The restored St. Francis Missal, a 12th-century manuscript that St. Francis of Assisi consulted as he was discerning his spiritual life, will be on display at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore from Feb. 1 to May 31. (Courtesy Walters Art Museum)

Walters exhibit showcases medieval missal used by St. Francis of Assisi

 

George P. Matysek Jr.

January 28, 2020

Feature, Local News, News

 

Abigail Quandt, left, head of book and paper conservation at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, and Cathie Magee, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, were part of a major conservation effort that preserved a 12th century manuscript known as the St. Francis Missal. (Courtesy Walters Art Museum)

More than eight centuries ago, St. Francis of Assisi and two companions randomly opened a prayer book three times inside their parish church of St. Nicolò.  Hoping God would send them a message, the wealthy young men prayerfully consulted the manuscript once for each person of the Holy Trinity.  Remarkably, each of the three Gospel passages they landed on contained the exact same command: give up worldly possessions and follow Christ.

Taking the words to heart, St. Francis established a rule of life governing what would become his Order of Friars Minor. The Franciscans embraced radical poverty to draw closer to Christ while also evangelizing others.  The same book that inspired St. Francis in 1208 is expected to inspire thousands of others as the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore places it on public display for the first time in 40 years Feb. 1 through May 31.

The Latin missal, which contains Gospel readings and prayers used at Mass, underwent a painstaking two-year conservation effort aimed at repairing centuries of wear and tear.  The missal, especially beloved by Catholics, isn’t just a historic artifact. Because it was touched by a saint, it is also considered by many to be a religious relic. “This is our most-requested manuscript,” said Lynley Herbert, curator of rare books and manuscripts at the Walters. Herbert noted that Franciscans from around the world have visited the Walters over the decades to catch a glimpse of the richly illuminated book. Because of its significance to the Franciscan community, the Walters has let them view it even when the manuscript’s fragile condition kept it from public display.  “We’ve become a site of pilgrimage,” Herbert explained. “I’m contacted probably monthly, if not weekly, with requests to see this book.”

Herbert said the missal was commissioned for the Church of St. Nicolò in Assisi. An inscription inside the manuscript notes that the book’s donor lived in Assisi in the 1180s and 1190s.
“The manuscript was probably made just before 1200,” she said. “In the 15^th century, it had to be rebound because the binding probably started falling apart after so many centuries of use.”  The St. Francis Missal is believed to have been housed at St. Nicolò until an earthquake damaged the church in the 19^th century. The church’s artifacts were then dispersed and the church was torn down. All that remains today is the church’s crypt.

Henry Walters, whose art collection became the basis for the Walters Art Museum, purchased the St. Francis Missal from an art dealer in 1924, according to Herbert.

 

Cathie Magee, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, works to preserve the St. Francis Missal, a 12th-century manuscript that will be featured in a Feb. 1-May 31 exhibit at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. (Courtesy Walters Art Museum)

Abigail Quandt, head of book and paper conservation at the Walters, supervised a meticulous conservation effort undertaken by Cathie Magee, who worked on the project as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Book Conservation.  Quandt said the major challenge was repairing 15^th century wooden beech boards that helped hold the book together. The boards and some of the parchment pages had been attacked long ago by insects, she said.  “When they are in the larva stage, they actually work their way through the wood, digesting the starchy components,” Quandt said. “And so this left a lot of holes.”

As the book was continuously used, she said, parts of the boards started to crack and pieces fell off. The sewing also started to break.  Quandt and Magee removed the boards and took the book apart page by page. They filled holes with a special adhesive to strengthen the wood, mended pages and replaced the leather spine with new leather. The entire manuscript was stabilized and stitched back together.  Throughout the preservation effort, Quandt said, conservators used reversible methods so future experts can undo their repairs if needed.

In working on the project, the conservators discovered that unlike what might be expected in such an elaborate manuscript, gold leaf was not used in the St. Francis Missal. The scribes who illuminated the parchment pages instead used silver leaf that was glazed with a type of varnish that made it look like gold.  “That may have been something that was just practiced at that time in that area of Italy,” Quandt said.  Using ultraviolet and infrared lights, the Walters’ team also noticed some mistakes scribes had made in producing the prayer book – missing a word, sentence or even whole paragraphs as they copied sacred texts.  “Typically, the scribe would just take their pen knife and very, very carefully scratch the surface (of the parchment) in order to remove the incorrect letter or word,” Quandt said. “And then they would write over it.”

