The next morning we woke up around 630 and took showers and headed down to breakfast which was very good because they gave us vouchers for the bar next to us and we had cappuccino, a croissant and some bread with butter and jelly. Lots of bread. Then we had to rush back upstairs to our room and get our backpacks and we headed off the subway station. We packed onto the subway and headed to the Vatican. We had a little walk from the subway to the entrance of the Vatican Museum where we were supposed to meet our guide for Context Tours. I was a little skeptical of this Context Tours thing that Mom had reserved for us but she said that my Uncle John and his family had gone on the same tour when they visited the Vatican.
I was very surprised at the tour though. A Ph.D. student, whose name was Eric, who was doing his Ph.D. in early Christian studies up to the 6th century A.D. led us on the tour. I imagine he was in his early 30s. He was a tall, skinny gentleman form Philadelphia and had been in Rome for 5 years doing his Ph.D. work. Another couple met us for the tour so it was just the 5 of us. We were able to skip the long line to get in because we had a reservation and we headed in. He was very knowledgeable about everything in the museum and picked things for us to see and explained it very well and answered all of our questions. It was a little more expensive than those big tour groups you see, but it was so intellectually stimulating. We toured the Painting Gallery and got a good sense of 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th century art and how it had changed over the years which culminated in seeing some of Raphael’s works and how he had even changed his art style when he saw the work that Michaelangelo was doing at the same time in the Sistine Chapel.
We then took a tour through the sculptures and saw some of the ancient Roman statues that had been missing for so long including the Apollo Belvedere and the Lawcoone (killed the spelling, I know). One thing I thought really interesting was that many of these sculptures were found with missing limbs and people like Michaelangelo were commissioned to add the limbs back onto the statue and design them, but even Michaelangelo, who loved sculpting, would not take on this work. When we viewed these famous statues, we all reflected on a fact that I had been pondering for the past several days: Where are the Michaelangelo’s and Raphael’s of our day? Eric remarked that you don’t see people out here doing sketches of these statues like Michaelangelo and Raphael were doing in their time. We also came to the conclusion that it is very expensive to get a huge chunk of marble like this and do sculpting. But art has become so modern these days, that maybe it just isn’t worth it to some of these artists to take on some of the projects like these great artists did. It amazes me how all this work was done in the early 1500s and here we are 500 years later and we still stand in amazement at these of being the greatest works in history. Has there been a standstill in art? I know there are some famous artists out there, but let’s be honest, they don’t touch what these artists of the 1500s did.
We headed on and there were posters in a courtyard that explained the Sistine Chapel and so Eric spent a good chunk of time going over each of the earlier works that rounded the Sistine Chapel that had been done before Michaelangelo’s time and how they reflected the lives of Moses and Jesus but had parallels in the way they were painted to reflect much of the same objects. Then he explained each of Michaelangelo’s painting on the ceiling and how the first few in the middle told the story of Creation and then the Fall, and then three paintings having to do with Noah. Then these pictures were surrounded by prophets and prophetesses of the Bible. It told such a great story which culminated in the far wall with the Last Judgment by Michaelangelo. One of the things I was most amazed by was the fact that in some instances I couldn’t tell what the differences in painting and actual molding of the building. The paintings show columns that look like they are an actual part of the room and not a part of the painting. Of course the paintings are the most amazing thing, but these small details just leave me in wonder as well.
We spent a good while in there and I talked with Eric a bit about his religious beliefs and he told me that he had become Catholic four years ago shortly after he got to Rome. So he was able to answer some of the questions that I had about Catholicism but we didn’t get into it too much. One thing I found so disrespecting when we were in the Sistine Chapel is that the security make it obvious through posters in multiple translations that there is supposed to be no photography at all in the Sistine Chapel. But people are snapping away like it’s nobody’s business. I just don’t think these people have a true respect at what they are looking at. I took pictures of the poster that Eric explained to us in the courtyard but I kept my camera packed away in my backpack for this part of the tour. What a privilege it is to even be in this room where the Pope has mass and where the new Pope is elected every year. A privilege that many people obviously take for granted and try and take advantage of the system hoping that they can take that quick photo where no one will see them do it. Michaelangelo deserves reverence for this great work and I was more than happy to give it to him.
