and family on the evening of Palm Sunday, 1211. Among the crumbling yet exuding walls, the spirituality of the Porziuncola Francis cut her hair and offered her the wisdom of her Franciscan brothers. With less clamour than her friend, but with the same courage, she made her choice of life and faith.
For some time Clare had to escape the insistence of the family, who wanted her back home. She took refuge in the Benedictine monastery of San Paolo della Abbadesse, in Bastia Umbra. It is said that her relatives even tried to kidnap her, especially after her sister Agnes decided to imitate her gesture and join her. Together they moved to San Angelo di Panzo, always chased by family members, but no threat, no flattery could convince the two girls to return in their footsteps.
Meanwhile, Francis and his brothers were preparing accommodation for Clare and Agnes in the Church of San Damiano, which kept the crucifix in front of which the young Saint had met his own conversion. It was right in front of that crucifix that Francis had received from the Lord the call to work to refurbish His church.
In the church of San Damiano, Saint Clare founded the “Poor Ladies of San Damiano”, the future Order of the Poor Clares.
Clare and Francis were united by a deep friendship, which had nothing of the carnal love that can unite a man and a woman. An elective affinity is a spiritual bond made of esteem, respect, and constant mutual stimulation.
Together these two splendid young people looked in the same direction, and in that direction, they continued, animated by the common will to imitate and approach Christ day after day, step by step.
If looking in the same direction means loving each other, as has been written, then certainly Francis and Clare loved each other, uniquely and specially.
It was for Chiara that Francis sang his Song of the Creatures in the church of San Damiano, just before he died. The Song is at the same time prayer and a poem of love, where love is that for all the creatures of God, which Francis and Clare shared.
The Canticle of the Creatures of St. Francis
St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most loved and venerated saints by the Catholic Church.
A spiritual friendship, therefore, is made of sharing everything, from poverty to devotion, and finally to the path to holiness.
Only after the death of Saint Clare did the “Poor Inmate Ladies of San Damiano” become the Poor Clares. The story of the order was not always easy. At that time it was believed that the only way for women to live their spirituality and dedicate their lives to God was through closure, spent in prayer and penance, completely detached from the world. But to be able to afford to live in this way, they needed to perceive some income.
Clare, who felt an integral part of the Franciscan order, could not accept to break the rule of Poverty embraced by her teacher and friend. In 1228 he obtained from Pope Gregory IX the bull called “Privilege of poverty”, under which she and her sisters could choose to possess nothing and to live on alms. But Clare had to fight her whole life to defend this privilege.
For a long time the monasteries of the Poor Dames, or Damianites, inspired by the one built in San Damiano, followed the rule imposed by Cardinal Ugolino d ‘Agnani, who demanded that the Dames refer directly to the Holy See, and not to the bishop, and which provided for very strict rules including a very strict closure, which could not be violated even after death. In fact, the Dames had to be buried inside the monastery where they had lived.
For the Convent of San Damiano, Clare wrote her own rule, which prevented his sisters from accepting donations and rents, but after her death, many monasteries did not follow it.
Pope Urban IV in 1263 wrote a new Rule, the first written by a pope for a female order, making uniform the jurisdiction of all the monasteries of the Dames or Poor Sisters, who from this moment became Poor Clares.
That of the Poor Clares later became the model of life for all cloistered nuns, also belonging to other orders.
Clare died on 11 August 1253, and soon after her death, one began to think about the need to erect a church dedicated to her. The building work began at the church of San Giorgio, where the Saint had been temporarily buried. In addition to the Basilica dedicated to her, she also wanted to build a convent for the Poor Clares of San Damiano. The Basilica of Santa Chiara is made of Subasio stone worked in pink and white bands. The ceiling is supported by large rampant arches. With its unique nave and gallery that runs along the perimeter internally, it looks very much like the upper church of San Francesco. The Basilica of Santa Chiara in Assisi was consecrated on 6 September 1265 by Pope Clement IV.