Seeing those mistakes helps make those who produced the manuscript “more human,” she said.
“It brings them more closer to us,” she said.

 

An illumination is shown from the St. Francis Missal that dates to the 12th century. The missal will be on display at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore Feb. 1 to May 31. (Courtesy Walters Art Museum)

As conservators worked on preserving the manuscript, each page was digitized so anyone with Internet access around the world can view and study the book. It will be available through the Walters’ Ex-Libris webpage.

The upcoming exhibition will also feature several other objects, including paintings, ivories and ceramics of different time periods.  “The cases around the missal will highlight different aspects of the ripple effect of this manuscript across time and how it impacts different people,” Herbert said.
In addition to items related to St. Francis’ contribution to the Franciscan movement, there will be objects connected with St. Clare, the first woman to follow St. Francis, and St. Anthony of Padua, who was focused on preaching and spreading the Franciscan message, Herbert said.  “There’s also a case that will focus on private devotion and secular Franciscans,” she said.

Herbert noted that the missal itself has three full pages of colorful illuminations, including an elaborate depiction of the Crucifixion that shows Christ on the cross with two angels overhead. The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John the Beloved stand by his side.

The free exhibition, sponsored in part by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, will debut with the book open to one of the three Gospel text passages St. Francis read in 1208. Halfway through the exhibition, the page will be turned to one of the other passages St. Francis read.  “When the manuscript has been shown in the past, it has always been open to one of the illuminations – which are really actually quite lovely,” Herbert said. “But we thought about it long and hard and we decided that it would be more meaningful for people coming to see it for this exhibition if we showed the openings that St. Francis actually may have interacted with.”

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

January 26, 2020

Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 8: 23 – 9:3

Psalm 27 “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17

Gospel reading according to Matthew 4: 12-23

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Homily: Calling of the first disciples

Jesus for a while stayed with John in the Jordan after his baptism and before he went in the desert.  He just observed John's living in the wilderness, his food and clothing, his manner of preaching and of baptizing.  When he went away to the desert for forty days and forty nights, he became hungry and thirsty and being tempted by the devil, yet in the end he won all of this.  While he was away, John was arrested by King Herod for being told of his immoral living, and put him in a dungeon. When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee (Matthew 4: 12).  When Jesus came back from the desert, John was no longer there in the Jordan River. Nobody was there, too.  It was empty.  He learned that John was arrested through the command of Herod.  So, Jesus decided to go back to Galilee, where he lived.

Upon returning to his own town, Nazareth, in Galilee, he decided to move and stay in Capernaum with unknown reason or maybe because he will look there his new disciples or to fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah, the prophet.  He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah might be fulfilled; 'Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in the land overshadowed by death light has risen' (Matthew 4: 13-16).  Jesus is the light to the nations and he will bring light to those in darkness and in the shadow of death.  He will bring light, life and hope to the people of Capernaum, land of Zebulun and Naphtali.  They were in darkness and in the shadow of death because no one teaches them the right way of life, to worship the true God and in harmonious relationship with their neighbors, on how to be human. There is a chance to change the way of life now that Jesus came.  They will receive teachings and preaching from the source of light and life.  While there he proclaimed the Gospel news about the Reign-Kingdom of God.  From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matthew 4: 17).  He preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins to have a new life in God.

But this ministry of preaching all alone he cannot make it by himself, he needed companions to assist him and to train others in this kind of ministry.  He has to choose and call those he thinks can also carry this same apostolate, that he can trust, simple and humble.  As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen (Matthew 4: 18).  Before he came to Capernaum, he already met Andrew and John, former disciples of John the Baptist who said and pointed Jesus as the Lamb of God and they followed him.  Andrew was the one who brought his brother Simon to Jesus who he called Peter; while John (the beloved) introduced James to Jesus as well.   

First, Jesus came to the boat of Peter and Andrew who were casting their nets at that time.  They were fishermen.  He said to them, 'Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men' (Matthew 4: 19).  He called them to become his disciples and fishers of men (catching men and women).  At once they left their nets and followed him (Matthew 4: 20).  Their responses were leaving their boat and nets, their livelihood and family and followed Jesus wherever he might go.