After that we headed out of the Sistine Chapel and to St. Peter’s Basilica, another great part of Vatican City. When we headed in there was so much beauty in this building with its long nave and huge dome, and such a beautiful altar. Just so much history in this place. I found myself asking more questions about Peter than I did about any of the Pope’s, but I found that I just kept having more questions about Catholicism.
We headed out of St. Peter’s and went into the Square and looked around a bit before Eric was about to part with us. The other couple left first but we had some questions for Eric. I really wanted to know where I could go in Rome to have an early Christian experience. He told us before that he does a tour once a week into some of the Catacombs that aren’t frequently visited because you have to know where you are going to get to them and they are not usually in tour books. We asked him if he would be interested or free to do a private tour with us sometime before we left on some of these sites and he told us that Saturday from 2-5 he could go with us there and tell us about the places. He didn’t give us a bad price for the tour, so we thought it would be a great idea to gain something from his wisdom about Early Christian meeting places and burial places in these Catacombs. I am very excited for this trip.
Afterwards we decided that we might try and do the Coliseum if we had time so we headed back near our hotel. By the time we got there, we were starving so we stopped off at a place to have some pizza and rest for a bit. By the time we were done eating we realized that we did not have enough time to do the Coliseum and The Forum so we decided to head to the St. Peter’s-in-Chains Church and then hit some of the Early Christian churches that Eric had circled in our tour guide book for us. I thought the St. Peter’s-in-Chains church was great. It had a Michaelangelo statue of Moses that was supposed to go on Pope Julius II’s tomb. And then the chains were really cool. I am not positive that they are real, but just knowing the stories of the Bible and relating it to these objects was inspiring to me.
Then we headed off to these smaller churches one of which was said to have been built upon a house that Peter stayed in when he first came to Rome and was persecuted. We stopped at two other churches before deciding that our legs were just about dead and it was time to head back for good. When we got back, we regrouped and tried to figure out what we were going to have time for throughout the rest of this trip. We thought about taking the Night Walk to the Pantheon and the Trive Fountain and the Spanish Steps, but decided that we were way too dead for that. We decided instead just to back to the place we had breakfast and get some dinner and call it a night. We had a good dinner, but better than the food was just the reflection on all that had happened today.
I realized how much respect I have for the Catholic Church. There is such tradition and such discipline and it does leave me in awe. And it does break my heart that there are many who follow Catholicism and work for their salvation. Catholicism is generally referred to as the “works Christianity” and Protestant religions are “faith Christianity.” But I believe it is such a perfect blend of the two that creates the relationship with Christ. Because if I could work at my faith and I could just say Hail Mary’s and pray on a Rosary and do Confession to get my faith and forgiveness through this, then why again did Christ have to die? I thought He had to die because there was NO WAY I could do this myself? But I also do not believe that a relationship with Christ comes just because I say I believe that Christ died for my sins and I am forgiven. I see now why God has been having me memorize James, and it is in preparation for my time here. James 2 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily good, and if one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one, you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” I will show you my faith by my works. I will show you that what I believe is backed up with how I act. We aren’t supposed to act a certain way or do certain things in order to gain salvation. Again, if this was the case, Christ died for no purpose. But my works and the spiritual practices that I work out are a reflection of the faith that I already have through Christ’s work.