In the chapel of San Giorgio, inside the Basilica, in addition to the remains of Saint Clare, the Crucifix of San Damiano is still preserved today, which inspired San Francesco and played a great part in this wonderful history of friendship and faith.
Crucifix of San Damiano
The Crucifix of San Damiano is the one in front of which St. Francis was intent on praying when, in the distant year of 1205, he received…
Marian Titles: all the appellations with which Mary, mother of Jesus, is venerated. How many are Marian titles? And where do they come from? Since the origins of the veneration dedicated to her, the Virgin Mary has been attributed to many different names. These are…
Contents1 The tomb of Saint Peter2 Tombs of the popes in the church of Saint Peter3 The dome of Saint Peter4 The Pietà by Michelangelo5 The canopy of Saint Peter Saint Peter in the Vatican is a basilica full of meanings, mysteries and sacred works…
Hearing about stuffed wafers can at first leave you disqualified. We have been accustomed since childhood to associating the wafer solely with the Eucharist. The wafer we are accustomed to knowing is the small unleavened bread wafer that we receive from the priest at the time of communion or the largest that we see in his hands during the Eucharistic blessing. A wafer made only with wheat flour, as established in the Book of Exodus before, and then confirmed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which established that the use of different flours would make the host “invalid for the Eucharist”.
According to the Catholic Church, during the Eucharistic celebration, the host that is consecrated becomes the Body of Jesus. This is by virtue of transubstantiation, which converts the substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ. This miracle occurs in remembrance of the Last Supper, when Jesus offered Himself to His apostles and gave them the authority to repeat His sacrifice in the time to come: “Then He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.'”(Luke 22-19)
The consecrated host thus becomes the Blessed Sacrament, which is placed in the Tabernacle at the end of the Mass, where it remains the object of adoration by the faithful.
Returning to the use of non-consecrated wafers outside the Eucharistic celebration, their use in pastry has ancient origins. Just think that the host is the basis of the preparation of sweets characteristic of our pastry tradition, such as Panforte and Nougat.
All you need to know about the hosts and particles
The host is a wafer of unleavened bread, made with wheat flour, usually circular in shape.
It would have been the nuns of a convent of Poor Clares who first invented the recipe for stuffed wafers. Legend has it that a mixture of caramelised almonds mixed with honey and sugar fell on a kitchen shelf and that the sisters tried to pick it up using unconsecrated wafers, discovering that together the ingredients tasted delicious. This happened in the kitchens of the monastery of the Church of the Holy Trinity of Monte Sant’Angelo, in the province of Foggia, but soon this unexpected sweet spread throughout the monasteries of the country and beyond.
But let’s find out how to prepare the wafers.
Today, wafers can be purchased easily at the shops near churches or shrines, but also in companies or shops that sell products to cook desserts. They are also easily available in pharmacies because they are useful in taking some medicines.
And then, of course, there are online shops, like ours, that offer wafers and particles of every diameter and genre, including gluten-free ones for coeliacs.
But actually preparing the wafers in the house is very easy. On the market they also sell the special moulds for wafers, essential for this preparation.
To prepare wafers you need:
After carefully sifting the flour into a large container, pour the water flush, continuing to mix with a wooden spoon. Stirring is important to prevent the formation of lumps. Once everything is mixed you will get a liquid batter, smooth and a little sticky.
At this point, you must grease the mould with olive oil and heat it on a high flame until it is hot. Pour a tablespoon of dough into the mould, spread it quickly and close the two plates that make it up. Leave to cook for one minute, then turn the mould and complete cooking on the other side. It takes a little caution to detach the wafer from the mould without breaking it, but over time you will shake hands with it.
As you cook your wafers arrange them on a sheet of paper towels, then cover them with a second sheet and put on weight, to help them not to curl and to keep the shape flat.
The wafers thus cooked are kept for many days tightly closed in a plastic bag.
We have already mentioned the importance of the ingredients of the hosts destined for consecration. They must be made exclusively with water and wheat flour, the same ingredients as unleavened bread, under penalty of invalidation of the host itself as a material for the Eucharist.