Together with Peter and Andrew, Jesus continued his walking and searching.  He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.  They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets (Matthew 4: 21).  He found James and John, sons of Zebedee, in a boat with their father mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him (Matthew 4: 22).  He also called them to become his disciples who will help him in proclaiming the Kingdom of God to all people they caught. They responded immediately when they also saw Peter and Andrew following Jesus.  They left their father in the boat and followed Jesus as well.  In just one day, Jesus found true disciples who can also do what he does, spreading the good news of the Kingdom of God through repentance from sinful life.   He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people (Matthew 4: 23).  Jesus roamed around in Capernaum, with his first four disciples, teaching and proclaiming the Kingdom of God with curing every kind of diseases, illnesses and driving out demons in their synagogues.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

January 19, 2020

Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6

Psalm 40 “Here am I, Lord, I come to do our will.”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3

Gospel reading according to John 1: 29-34

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Homily: The Lamb of God

John the Baptist was much aware of the coming of the Messiah.  He was waiting and expecting his coming very soon.  He was very excited too to that coming event.  John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.'  He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he has existed before me’ (John 1: 29-30).  When Jesus was coming to John, he easily recognized him.  He called him the Lamb of God.  This theme or motif, Lamb of God, is also popular in the ancient world of Israel (in the Old Testament), similar to the Paschal Lamb.  For centuries people worshiped God by sacrificing animals. They killed them and offered them to God. For the Jews a lamb was the main animal of sacrifice. In the Temple a lamb was offered every day. The sacrifice of a lamb also played an important part in the Exodus.  God led the Israelites out of Egypt, where they were slaves, and into the Promised Land.  On the night God's people were to depart, the firstborn in all the Egyptian families died.  The firstborn of the Israelites were saved because God had instructed them to kill a lamb or goat and mark their doorposts with its blood.  The angel of death then knew to pass over those houses.  The Israelites ate the lamb in a meal before they left. The lamb was to have no blemish, and none of its bones were to be broken (https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/scripture-and-tradition/jesus-and-the-new-testament/who-do-you-say-that-i-am-names-for-jesus/jesus-the-lamb-of-god).  Jesus is that lamb who takes to himself the sins of the world.  Jesus chooses to suffer crucifixion at Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of his divine Father, as Son of God in carrying away the sins of the world (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_of_God) by his death on the Cross.  He is the lamb that was slaughtered and offered in the altar of the Lord God in replacing us for the forgiveness of our sins.   

John continued in saying after him in his ministry, another one is coming to continue what he had started and that was Jesus; he came ahead of him because he existed before him.  Before the world and all in it was created and or began, Jesus was already present and existed.  He is already here and there.  He existed with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  It was also included in the plan of God that the Son of God will become part of all created beings and to be the Son of Man, through Mary, and do the will of God his Father..   

John was right when he said that he did not know that his cousin Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the anointed one.  He did not expect that Jesus, who is son of Mary and Joseph, was the Son of the living God.   I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel (John 1: 31). Although he used the rite of baptism, the baptism of cleansing and repentance of all sins done, which is not applicable to Jesus, it was by this baptism that he whom he expected to come will appear, it became a means to employ so that Jesus may revealed himself when the time comes.  John introduced Jesus to the people of Israel through his testimony, and baptism of water. 

To prove what he said, he also testified about Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Son of God.  John testified further, saying, 'I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him' (John 1: 32).  He attested and affirmed that he saw the Holy Spirit came down from heaven and rested above his head.  He saw the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit in a form of a dove descending from the sky and remains in him.  And again he repeated the unknowing of him about the coming Messiah, Jesus.  I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit' (John 1: 33).  He was telling the people about his sending, role and mission.  He was told by the voice of God the indication in knowing he who is to come, the Holy Spirit will come to a man after he was baptized and descended and remain in him from then on.  If he baptized water, the one who is to come will baptize with the same Holy Spirit and fire.  Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God (John 1: 29-34).  He manifested and confirmed right there and then that Jesus the Lamb of God is truly the Son of God.

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (A)

January 12, 2020

Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7

Psalm 104 “The Lord will bless his people with peace.”

