Dear friends in Christ

We come to that section in the reading of chapter six of St John’s Gospel where the Jews will not accept that Jesus can give us Himself as food for eternal life. This has always been the crossroads in history: those who accept Jesus as God and believe He can give us Himself in the Eucharist; and those who do not or will not believe Him. The artwork this week is a reproduction of the fresco of the Disputation of The Holy Sacrament, in the famous Raphael Rooms of the Vatican. Raphael used this painting to show the mystery of the Holy Trinity, what the Catechism terms the most fundamental and essential teaching in the hierarchy of faith (CCC234) while, at the same time, revealing the true, real presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist. In a clear, truly beautiful, and contemplative way, Raphael catechised every person who has ever laid eyes on this masterpiece. By drawing a direct, vertical line through the Three Divine Persons to the earthly presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, viewers can see these fundamental truths of our Catholic Faith. In a time when most of the lay people of the Catholic Faith were illiterate, Raphael, and others, were commissioned by religious leaders to create masterpieces that spoke to the deep truths of our Faith. Saints, Popes, Philosophers, all point to Jesus on the Altar as the ultimate Truth. Art, at this time, held not just an artistic power, but a catechetical power. No wonder the art of the Renaissance is considered to be so powerfully rich. Perhaps it is due to the True, the Good, the Beautiful that it shows. As fellow Renaissance painter Michelangelo states, Every beauty which is seen here on earth by persons of perception, resembles, more than anything else, that Celestial Source from which we all are come. As we continue our reflections on the Eucharistic Mystery at Mass, we might pray for a renewed faith and sense of awe in the presence of this great Mystery—God-with-us!

God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale