Illuminating the
Mission
Day Seven • Page Seven: Pentecost Reflection
Rachel Gabelman, M.Div Candidate
This
illumination of Pentecost elicits a heightened sense of vitality. Notice the
sharp tongues of fire that starkly contrast the free-flowing brushstrokes. To
gaze upon the prominent gold band, which breaks through the cool colors in the
atmosphere, is unsettling. This visual representation mimics how startling it
can be when the Spirit enters into our hearts, dynamically transforming us,
bestowing his creative energy upon us, and sending us out to evangelize all
peoples. It is neither an easy nor predictable endeavor, but when we partner
with the Spirit, we will be “amazed and astonished” (Acts 2:7) at what is
possible. As Christians, we must always refer back to the moments of personal
conversion in our lives so that our willingness to evangelize does not become
stagnant. We must trust that the Spirit will give us the ability to draw others
into the richness and fullness of human life and promote the restoration of
peoples in unity with one another and with God.
Pope Francis teaches
in Evangelii Gaudium that the Church
grows through attraction when Christians “appear as people who wish to share
their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a
delicious banquet” (15). He furthers his point when he exclaims that Christians
must not appear to have just returned from a funeral (10). Perhaps instead we
can imagine proclaiming the Good News to others utilizing the enthusiasm and
vigor that we often witness in sports fans. In this illumination we see fans
raising their arms and waving their flags at a St. John’s University football
game. Parallel to the way that the fans’ enthusiasm is contagious, our spirited
fervor for Christ increases the fervor in the lives of those around us. The
Good News is not ancient history; it is alive and personal as well as communal.
What experiences from your life and journey in faith can you recollect and
renew so that all who encounter you will witness the glory and splendor of the
Risen Lord?
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Illuminating the
Mission
Day Six • Page Six: A Reflection on the Two Cures
Rachel Gabelman, M.Div Candidate
Perhaps
like the apostles, who witness the hemorrhaging woman interrupt Jesus, we are
annoyed by the untimely needs of others. Or perhaps like the crowd, who scoffed
when Jesus insisted to see Jairus’ daughter who they claimed had already died,
we are hopeless and believe that any efforts to help others are futile.
However, both of these attitudes cause us to forfeit tremendous opportunities
for personal and communal growth.
In
Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis
writes, “Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of
others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal
niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead
enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of
tenderness. Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we
experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people” (270).
As
the illumination depicts, healing takes place in the context of a community not
in isolation. Jesus makes it possible for us, united in the Body of Christ, to
venture beyond our fears, to reach out to the most vulnerable in our society.
We must do so with confidence as a community that our pastoral outreach will
make a difference, fostering life and dissolving the divisions among peoples
that allow wounds to fester. It is our responsibility as Christians to
alleviate unnecessary suffering. What initial step can you take today to combat
the pervasive temptation to overlook those who are suffering in your community?
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Illuminating the
Mission
Day Five • Page Five: Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes
Bailey Walter, M.Div
In
Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ heart is moved by a group of people who are hungry.
Upon receiving the request to let the people go and buy food, Jesus tells his
disciples to feed them. With five loaves and two fish, Jesus and his disciples
feed the crowd. This beautiful illumination captures the multiplication
of the loaves and fishes with its abundance of gold and color that consumes
much of the page, alluding to the abundance at the divine banquet. Today, our
world contains a much larger crowd of hungry people than the 5,000 that Jesus
encounters in this story; close to one billion people go hungry each day.
In
his Message for World Food Day in 2013, Pope Francis called world hunger a
global scandal. Many of us who live in developed countries view food as a
luxury and have access to it in abundance. Catholic Social Teaching and Pope
Francis remind us that the primary function of food is to nourish our
bodies and sustain life. Food is a basic human right for all people. We
each have a responsibility to heed Jesus’ instructions that he gave to his
disciples when he said, “You give them something to eat” (Mk 6:37). There
are many ways in which we can help: participation in a local food shelf,
getting involved with national relief efforts such as Catholic Relief Services,
and being conscious of personal food consumption and waste, just to name a few.
How will you respond to Jesus’ call to feed the crowd?
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Illuminating the
Mission
Day Four • Page Four: A Reflection on Peter’s Confession
Rev. Michael Patella,
OSB
In
this illumination, Jesus is rendered entirely in gold. He is shown in the
center with the enlarged text, “You are the Messiah the Son of the Living God”
(Mt 16:16). He is alive, fully incarnate, standing in the midst of a
contemporary representation of hell.
The
Church is the sacramental presence of Christ in the world. Just as Satan and the forces of evil tried in
vain to eliminate Christ by death, they attempt, also in vain, to eradicate
those baptized in Jesus’ name by the same means. Christ’s words to Peter, “And I tell you, you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will
not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18) is the guarantee that sin and death have
long failed in subverting God’s ultimate plan of redemption.