Second Reading: Acts 10: 34-38 

Gospel reading according to Matthew 3: 13-17

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Homily:

Jesus was raised up and grew with wisdom, knowledge, and surrendering his will to the Lord God and to his parents, in Nazareth, Galilee. He helped his father Joseph in his trade (carpentry) in their shop until Joseph’s death.  More or less he was thirty years old.  Supposedly, Jesus had already his own family, wife and children; and Mary has companions in her old age.  But he had another destiny.  He was hearing John, his cousin, was baptizing in the River Jordan and making straight the way for the coming of the Messiah (of Christ).  Jesus was discerning if he will go up to Jordan to be baptized by John.  He had some time to discern.  Until such time, in the fullness of time, he decided to go and be baptized by John to do the will of God, His Father.  After asking permission from his mother Mary, he went to Jordan to see and be baptized by John.  Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him (Matthew 3: 13).  He showed himself to John and asked him to be baptized.

When John saw Jesus it seemed he knew that he was the Christ, the anointed One and the Son of the Living God.  For when Jesus asked John to baptize him, he persuaded Jesus that he should baptize by him instead.   John tried to prevent him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?' (Matthew 3: 14).  John barred and disallowed at first to baptize Jesus, but later Jesus was able to convince John to baptize him.  Jesus said to him in reply, 'Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.'  Then he allowed him (Matthew 3: 15).  This should be the case, as part of the will of God; it must be done, in revealing his Son to the people of whom he would be saved. It is not of human caprice or interest but of God's own doing.

Everything has been done according to God's plan.  After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him (Matthew 3: 6).  When the rite of baptism has been performed, suddenly the sky was opened; the Holy Spirit came down in a form of a dove, a symbol of new life, of hope, of peace as in the days of Noah after deluge coming out from the ark, and a symbol of power and strength.  It rested on his shoulder.  All of this was seen and observed by John, and he believed (as when he was still in the womb of Elizabeth his mother, he jumped for joy).  John said that he is the one who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire.  

He, John, even heard the voice of God coming from heaven.  And a voice came from the heavens, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased'(Matthew 3: 17).  'This is my beloved Son,' God recognized Jesus as His own; this made us also children of God when we received the sacrament of Baptism. Through Jesus he brought us back to the original relation with God; 'with whom I am well pleased,' God is satisfied with Jesus' obedience to him.  He truly does the will of his Father.  And, Jesus taught us so how to become obedient to God, our Loving Father; because of Jesus we are free to call God our Father.

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (ABC)

January 5, 2020

Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 60: 1-6

Psalm 72 “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”

Second Reading: Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6 

Gospel reading according to Matthew 2: 1-12

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Homily: God reveals Himself to us.

This day we are celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord, the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (cf. today's gospel, Matthew 2:1–12).  Epiphany comes from a Greek verb meaning "to reveal, to manifest, to show," and all of the various events celebrated by the Feast of the Epiphany are revelations of Christ Jesus to all humankind. 

History of the Feast of the Epiphany.  Like many of the most ancient Christian feasts, Epiphany was first celebrated in the East, where it has been held from the beginning almost universally on January 6. Today, among both Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, the feast is known as Theophany—the revelation of God to man. Epiphany: A Fourfold Feast.  Epiphany originally celebrated four different events: the Nativity of Christ  the visitation of the Wise Men  or Magi, the Baptism of the Lord and Christ's first miracle, the changing of water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Each of these is a revelation of God to man: At the Nativity, the angels bear witness to Christ, and the shepherds, representing the people of Israel, bow down before Him; at the visitation of the Magi, Christ's divinity is revealed to the Gentiles—the other nations of the earth; at Christ's Baptism, the Holy Spirit descends and the voice of God the Father is heard, declaring that Jesus is His Son; and at the wedding in Cana, the miracle reveals Christ's divinity.  The End of Christmastide.   Eventually, the celebration of the Nativity was separated out, in the West, into Christmas ; and shortly thereafter, Western Christians adopted the Eastern feast of the Epiphany, still celebrating the visit from the Wise Men, the Baptism, and the first miracle.  Thus, Epiphany came to mark the end of Christmastide, which began with the revelation of Christ to Israel in His Birth and ended with the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles at Epiphany.  Over the centuries, the various celebrations were further separated in the West, and now the Baptism of the Lord  is celebrated on the Sunday after January 6, and the wedding at Cana is commemorated on the Sunday after the Baptism of the Lord (https://www.learnreligions.com/epiphany-of-our-lord-jesus-christ-542471)