With the increase in cases of celiac disease and gluten intolerance, a production of coeliac wafers has also been activated, made with flour with minimum gluten content, according to rules established by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The wafers and particles present in our catalogue and always available in our online shop are packaged with great care and in absolute compliance with the canonical rules of preparation.
Among the sweet recipes for which the wafers are used, we have already mentioned the stuffed wafers of Monte Sant’Angelo, ‘discovered’ by the Poor Clare nuns of the monastery located in the characteristic village of Gargano.
“The natives of that city make a certain sweet biscuit, composed of almonds and apples (honey), placed between two wafers, so full wafers call it, and with that name they send it as a gift, and for sale.”
This is what a Neapolitan chronicler wrote already at the end of the 18th century, talking about the stuffed wafers of Monte Sant’Angelo. Almonds and honey, therefore, create the exquisite and very energetic cream that makes up the filling of these irresistible sweets. The wafers used to make them are usually oval, about 10 cm long and 5 cm wide.
Here is the recipe for stuffing 10 wafers:
Put a pan on the heat and pour in the almonds, stirring for a few seconds. Then add the honey and lastly the sugar. It is important to continue mixing with a wooden spoon to help the ingredients melt and blend without sticking to the bottom of the pan. It will take about 30 minutes of cooking on a gentle flame. In this way, you will get a very dense caramel, which will be removed from the fire and left to rest for a few minutes.
When it is lukewarm, spread it on five wafers and use as many to cover the mixture. Then place the cakes in layers thus obtained under a wooden board with weights and allow them to cool.
The stuffed wafers of Monte Sant’Angelo are kept for a long time in hermetically sealed containers.
Agnone, in Molise, also has a special recipe for stuffed wafers. The full wafers of Agnone are prepared especially during the Christmas holidays, but not only. Also for this recipe, you need a mould to cook wafers, the only tool that can make them thin and crispy at the right point.
Here is the recipe for making stuffed wafers with Agnone:
In this preparation too, honey and sugar must be melted to form caramel. It is better to melt the honey alone first, in a bain-marie, and when it becomes amber add the sugar, then the chopped chocolate and the bitter cocoa. Allow boiling for a few minutes, making sure that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan, then add the almonds and chopped walnuts. The cream must mix well, and for this, you must continue to mix with a wooden spoon for at least ten minutes. Once the pan is removed from the heat, sprinkle with cinnamon and add the grated citrus peel. With this rich filling spread the surface of the wafers and then cover with other wafers and put them under a weight to give them the shape.
Contents1 How a tapestry is made2 The Jacquard frame3 Our religious tapestries Sacred tapestries have always been the protagonists of religious art. Preserved in churches all over the world, they are considered precious treasures to be exhibited only on great occasions. But some display them…
Contents1 Liturgical times of the Catholic Church2 Advent3 Christmas4 Ordinary Time 15 Lent6 Easter Season7 Ordinary Time 28 Colours of Catholic liturgical vestments9 The liturgical year explained to children The liturgical times of the Catholic Church are the seasons in which the liturgical year is…
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Dedicating an article to how to clean ancient icons is for us at Holyart an essential consequence of the love we bring to this extraordinary art form. The beauty and sacredness of ancient icons have already been the subject of several articles published by us, some generic, on the history of this secular art, others dedicated to particular ancient Russian icons, or Greek icons, different in techniques, subjects and history, but united by the same excellence, by the unique value.
Sacred Icons: the ultimate guide
Sacred Icons. Only mentioning them evokes exotic and charming suggestions, a way
The ancient icons were created by artists able to concentrate on a single often small image, the story of Gospel episodes and the expression of spiritual messages of rare depth. It is not by chance that we have defined the author of icons as a writer, rather than a painter, because beyond the exquisitely aesthetic value of his work, what makes it precious and special is precisely the ability to tell a complex and articulated story of faith with individual apparently random details.
