Sparks, Fireflies and Surprises

This has been a hard week, but Thursday as I was making my way to bed and grateful to be doing so, my husband came in from outside and said, "There are fireflies everywhere out there." So, I went outside and sat on the kitchen steps which look out over the field by the side of the house which, sure enough, was full of fireflies. It was a clear night, and so the sky was full of bright stars, and the field was full of bright stars dancing and leaping around--campostella, I thought. I sat there for quite a while, and I did the same on Friday and Saturday, and as soon as I post this, I'm going out again. I plan to do so every night until they go away for the year. It made me think of this scripture from Wisdom 3.

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,a and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if to others, indeed, they seem punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their judgment they shall shine and dart about as sparks through stubble.

 I can't tell you how many times I've read that with people who were planning funerals, but this year it's particularly apropos, and especially today, my first Mother's Day since my mother died.

People don't seem to remember this anymore, but when I was a girl, we used to wear roses to church on Mother's Day. You wore a red rose if your mother was alive, and a white rose if your mother was dead. This morning, I knew that they were going to give roses to all the mothers at Mass, and as we arrived at church, I saw women walking out with all different colors of roses, and I told my husband that I wanted a white one--and I got one. Well, by the time I took this picture, the one from Mass had been sitting out in a hot car all day, but these were on the table at the restaurant where my son took us to dinner, so I took a picture of them.

The fireflies have been a real gift for me. They are so beautiful, and it's so peaceful out there. It really lifted my spirit. It reminds me of this old hymn by William Cowper. I see I've dislocated a phrase from the second verse and stuck in the first, but this is the way I was remembering it.

          Sometimes a light surprises the Christian while he sings;

          It is the Lord Who rises with healing in His wings.

         Set free from present sorrow, He grants the soul again

         A season of pure shining to cheer it after rain.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Infidelity

Infidelitas

And Judah was taken into exile because of their unfaithfulness. I Chronicles 9:1

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them! Psalm 135:15-18

This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:11-13

[S]in frequently manifests itself in the history of Israel, especially as infidelity to the God of the Covenant and as transgression of the Law of Moses. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 401

Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and mammon."44 Many martyrs died for not adoring "the Beast"45 refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2113

When I first looked at this picture of Infidelity, I thought it was a man holding up his mistress, but as I read a few things--links below--I realized that it very well might be a woman, although there is some disagreement there, and that she is holding an idol. The very few words of the inscription that survive support this, Infidelis claudicat /ydola..../spernit qui se predicat/visu tradit ydolatria.... The best I can figure out is, Infidelity limps/idol..../he rejects that which is proclaimed/he surrenders vision for idolatry. It has been quite a while since I have studied Latin and I was never very advanced, so this may be less than perfect. I've written someone to ask for help, so if he writes back and says it's wrong. I'll update the post. 

Rough as that translation may be, however, and abbreviated as the inscription is, it goes a long way toward explaining the image. Infidelity is certainly holding an idol, which controls her with a rope tied around the idolater's neck. This is a great image. It perfectly portrays our relationships with whatever idols, large or small, have a hold on us. Above her head, we see a figure, perhaps a prophet, some suggest, or perhaps God the Father, Himself, handing down some message. Perhaps it is the First Commandment. 

Unfortunately, Infidelity cannot see this messenger because she is wearing a helmet that blocks her vision of all that is above. I find this helmet very curious. I looks Asian to me, so I went looking for pictures of 14th century Asian helmets, and found some that were similar. I also found that there is a book called, Giotto and the Influences of the Mongols and the Chinese on His Art by Hidemichi Tanaki, so maybe it is Asian. I also found some pictures of Crusader helmets that looked similar.

Giving the idol a sideways glance, her right eye, at least, is actually closed, as she blinds herself to truth of her bondage. At first, I thought that the left eye was clearly open, but the more I look at it, the more I think that it is closed and just looks open because of some damage. There have been restorations since these pictures were taken, and even in the pictures of the restoration, here, I still can't really tell. Sometimes I feel like David Hemmings in Blow-Up.

And what to make of that left hand lifting the hem of that garment? She does so to reveal her foot, the limping one, I suppose, which looks blackened and perhaps has been withdrawn from the flames that rise up under the idol-the flames of hell, one would imagine.

The way that I write these posts is that I look at the images several times at different magnifications until I see everything I can. By that time, I'm pretty sure what I want to write, but if I have any questions, I look around to see what other people have written--of which precious little is available online. I'm sure I could find more if I had access to a library, but I don't. These are the websites that I have used. 

The Web Gallery of Art - This has been my main resource. It's where I found the pictures, and you can see them there at larger magnifications.

The Scrovegni Chapel and the Frescoes Painted by Giotto Therein by Andrea Moschetti - mostly useful for the inscriptions

Art and Critique - just a person like me, apparently, and unfortunately, because there is a lot of interesting stuff there, the blog seems to be defunct.

Giotto and his works in Padua...by John Ruskin

gettyimages - This is where you can see the restored images.

AMDG,

Janet

P.S. If you haven't see the detail pictures from Faith, you might want to take a look at them.

Books and Angels

Whatever it was I thought I saw on the books disappears at this magnification. I see something, but who knows what.

Angels--you can see their wings here.

                    

AMDG

Badge?

This is the badge or shield or whatever that I see on her chest. I see the link to the picture of the Dominican cross is forbidden, so here's what I'm talking about.

AMDG

Face

Here's the little face in the corner. It's about like the tragedy mask except no chin.

AMDG

Giotto: The Virtues and Vices ~ Faith

Fides 

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen Because of it the ancients were well attested.By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. Hebrews 11:1-3

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith “man freely commits his entire self to God.” For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God’s will. “The righteous shall live by faith.” Living faith “work[s] through charity.”* Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1814, * Rom 1:17; Gal 5:6

The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: “All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.”82 Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”* Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1816 * Mt 10:32-33

But you, beloved, who possess this faith, or who have begun now newly to have it, let it be nourished and increase in you. For as things temporal have come, so long before foretold, so will things eternal also come, which are promised. Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen, 11, Augustine of Hippo

Faith stands straight and clear-eyed, and watched over by two angels. On her head she wears some kind of hat or crown that is reminiscent of a church spire--she is found under or within the Church. In her left hand she holds a scroll, I wish that I could find an image where the text was big enough to read, but I can't. John Ruskin, who wrote about the chapel, says it is the Apostle's Creed. On her left breast, there appears to be some sort of badge. It looks to me as if it might be some kind of  Dominican cross, or perhaps it is a guild badge. Her garment seems to be torn in places, as though she has been under some sort of attack. In her right hand she bears a cross atop a staff that is resting on some debris, which on closer inspection is a shattered body, the face of which looks like it might be a demon, or perhaps it is a heretic. Her left foot stand upon some books which are presumably false doctrine. They appear to have evil faces on them. She stands on a rock, no tilting floor for her. There is an inscription, but it has been almost completely obliterated. 

Faith is the first of the theological virtues. The cardinal virtues are the virtues of natural men. They are habits which can be practiced and strengthened by our efforts alone. The theological virtues are infused by God. They, . . . 

adapt man’s faculties for participation in the divine nature: for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1812

AMDG