This morning, at the crack of dawn, we were up and waiting to see the Pope. We gathered by St. Peter's Basilica with hundreds of others to hear what Pope Francis had to say.
Today Pope Francis gave a short sermon about the Last Judgement. He started off by saying that while many might be fearful of the Last Judgement, it is really a subject to celebrate. The Pope spoke about the Last Judgment as this mystery which lays before us, and while it can be a scary concept, the scripture tells us its a good thing. The Last Judgement will be a moment of liberation and freedom for believers because it will be a time when they are able to join Christ. I thought his sermon was interesting because we have seen a lot of art that depicts what the Last Judgement will be like. For example, Michelangelo’s Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel is a terrifying yet beautiful scene.
In this fresco, we see Jesus and Mary in the center. Jesus is represented as a redeemer. Surrounding him are Saints, many of whom were martyred. What is unique is that those Saints are shown with pieces of the instruments used to kill them. For example, there is a man to the bottom right of Jesus who is holding what looks like melting skin. This figure is actually St. Bartholomew who was skinned alive (fun fact, the face of the skin is a self portrait of Michelangelo). This shows that those who believe in Christ will come back perfectly whole in the after life. The Pope was saying exactly this, and even said that God and the Saints are already praying for believers like a mother looking out for her child. However, there are also those who choose to not follow Christ. In Michelangelo’s Last Judgement, we see a cave at the bottom with the devil inside. This part of the painting is blocked by a physical cross to keep out the devil in the Sistine Chapel. There are also images of the damned trying to get to Jesus but being pushed back into Hell. The Pope also mentioned this ideal in his sermon. He said that those who reject God and his teachings are ultimately hurting themselves by their own choice. It was interesting to hear a sermon that related almost perfectly to what we have talked about throughout our trip.
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