AND THIS?

Today's post continues to look at some of the things that could be lost in our present predicament. As today is Good Friday, and we have previously looked at our Redemptorist Mission Cross, we will have a look at the Pieta.

The original Pieta ("the Piety") is a Renaissance sculpture executed by  Michelangelo Buonarroti about 1498/99.  It was sculpted from a block of Carrara marble and Michelangelo said it was the finest block he had ever seen.  It is the only piece of his work that the artist has ever signed.  Through the centuries many versions of this work have appeared and many Catholic Churches have a version based on Michelangelo's. The original Pieta is housed in St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, and is estimated to be worth an eye-popping $300 million today!

Now to our own, not quite so exalted but still beautiful and very loved, Pieta.

The beautiful Pieta in St Patrick's Church

I am pretty certain that there was a version of the Pieta in St Patrick's Church when I was a child.  That Pieta wasn't coloured.  Do any of you 'more mature' folks remember that or am I "misremembering"? (I have never used that word before but I believe I heard a certain P M use it recently.  I like to keep up with newspeak!) According to the leaflet, 'St Patrick's Church', Katrina McAllister and Karen Morrissey, 1996, the present Pieta was installed in the church in 1992. The base of a pulpit supports it.

This Pieta is vividly coloured and is very beautiful. It is inspiring, very touching, and is a point of  deep respect and devotion for so many parishioners.  Pray God we don't lose it.  

A close up of the Pieta in St Patrick's Church

It has been said that in his Pieta,  Michelangelo's intention was  not to focus on death but on acceptance.  Let's continue to work and pray for our beloved Church and Parish but, perhaps we should also pray for acceptance of whatever God has in mind for the Catholic Church in Newfoundland.