The fine arts, but above all sacred art, “of their nature are directed toward expressing in some way the infinite beauty of God in works made by human hands….”
Catechism of the Catholic Church (2513)
the infant saint john with the lamb
Gospel
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 1:57-66,80
The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.
Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
Meanwhile the child grew up and his spirit matured. And he lived out in the wilderness until the day he appeared openly to Israel.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection on the Painting
by Fr. Patrick van der Vorst
Only three birthdays are celebrated on the Church’s liturgical calendar: the Nativity of Our Lord (December 25), the Nativity of his Mother (September 8), and the Nativity of his forerunner, John the Baptist, on 24 June. Furthermore, Saint John the Baptist is one of the few saints who have two feast days. Each year the Church celebrates both his birth on 24th June and his martyrdom on August 29th.
Our painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo from circa 1660 depicts a young John the Baptist tenderly interacting with a lamb, symbolising Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. The scene is set in a rocky landscape, a reference to the wilderness in which John lived as a young man, dressed in a camel-hair tunic and eating locusts. John’s left hand points towards heaven. According to the Gospels (John 1: 29), when Saint John met Christ he declared: ‘Behold, the Lamb of God’. These words are inscribed in Latin on a ribbon wound around a reed cross, one of Saint John’s attributes, at the bottom right of our painting.
By transforming adult biblical characters into children, Murillo appealed to viewers, encouraging them to emulate a child-like state of innocence and purity. Our painting was made for Don Justino de Neve, a canon of Seville Cathedral and one of Murillo’s most devoted patrons; the artist also painted his portrait. In 1665, Justino lent this and several other paintings by Murillo to the church of Santa María la Blanca in Seville. During festivities marking the newly reconstructed church’s inauguration, a spectacular temporary altar was erected in the square in front of the church’s facade. According to contemporary accounts, this painting was displayed there. Judging by the numerous engravings after this picture, it was one of Murillo’s most popular and recognisable paintings.
Saint John the Baptist. Pray for us.
Credit: Fr. Patrick van der Vorst, Gospel Reading for Today, Christian Art, Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist; Luke 1:57-66,80; https://www.christian.art/todays-reading.php Information herein posted under the "rules of fair use" to foster education and discussion in accordance with Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976.
For today’s Mass readings please visit https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading.
Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Created “in the image of God,” man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works. Indeed, art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the search for the necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art is a freely given superabundance of the human being’s inner riches. Arising from talent given by the Creator and from man’s own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill, to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God’s activity in what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man (CCC 2501).
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Saint Paul, Letter to the Philippians 4:8
St. Paul, Apostle, Martyr, pray for us.
Be not afraid! And may the peace of Christ be with you and your loved ones today and always. Holy Family, pray for us. Amen.
