The Catholic Church has a brand-new pope - Pope Francis - as of yesterday, March 13, 2013. Pope Francis is originally from Argentina and is making history as the first pope from the Americas. He officially starts his job today. If I was him, I would be very excited about my new job and opportunity to travel the world meeting faith-filled people, whether Catholic or non-Catholic, and doing the best to defend the scriptures and teachings of The Catholic Church. I would also be very nervous and a little scared. While The Catholic Church is a wonderful. faith-filled institution, it has also made some major mistakes and needs to do its best to resolve those mistakes and help others. I would have mixed emotions; and I imagine Pope Francis has those emotions too. I am not an advisor to the pope. However, if I was, I would tell him to do his best to learn as much as possible about both Catholic people and Non-Catholic people throughout the world. In addition, no matter what happens, I would say to remember what the Church is based upon: Faith, Scripture, Tradition, and Doctrine. Do your best to make a Renaissance out of your experience as pope.
The Caporali Missal: A Masterpiece of Renaissance Illumination is one of the latest exhibitions at The Cleveland Museum of Art. Whether you are Catholic or non-Catholic, you will find that the pieces inspire an appreciation for faith and history. My favorite pieces are the pages of the missal itself written in the original latin. You can decipher some of the Latin; it is not completely different from English. In addition, the crucifixes are beautiful. They remind all Christians what Jesus Christ did for all of humanity. Contrary to sometimes a popular belief, Catholics do not just focus on the Crucifixion. We also celebrate Christ's Resurrection and how it brought and still brings new life to all. I believe that people of other faith traditions feel the same way about their Divine Being.
Experiencing this exhibition reminds you of the past Renaissance as well as the current Renaissance that is happening throughout the world. Even though times are tough economically, you look through this exhibition and realize that certain things stand the test of time. The crucifixes, robes, pictures of churches, and other items remind us that faith is forever no matter the situation. I believe that it is not an accident that the relics of The Catholic Faith as well as other Faiths have survived for centuries.
I would highly recommend this awesome exhibition for the Christian seasons of Lent and Easter as well as any time of the year. The exhibition will be at The Cleveland Museum of Art until June 2013. It is free just like general admission to the museum is always free. For more information, please visit www.clevelandart.org.
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