The sacred icon transcends the material of which it is composed, the wood that supports it, especially lime, beech or spruce specially processed, on which a linen sheet is laid. It transcends the colours, obtained with natural pigments, dissolved with egg yolk, and the golden leaf gilding polished with agate stone.
Everything in the ancient icon is a symbol: the material, the paints, the use of colours, ranging from darker to lighter, to evoke the path towards the light. Contemplating an ancient icon is a spiritual experience comparable only to realizing one, so much so that each of them is the result of a theological mission, even before art.
That is why, if we are lucky enough to have one, we must be able to take care of it to the best of our ability. And if this is not enough, it is good to know who you can turn to for the care of your sacred icons.
The cleaning of a painting, a fresco or an icon, as in our case, is a very delicate operation and very, very risky. It is enough to make a minimal mistake to irreparably ruin a work of art. In the past, those who cleaned ancient paintings often used very aggressive chemical agents, such as caustic soda, which on the one hand effectively eliminated dust, soot, smoke, and so on, but on the other hand, also deprived the painting of the precious veils spread by the artist to give depth to the colours.
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Over time it has been realized that cleaning a work of art, as well as restoring it, requires selective interventions, targeted at the various areas of the work itself. Interventions that take into account the different coatings of paint, the overlapping layers of colour, and in the first instance, the type of support and the type of colour. Washing a tempera painting with soap and water, for example, is equivalent to losing it completely, since the tempera is diluted in water even after a long, long time. And the colours of the ancient icons are tempera colours!
In general, water should be avoided, even for other types of colour, even in the frequent case where a fixative or lacquer has been used to fix the pigments. The liquid will still tend to dissolve them. If the final paint, or varnish, has not been applied, the dangers multiply. Exceptions to the prohibition of cleaning with water are paintings made with oil painting and those with final paint. But this is certainly not the case with our ancient icons!
Given that for ancient and valuable paintings it is better to ask for the intervention of a professional restorer, what should you do to clean the ancient icons? As with all paintings, it is necessary to carry out small cleaning tests, applying minimum doses of a delicate solvent in limited areas of the painting. The solvent is applied with a pad or with a little cotton on tweezers, rubbing in the direction of the brush stroke. With another pad soaked in another solvent capable of fighting the first, we must be ready to intervene to stop any damage. Only once we are sure of the effect of the solvent on the pictorial layers can we proceed, always with caution, to our cleaning.
In the cleaning of the icons, then, we must consider that in many cases this type of painting was retouched and repainted several times. To restore freshness and vividness to the colours, we need to lighten the layer of protective paint applied at the end with a paint stripping work that will return depth to the work and transparency to the glazing. Even the stripping of the protective film must take place very gently, trying to rub a pad impregnated with a very weak solvent at different points of the painting, to see what happens. Complete stripping is to be avoided unless the icon shows significant signs of wear or is completely free of protective paint in large areas. Even the oxidation of the paint or impurities encrusted in depth may make this very delicate and extreme operation necessary.
In some cases, it will also be necessary to intervene with mechanical cleaning, if the dirt is particularly coriaceous. But even in this case, it is better to consult an expert, rather than do damage.
Again, in the case of ancient icons, it is also necessary to clean the wood that acts as a support for the icon itself. Before putting the rest of the icon to work, however, it is important to protect the painted part with velvet, by glueing a sheet of Japanese paper to the paint with a waxy paint easily removable with delicate solvents. The cleaning operation must take into account the colour of the original support, and therefore must be carried out with suitable tools, such as soft brushes and pads soaked in water and 3% ammonia. Highly diluted hydrogen peroxide will lighten any darker stains from previous operations. Mineral water and trielin in small doses dissolve resins and wax.
Dealing with a work of art is not simply a matter of manual skill, or possessing proven technical knowledge. The restorer, or even just those who find themselves cleaning a painting or any ancient object, must also possess the necessary sensitivity to be able to grasp the original spirit of the work, to be able to see behind the dirt and damage of time the original intention of the artist.