After Jesus was born, from the east his star is manifested and seen by many people but only these three wise men seriously considered and studied the star, and they found it and interpreted it as a sign of the birth of a new born king, in particular, of Israel. They traveled far and wide in searching for the new born babe guided by the same star shown to them in their own country of origins.  When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.' (Matthew 2: 1-2).  Until the star stopped and disappeared when they reached the place of Jerusalem, in Judea, in the kingdom of King Herod.  The three wise men (magi) gave a courtesy call to the king for they too are also kings in their kingdoms.  After the usual greeting of peace, they asked King Herod if he knew there was a new born baby who is destined to become a new King of Israel, for they saw his star at its rising or in its beginning to shine.  They were searching for him to give him homage and acceptance.  They asked King Herod the whereabouts of that infant King.

King Herod was shocked and dumbfounded.  He cannot speak or say any information about the newborn king to the three magi, for he did not know about it or he was busy in his kingdom.  He did not also expect that someone, a little child, will replace him in his throne, which he hated to happen. When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him (Matthew 2: 3).  King Herod was indescribably troubled and perplex at the same time mad and angry; so also when the palace personnel learned the sudden madness of King Herd, they too were bothered.

After giving rooms to rest for the three wise men in his palace, King Herod called for a meeting of the wisest and learned of the palace.  He gathered the chief priests and scribes, those experts of the Scriptures, to consult what the scripture says about the new born king of Israel (of the Jews) for King Herod was not a Jew.  He was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean, a high-ranking official under ethnarch Hycamus II, and Cypros, a Nabatean. Herod's father was by descent an Edomite (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great).  Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born (Matthew 2: 4).  Herod asked the expertise of the chief priests and scribes the place of birth of the new leader of Israel.

Based on their research and studies of the Books of Torah and the Prophets, they located the birthplace of supposedly the Messiah of the Jewish people.   They said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel' (Matthew 2: 5-6).  They reported to King Herod where the new leader of Israel will be born as foretold by a prophet Micah (5: 2).  It is in Bethlehem of Judea, the birthplace also of King David.

When the magi were already rested, King Herod called them to himself secretly.  Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appeared (Matthew 2: 7).  He scrutinized the three wise men about the star, when it appeared, how they knew that it was a sign of a birth of a newborn king, and many other questions and interrogations.

Afterwards, he sent them to Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem, but did not give exact location.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search diligently for the child.  When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage' (Matthew 2: 8).  He let them go to search in Bethlehem for the infant, more or less two years old as the day the star appeared in the east.

When they left the palace of King Herod, the star that appeared to them in their places and led them to Jerusalem, the land of Israelites re-appeared again and once more was guiding them in searching the babe of Bethlehem.   After their audience with the king they set out.  And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was (Matthew 2: 9).  The star led them to the place of the babe of Bethlehem. 

Why was it the star disappeared when it was reached Jerusalem?  Was it overshadowed by thick clouds that made it dark and the light coming from the star cannot penetrate the cloud?  Was it King Herod made the star disappeared? or the people in Jerusalem made the place dark? and many other speculations we can guess.  Nevertheless, the hearts of the magi overjoyed when they saw the star.  They were overjoyed at seeing the star (Matthew 2: 10), they followed the star wherever it went until they reached the house where the infant was lying

With due respect and honor and blessing, they entered the house . . . and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.  They prostrated themselves and did him homage.  Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2: 11).  They were amazed when they saw the child and his mother, inspite of the poverty of the place, majesty and splendor are seen and experienced, filled with awe.  They can sense with their eyes to see, with their nose to smell, with their mouth to taste, with their hands to touch the holiness and goodness of the Lord.  They knelt down and gave him homage.  Then, one by one brought out their gifts, one brought gold, the other frankincense and another myrrh; all this symbolizing the royalty of the child as king represented by gold, frankincense representing the priesthood and myrrh as prophet, also it symbolizing the death of the Son of God and the Son of Man with the three gifts..

The three wise men stayed for a few days in the house and then went home.  But instead of passing King Herod's palace and to share the information they have got about the child they used another way in going back home.  And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their country by another way (Matthew 2: 12). Beside they were warned by the angel not to return to King Herod for they too were going to kill by him, because he was jealous for they too are kings, enemy of his throne (kaagaw sa kanyang trono), as he was with the child Jesus.