Other aspects of Catholicism I cannot wrap my head around include Mary being perfect before she bore Jesus. I understand that she was blessed by Gabriel and told that she would have Jesus and I understand that in some sense it would be logical that a perfect being should be born to a perfect woman. But if a perfect woman was born, shouldn’t her mother be perfect as well? Where does the line stop? And I find it kind of interesting that beyond Elizabeth and John the Baptist being mostly the only family of Mary’s ever mentioned in the Bible, the line from Abraham to David to Jesus is through Joseph, Jesus’ father. Technically, however, Joseph had no biological connection with Jesus. I have no argument that Mary is special, but I do have trouble elevating her to the position that Catholics have placed her.
This leads me to my big revelation that is really the biggest I have had in many months. It is that I have a huge yearning for wisdom. I see so much knowledge out there. So much that I don’t know. There is so much that Eric knew that I would never be able to touch. In the back of my mind I just want this huge book on the Vatican and Catholicism so that I can know more. I don’t want to judge their beliefs. Like I said, I have so much reverence for what they believe and their traditions. I wish there was more of a common ground. But I realize that I waste so much of my time. I study a good bit, but I do get distracted when I study and I waste time on things like Facebook and chatting with people. I waste time going home and napping and watching television. I waste time just doing nothing. I want to read books like this in my “free time.” I want to learn foreign languages. I want to know more. What I found so crazy is that while I was in college, there was no way you could get me to take an Art History course. But here I am seeing all these paintings and just being totally captivated by the different time periods and how they differed in the smallest characteristics. I would never have taken an Ancient Rome History course, and here I am willing to pick up a 500 page book and read it cover to cover just to know some more about these historical figures I catch glimpses of in statue busts. Mom reminded me of a quote that says “Education is wasted on the young.” I am just several years too late. But now I understand why older individuals decide to go back and take night classes. I mean who cares what you make on the tests, because you probably won’t use it for any job, but what knowledge!!
But I know that wisdom and knowledge is given to those whom God knows will use it for the good of others. Solomon was not given wisdom for his own sake, but he was given wisdom so that when the Queen of Sheeba came wanting to know of his wisdom and knowledge, this pagan queen would praise God for witnessing such a spectacle. There are so many things that I waste my mind on. There is so much value in learning a foreign language in order to use it in my medical practice one day for the good of my patients. I know that God has given me great knowledge and great wisdom and a capacity to learn more in the medical field, but somehow I don’t believe that this is where it stops. Why do I feel this way if it is not for something more? I feel that I am at the “top of my studying game,” and maybe God wants me to take on a new task in the new time that I will create.
Other thoughts I have had throughout the day center around gaining control over my body. I don’t expect to look like all these great statues that I see everywhere in Rome, but a combined sense of the discipline of Catholics, the perfectness of the human body as presented by Michaelangelo, and the reverence to the temple that God has given me, leads me to believe that I must take better care of my body. Paul spoke of “beating your body into submission.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to start beating myself, but it is time to give up such petty things as biting my fingernails (I know, gross). It’s time to give up indulging on foods that are no good for me. I know these are many changes that I am trying to make in my life: getting rid of all my comfort time, and then trying to live an even healthier life [I’ve kept 20 pounds off since dating Kristie ;)].
I am thankful for the experience today. I am thankful for the great things that I learned about the Vatican, but even more about what God showed me about myself. We are all capable of great things. What we choose to do with our time and how we act are a direct reflection of who we are. “You will know a tree by its fruit.” If I keep wasting a little time here and there, what does that say about me? I told Mom that I wanted my life to count for something. She reminded me that no matter who I treat, a person’s doctor always has an impact on someone’s life. But that is plenty of years away. What am I doing now to make an impact? Should I be volunteering more in the free clinic on Wednesdays? Should I be finding more ways to help out the poor and giving of myself? I always tell myself that I don’t have time to do these activities when Saturday clinics roll around, but I usually just get caught sleeping in. I want to study harder and work harder so that my time is well spent. We will see how that plays out when I get back to the States. I am anxious to see how God is going to push me from here on out. I know I cannot do these things if He is not backing me up, but I feel He is pushing me now. Regardless, I am fired up and ready to make more of my life.
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