In the case of ancient icons, the matter becomes even more complicated. In addition to the artistic sensitivity and aesthetic sense, it is essential to possess a strong spirituality, which knows how to penetrate the work and restore its transcendent value. What is true for any painting, namely that the restorer must be respectful of the artist’s artistic intention, is even more so for ancient icons.
It is necessary to find a professional expert in the field, a fine connoisseur of the poetics of these wonderful works, who also possess the technical expertise to approach them with absolute respect and reverence.
The restorer must then intervene only in dirty or damaged areas, without touching the healthy parts, and using suitable products for the restoration, chosen after a careful analysis of the icon itself and the technique with which it was made. It will therefore have to take into account the type of wood used for the support, glue, protective paint applied at the end, to be able to choose the most suitable solvent to intervene on it.
In addition to the aforementioned wood cleaning, the restorer will have to deal with any cracks in the board, which must be resolved by inserting plugs that respect the same type of wood and curing. It will be necessary to contact an experienced carpenter to have dowels of the right shape and size. The dowels must then be inserted and glued with vinyl glue or casein glue, which will be allowed to dry and then removed if in excess and sanded with abrasive paper. The restorer must then act on the areas damaged by the warblers using acrylic resins to reinforce the wood. It will then apply a disinfectant substance that prevents new attacks by insects, moulds and fungi.
The survey on the colours used will be crucial, tempera, most of the time, but also oil in the most modern icons. Even to make any retouches in the colouring you will have to strictly adhere to the same type of original colour. Before proceeding to the actual touch-ups, however, the good restorer will try to affix with a special glue, a collection of the pigment flakes that have been lifted or detached from the painting.
The actual pictorial retouching will be carried out only on minimal areas of the painting, and only after laying a stucco made with a collection or in any case with animal glue, which serves to create an even layer where the lack of colour has created differences in level on the pictorial film. Once the plastering has been carried out, the restorer will spread a tempera base lighter than the colour to be retouched, and then proceed with overlapping and progressive veils of paint colours, trying to standardise as much as possible the retouched area with everything else.
Preserving an ancient icon in the best way is not a trivial operation. Good conservation of these works is determined by several factors, some related to the construction of the work itself, such as the type of wood used for the support and its curing, and others by the environmental conditions in which the icon is kept.
Concerning wood, it is advisable to check the back of the icon with a certain frequency and to keep an eye on any signs of disjunction of the axes that make up the board and the crosspieces, as well as traces of moisture, mould or damage carried by warblers and other insects.
One of the first precautions to take to protect our ancient icon is to position it away from the direct rays of the sun, but also any other heat source, such as radiators, stoves and fireplaces. Excessive heat is the enemy of painting, and can also lead to a progressive deformation of the wood that constitutes the board and the support crossbars of the icon.
On the other hand, it will be important to let the icon breathe air, opening the windows and keeping the air in the room clean and pure, also preserving the attack by harmful insects, first of all, the woodworms.
At the same time, however, we must take care to protect it from air pollution and dust, so let us avoid placing it in a room with windows that face a busy street, if possible.
Contents1 The fabrics of mass services2 Decorations and type of embroidery for mass services3 The pall Mass services are always present in religious celebrations. Let’s get to know them better and discover how beautiful they can be. Sometimes we take for granted certain objects that…
Since ancient times, silver jewels have exercised a deep fascination. Let’s find out how to clean the silver jewelry to keep them bright and beautiful. Why it is important to know how to clean silver jewelry? The answer to this question lies in the very…
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Because in the first book of the Gospel of Matthew, and in the third of the Gospel of Luke in order to introduce the story of Jesus are reported respectively Abraham’s lineage, which starts from him and gets to Jesus, and an even larger genealogy that has its origins in the figure of Adam?
The reason is simple. At the time when the Gospels were written, it was still considered of the utmost importance to contextualize the facts of which one wanted to speak in a documented historical framework that had solid foundations, and that could not be questioned.
