Our Eyes on Christ
(Photo: Cathopic)
Why was it forbidden in Judaism to show the face of God, but allowed in Christianity? St John Damascene, who died in 749 AD, had an answer: “Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God…and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled.”
It is in the sacred beauty of church architecture, sculptures and paintings that many of the faithful contemplate the glory of the Lord to echo the words of the saint from Damascus.
There are many things that signify a Catholic church, chief among them being the tabernacle holding the Divine Presence of Jesus. Towering above the tabernacle is a large crucifix making visible the sacrifice that takes place on the altar. Just outside the sanctuary there will be a statue of Our Lady and of her most chaste spouse St Joseph. And then there will appear the Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross, also referred to as the Stations of the Cross. We are presented with the many scenes of Christ’s Passion and the saintly and sinful figures who form part of it.
Why is it so important for these images to be inside every Catholic church? Why don’t we just use that space for something else? I propose that the Church in her infinite wisdom, knowing that our senses need to be sanctified by the veneration of holy images, sees an opportunity for the faithful to enter into the mystery of salvation.
The noble and the vulgar
We find ourselves in a world abundant with images. Some of them are good, noble and pleasing to the eye, while others are crude, vulgar and corrupt the imagination. When we see the latter, the heart drowns in anguish and pain at visions of ghastliness. We struggle in the arduous pursuit of purity and a holy imagination that we so desperately need in order to adequately contemplate Christ’s life, death and resurrection — and not just in the season of Lent!
I believe that meditation on the Via Crucis is the antidote to our self-inflated and pornographic mindset. Why is that? I believe it is because we are invited — I dare say, compelled — to look at Christ’s Passion as it truly appears. We are called to share in the courage of great sacred artists who made visible the crown of thorns pressed upon the divine head of the Saviour, the nails pierced into his hands and feet, and the lifeless body of Jesus entombed. There is a temptation in us to think that the Messiah did not really suffer, but when faced with the Saviour falling down, we begin to see that we think erroneously.
In the delicate strokes of paint we encounter the cowardice of Pontius Pilate, we behold the face of a strange man, the prisoner Barabbas. Still the picture lacks the scheming, snarling chief priests, elders and scribes. Coming to the foreground of our frame is the compassionate Veronica, wiping the face of Jesus. Blessed is she indeed who received in her hands the likeness of the Word made flesh, printed with his own blood.
Slowly the cross is unveiled, and the same colours of the day which fell upon the noisy crowd, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus are now shown to us. Those colours, dark and brooding, now illumine the face of Simon of Cyrene, taking on the task of being a cross-bearer. Weeping in the shadows are the women of Jerusalem, but Jesus, covered in the crimson of blood, implores them to weep for themselves. Proceeding closer and closer to us are the harsh, rigid lines of Roman soldiers. We see lines of shields and swords as the soldiers strip Jesus of his garments and nail him to the cross.
We humbly regard the silhouette of the Saviour in his final hour on the cross. At this moment in our solemn meditation, we kneel in a sombre and reverent silence, for we dare not speak a word while the Saviour utters his last words, commending his spirit to the Father. In this we see the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, laying down his life for his bride, the Church. The words of the new and everlasting covenant are brought to life and the marriage between the Church and Jesus Christ is consummated.
Greatness of sacred art
It is no wonder then that, at least from my side of the horizon, the crucifixion of Jesus is the most widely commissioned work of art; I would guess that the second would be that of the Lord’s Supper. In a strange way, we seem to judge the greatness of sacred artists by the manner in which they depict the Passion of Jesus Christ. If the artist reveals the truth of the Passion to us by exposing the wounds of Jesus, by revealing the coldness of the cross, and by shining a light on the tears of the Blessed Virgin Mary, then we are in awe, admiration, and a bit of shock that the death of Jesus could be made so vividly real to us.
Sacred art that is made well does not shy away from the truths of our faith and it aligns itself to the beauty of God. I lament that at times it seems the needs of the Christian people for prayer and contemplation are set aside for the vainglory of the artist seeking personal self-expression.
Pope Pius XII articulates this well in his encyclical Mediator Dei. “Modern art should be given free scope in the due and reverent service of the Church and the sacred rites, provided that they preserve a correct balance between styles tending neither to extreme realism nor to excessive symbolism, and that the needs of the Christian community are taken into consideration rather than the particular taste or talent of the individual artist.”
This, I suppose, begs the question: What are the needs of the Christian community? Well, they are the same now as they were almost 2000 years ago. Christians, many residing in a world hostile to their beliefs, must be reminded of Christ’s incarnation, of his life, ministry, Passion, death and resurrection.
Sacred art in union with sacred music and sacred Scripture must not stoop down to the level of being trendy or fashionable, lest we reduce Jesus to just a man who said a few wise words and died a terrible death. Such art will not help us on our journey of faith.
Art that accentuates the floral patterns on your living room furniture cannot be the same art that is used to depict Jesus being scourged at the pillar. Let us pray for art that is solemn, sacred and beautiful so that, as we take on our own Via Crucis, we may, in the words of St John Damascene, “contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled”.
This article was published in the October 2022 issue of The Southern Cross magazine
- The Way to the Crib - December 12, 2022
- Our Eyes on Christ - December 5, 2022
- A Vessel for Our Journey - September 29, 2022
