The Sermon of Paul
Photo: Pontifical Museum of Loreto
LORETO, October 31, 2022 / 6:00 PM (ACI Print) .-
The month dedicated to the Missions ends today. The Church is missionary by vocation and it is a vocation that was born immediately, as art also tells us.
The first great missionary was the Apostle Paul. Mission and apostolate in the early centuries of the Church were in fact the same thing. And so it was Paul who wanted to attempt the mission even among Athenian intellectuals. It was certainly not an immediate success. But the story of that preaching inspired artists and popes. Like Leo X who in 1514 asked Raffaello Sanzio to prepare drawings for the realization of 10 tapestries to be made in Brussels.
As toldto Sister Maria Gloria Riva on The Message of the Holy House of Loretothe publication of the Marches sanctuary, the tapestries had been commissioned for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
And seven of them were exhibited on December 29, 1519 in the chapel, to the amazement of those present: tota cappella stupefacta Este in aspectu illurum“notes the master of ceremonies of the time.
Over time, the Flemish weaver made many copies from those drawings by Raphael, and one of those copies is still in Loreto today. And it represents the preaching of St. Paul in Athens.
In the tapestry Paul has his arms towards the sky, and the Areopagus of Athens is represented as a place rich in water and vegetation. Paul’s failure is described in chapter 27 of the Acts of the Apostles. And Raphael describes him with the bewilderment and indifference of his listeners with frowning faces. But the preached Word did not go without effect.
There are Dionysius and Damaris which remain conquered and Raphael represents them as they come to listen to the Apostle in an almost adoring attitude. The scene is identical to that of the Vatican Palace, but women appear in the frame representing the cardinal virtues, and the theological virtues. Sister Maria Gloria Riva writes of the Perpetual Adorers of the SS. Sacrament who, alongside his passion for art, cultivates the study of Sacred Scripture, Patristics and the spirituality of Mother Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation, founder of the Order: “If it was Paul’s voice that thrilled Dionysius and Damaris, it would be however the Word of God himself that through the divine Truths it will inflame their hearts with faith, hope and charity. Thus those who, like them, adhere to the Word of God will be capable of true justice; of prudence, temperance and fortitude. And Paul himself from what failure will he learn that, more than erudition, it is the cross that conquers men to Salvation. Thus the tapestry becomes a warning for today’s missionaries: the inculturation of the Gospel is certainly necessary, but it is the Kerygma, that is the announcement of the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord that draws men to the Gospel.“.
From February 2007 Sister Maria Gloria moved to the Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro where she founded a Monastic community which, alongside Perpetual Adoration, aims to educate the gaze to Beauty.