To start the story of a character by listing his genealogy was typical especially of the Eastern world. In the case of the Gospels, it was even more evident that there was the need to create an historical basis around the figure of Jesus Christ that would indisputably link him to the history of the Jewish people. Thanks to these two genealogies Jesus becomes an integral part of the history of Judaism and of its three great Fathers: Abraham, Moses and David. For Christians who came from Judaism it was fundamental to be able to insert the figure of Jesus into the history of their people and the Fathers. It was also a way to support the claim of the Christian community to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
It is no coincidence that in both genealogies Joseph is not presented as the biological father of Jesus, but as an adoptive father. The two evangelists needed to create a relationship between the Messiah and King David, reconnecting with the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah:
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, from his root a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest soon him, spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, (…) The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the goat; the calf and the lion shall graze together, and a little child shall guide them,” (Is 11,1-10)
Iesse, or Jesse was King David’s father.
But there is more. Both Matthew and Luke indicate Jesus as the fulfillment of the history of the Covenant and of the promise of Salvation between God and men. For Matthew this story begins with Abraham, for Luke it coincides with the very birth of humanity, embodied by Adam.
It must be said that Matthew mostly addressed the Judeo-Christians, and for this reason placing Abraham – who was considered the Father of the Chosen People – at the beginning of the genealogy, is a way to emphasize the continuity between Judaism and Christianity.
Luke, on the other hand, also addressed Christians of pagan origin, who had not known the traditions of the Jewish world. For this reason, he traces the origin of Jesus even further back, to Adam, whom he defines as the Son of God, inserting the figure of Jesus in a wider context, which refers to the different Jewish dynasties, and the ten antediluvian patriarchs (Adam, Set, Enos, Cainan, Maalaleèl, Iared, Enoc, Matusalemme, Lamec, Noah) and to the ten postdiluvians (Sem, Arpacsad, Selach, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nacor, Terach, Abraham).
All this concern from Matthew to value the descent of Abraham to Jesus, and from Luke to go even further, sinking into the very roots of humanity, connects us to the differences between Judaism and Christianity, that we have already considered in a previous article. For a Christian it is obvious to think of Jesus as the son of God, since all the religious education he receives from an early age focuses precisely on His unavoidable identity. For today’s Jews, and even more so for those of the time when the evangelists were writing, Jesus had been a simple prophet.
The differences between Judaism and Christianity
What are the differences between Judaism and Christianity? Is the God of the Jews the same as the Christians? …
So it was of fundamental importance to convert the Jews to Christianity to ennoble His earthly figure as much as possible, so as to make him recognizable as the long-awaited Messiah.
If the Christian religion begins with Jesus, the Jewish religion begins with Abraham, the first man to whom God turned. The covenant between God and men, always according to the Jews, was deepened then thanks to Moses, who received from God the Ten Commandments, guide of life and faith.
Even today, honoring and pursuing one’s relationship with God through study and prayer, reconnecting with what the Fathers did before him, is one of the fundamental duties of every Jewish man. Here is another confirmation of the importance of the genealogies of Matthew and Luke.
We must not forget the symbolic value of the two genealogies. Meanwhile, we notice how the number seven, the favorite number in the Jewish tradition, used to indicate the association with God and represented sanctification and purification. Just to give an example, the most important Jewish holidays lasted seven days, and the Menorah, the candlestick symbol of the Jewish religion, has seven arms.
Even the number three had a symbolic value: repeating a gesture or a word three times charged them with greater power and completeness. In the Sacred Scriptures the number three often recurs: we think of the three temptations of Jesus, or Peter who denies the Master three times, and so on.
Saint Peter and Paul, why are they celebrated together?
On June 29, Saint Peter and Paul are celebrated. Two apostles, two very different men, both fundamental…
In the genealogy of Matthew, which starts from Abraham and arrives at Jesus, we can identify three groups of fourteen names (multiple of seven), that is, six seven-years. Jesus is the first name of the seventh group.