Historians
agree that we are in a period of Christian persecution greater in scope than
the Church has ever before faced, even greater than the persecutions under
ancient Rome. The faith and hope etched on the face of current martyrs, such as
the Coptic Christians on the beach in Libya just before ISIS beheaded them, is
proof that the gates of Hades (Hell) will not “prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
In Pope Francis’ recent homily celebrating the feasts of Peter and Paul, he
commended these martyrs for their supreme witness as they died with Jesus’ name
on their lips. Additionally Pope Francis implored that those of us, who are
fortunate to experience peace and prosperity, continue to witness to Christ as
well as set aside time to pray to God, who does not abandon his children. How
else might you stand in solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters
undergoing persecution?
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Illuminating the
Mission
Day Three • Page Three: A Reflection on the Ten Commandments
Rev. Michael Patella,
OSB
Human
society and civilization depend upon right relationships, and those
relationships can only succeed when there is proper respect shown to God and
neighbor. The Ten Commandments, as a
compendium of laws foundational to the well-being of all humankind, connects
the homage due to God alone (Ex 20:1-11) with the obligations and deportment
shown to neighbor (Ex 20:12-17).
In
Laudato Si’ Pope Francis proclaims
that when we neglect to identify God as the all-powerful One who alone has
created the world, “we end up worshipping earthly powers, or ourselves usurping
the place of God” (75). When we place ourselves at the center of the universe,
our personal and communal lives will disintegrate and vanish as do the letters
at the bottom of the page. Only when we as humans recognize that God is the
Lord of the cosmos and we are the fruit of his loving creation do human
relationships function in a way that reflects the love and goodness of our
Creator.
Exodus
20:1 says, “Then God spoke all these words...” What does God’s voice sound like
as you hear the Ten Commandments? In what ways do God’s commands allow you to
love more freely?
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Illuminating the
Mission
Day Two • Page Two: A Reflection on Abraham and Sarah
Rev. Michael Patella,
OSB
The
Menorah, the ancient symbol of Judaism, repeats across the double folio,
dominating the illumination. This is the
moment in salvation history where the Lord seals the covenant with Abraham, a
moment so important that it is recounted twice, once at Genesis 15:1-21 and
again at Genesis 17:1-19.
While
Abraham also has a son, Ishmael, through Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar, the Lord
forms his covenant through Isaac, the son of Abraham and his wife, Sarah. Their descendants include Isaac and Rebekah’s
son, Jacob, and his twelve sons along with the whole royal line of David, a
lineage that ends with Jesus. For this
reason, the Menorah also becomes the primary symbol in the Matthew
frontispiece, which recites Jesus’ genealogy and confirms his connection with the
Abrahamic Covenant.
Pope
Francis reminds us in Evangelii Gaudium,
that this covenant between God and the Jewish people has never been revoked
(247). As Christians we must honor the sacred roots that our identity has in
Judaism. We are enriched by the complementarity of our concern for justice and
well-being of peoples, which we have inherited from the Jewish tradition
(247-249).
In
what ways do you hold the covenant sacred over time?
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Happy Monday Morning! Beginning today, for the next seven days, we will be posting a different reflection each day with a page from the Saint John's Bible. Stop by the library and see this magnificent page for yourself! This is part of "7 Days 7 Pages" to commemorate Pope Francis' U.S. visit.
Illuminating the Mission
Day One • Page One: A Reflection on Creation
Dr. Barbara Sutton
Day One • Page One: A Reflection on Creation
Dr. Barbara Sutton
In this illumination Donald Jackson, artist and calligrapher, dares to illuminate that which leaves us speechless. Seven days of creation, choreographed by God: heavens and earth, sea and sky, birds and beasts. With eyes of faith, a new ‘world view’ emerges. Chaos turns into order. God calls forth light from darkness; and then breathes life into human kind. In this first panel we see a sliver of gold shining in the center of darkness and chaos. It explodes outward as if driven by a powerful force that wrestles the remaining days into order with God hallowing the seventh day. These seven days, hinged with gold, open the doors of a greater mystery that rest in silence on the horizon. Silence is golden. Entering the seventh day requires courage to enter the silence as the Unspeakable shows itself as the thread of light that holds the web of life together.
While this illumination appears to be a well-oiled machine, brought out of chaos and hinged together by God, it is not. It does not run on its own! It has been ruptured by sin. Pope Francis in his Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ suggests that human life is hinged on three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbor, and with the earth itself. He writes, “The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations. This in turn distorted our mandate to ‘have dominion’ over the earth (cf. Gen 1:28), to ‘till and keep it’ (Gen 2:15)…our sin is manifest in all its destructive power in wars, violence and abuse, the abandonment of the most vulnerable, and attacks on nature” (66).
On the sixth day God looked at everything and saw it was very good. God wanted us to revel in the Garden and in love. Woven into the sixth day of this illumination is Chris Tomlin’s coral snake leading us away from resting in God symbolized by the figures turning their backs away from the light.