In Luke’s genealogy, which goes from Adam to Jesus, the names contemplated are those of seventy-seven ancestors, which we can divide into eleven seven-years. Jesus is the first name of the twelfth group.
The numerical references are many, and make us understand how these genealogies should not be read as biographical documents, but theological ones, where everything is aimed at expressing in the most convincing way a spiritual message.
We said that for Luke, the history of Salvation begins with our forefathers Adam and Eve, and ends with Jesus. Deepening the bond between Jesus and Adam would require much more space, because it is truly fundamental in the history of the Christian religion.
The story of Adam and Eve
Who does not know the story of Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman? But are we really…
Adam was the first man, created by God in His image and likeness, and yet false, so much so as to betray the trust of His Creator and commit original Sin.
Jesus, the new man, God made flesh, is the new Adam, returned to the world to save humanity from its sins. Where Adam was imperfect, Jesus is perfection, and in His sacrifice humanity finds the lost innocence of Eden, and with it the gift of immortality that was once guaranteed by the fruits of the Tree of Life, which grew in the heart of the earthly Paradise. In Jesus the Tree of Life returns to bloom, and it is the Cross, symbol of infinite love and eternal life for those who are willing to eat its fruit.
The meaning of the Tree of Life
All religions, since the origins of mankind, are somehow tied to trees. The tree of life deserves a special mention. It appears in the Holy Scriptures…
A surprising element in the lineage of Abraham presented by Matthew, is the presence of four women, to which Mary is added, mother of Jesus. Surprising and unusual, because in the genealogies of the Jewish world, there was no concept of parents, but only of fathers who bore children. Moreover, the women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus, excluding his mother Mary, are not famous people linked to the history of the Jewish people, but pagan women with an uncertain reputation, such as Tamar, protagonist of a case of incest, or Racab, a prostitute by profession. Ruth, who was widowed, also conceived Obed, King David’s great-grandfather, out of wedlock, while Bathsheba was seduced by David even though she was married, and gave birth to Solomon.
From Eve to Mary: the figure of the Mother in the Bible
The mother, pillar of every family, beating heart and source of life for those who gravitate around her…
Among the various theories on the reasons of the inclusion of these four female figures in the lineage of Abraham listed by Matthew, the possibility has been evaluated that, as sinners, all express the message of salvation and atonement for sins embodied by Jesus.
Moreover, they were all foreigners, and they lived an irregular condition with men, including Mary, wife of Joseph, who, however was not the father of his Son.
Perhaps, Matthew wanted to show the greatness of God, who knew how to make these women mothers despite the difficulties, or perhaps expand the contextualization of the figure of Jesus, arguing that he had not only Jewish blood, but also foreign, by virtue of his kinship with these women.
It must be said that the four sinners mentioned are not the only controversial characters present in the genealogy of Jesus. David, Solomon, Ahab and Manasseh were guilty of shameful, even bloody deeds.
But this is also part of the message that the Evangelist Matthew wanted to express, namely that Jesus, descendant of the Fathers of the Jewish people, but also incarnation of God, who chooses to descend among men although aware of their imperfections, is the new Adam, the new man created in the image of God’s likeness to redeem all of humanity.
Contents1 Krizevac: The Mount of the Cross2 The Podbrdo3 The Church of St. James in Medjugorje4 The Paths of Medjugorje Our Lady of Medjugorje has rendered an otherwise anonymous village in Bosnia and Herzegovina unique and special. Let’s discover together the places of devotion that…
Contents1 Saint Therese of Lisieux2 The most famous Doctors of the church3 Pope Gregory I, the Great4 Saint Ambrose of Milan, Sweet as honey5 St. Augustine, Doctor Gratiae6 St. Jerome On 1 October we celebrate Saint Therese of Lisieux, one of the four women proclaimed…
Where are the popes buried? A trivial question, perhaps, but that contains a deep meaning, closely connected to the very nature of the figure of the pontiff.
We will begin by saying that not all the popes are buried in the same place, although the majority of them chose the Vatican Grottoes, under the Basilica of Saint Peter, as their last resting place. The choice makes sense if we consider that just below the Basilica lie the remains of the first Pope, the founder of the church: Saint Peter.
The tomb of Saint Peter was in fact discovered right under the high altar of the Basilica that bears his name, thanks to a series of excavations since 1939 that have allowed to reconstruct how and how much over the centuries the remains of the Saint have been honoured and preserved as a priceless treasure.
The Vatican Grottoes are not really caves but a kind of church under the church. In fact, they extend three meters under the floor of Saint Peter, for a length that includes the high altar and reaches about half of the nave. In practice, it is an empty space that separates the primitive basilica built by Constantine in the fourth century and the present. Here, in a system of corridors and niches, which make up the plan of a church with three naves (old caves), there are many chapels that house the burials of the popes (new caves), most of which are decorated with funeral monuments, Although some pontiffs have expressly asked to have as the only distinctive sign on his tomb a slab with his name engraved. The last to make this choice was John Paul II. Right in the centre of the complex of the New Grottoes stands the chapel of Saint Peter, placed under the high altar and the dome of Michelangelo of the above Basilica.
The tomb of Saint Peter and his incredible discovery
The tomb of St. Peter in Rome has always been considered one of the sacred places par excellence of Christianity…
We said of the works of art that adorn the tombs of the popes in the Vatican Grottoes. For many periods of history, being buried in this place was an honour to which all pontiffs, and not only. In fact in the Grottoes lie also men and women who have distinguished themselves for their importance and moral value, including two queens. Nevertheless, even in the past, some popes preferred to be buried elsewhere. For example in San Giovanni in Laterano, which was a necropolis deputed by many medieval popes, for almost the 12th century, and which houses among others the remains of Leo XIII, while Pius IX rests in the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura.
As is normal to expect from such an important figure, the death and burial of a pope are regulated by a whole series of traditions and rituals codified over time. First, the death of the pontiff must be officially ascertained by the camerlengo, the cardinal in charge of administering the finances of the Holy See and presiding over the See itself when vacant. Recognition must take place before the master of liturgical celebrations and the secretary and chancellor of the Apostolic Chamber.
The camerlengo always affixes the seals to the pope’s rooms. The vicar of Rome provides instead to give the news to the city and the world. Only then the door of the Basilica of San Pietro is ajar and the bells ring with a hammer.
History of Saint Peter’s Baldachin
Saint Peter’s Baldachin is one of the most spectacular monuments we can admire inside Saint Peter’s Basilica…
At this point, the actual funeral rites begin. The body is covered with the papal vestments: the white mitre, the red chasuble, and the white wool pallium with black crosses. Thus composed it is exposed to the homage of the faithful in St Peter’s Basilica for three days. For nine days the cardinals celebrate the Novendiali, the funeral for the soul of the pope and arrange to break the ring of the fisherman, one of the insignia that the pope receives at the beginning of his pontificate and wears the ring finger of the right hand, and the lead seal he uses to formalize the apostolic letters. In the past, the body of the pope was often embalmed and the heart and other nearby organs were kept in special amphorae, many of which have survived.
The proper funeral is celebrated in Saint Peter with a Missa poenitentialis, in the presence of state delegations from all over the world. In the end, the body of the pope is placed in three crates placed one inside the other, one of cypress, one of lead and one of walnut, and finally buried in the Vatican Grottoes, unless he left a different will written.
But how many popes were there? According to the official chronology, Pope Francis would be the 266 Pope in the history of the Church. Thus before him, there were 265 other popes, a number that includes both those who ruled in Rome and those who had Avignon as their seat (7). In fact, a more thorough calculation shows that there have been popes who have reigned for more than one mandate, or who were deposed and then reelected for political events. Of these 266 popes, 81 are venerated as saints, 10 have been beatified, and 3 are being beatified. 2 popes, Leo the Great and Gregory the Great, also received the title of doctor of the Church.
