Today's Gospel in Art - Feast of Saint Benedict

Pannonhalma Archabbey, Architectural renovation by John Pawson © John Pawson Design

Gospel of 11th July 2020 - Matthew 19:27-29

Peter spoke to Jesus. 'What about us?' he said. 'We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?' Jesus said to him, 'I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.'

Reflection on the Benedictine Church Interior

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Benedict. I went to a Benedictine school in Belgium, and so Saint Benedict will always hold a special place in my heart. It is there at school, through seeing the quiet witnessing of the monks, that probably the seed was sown to discern a possible vocation to the priesthood. Now having completed my first year in seminary, I look back to those days at school as days that laid the foundations of my faith. One of the first people I shared the news with 12 months ago that I was going to start seminary, was the abbot of the abbey near Ghent, who was also my Latin teacher at school. It was a special moment to thank him for everything the school had done for me in the late 1980's, and that their religious community had always been a source of inspiration for me, awakening something deep inside me.

I am sharing with you photos of the interior of another abbey, that of Pannonhalma Archabbey, in Hungary. Founded in 996, this is the second largest territorial abbey in the world (after Monte Cassino) and is now a Unesco World Heritage site. British architect, John Pawson, masterfully renovated the abbey, keeping its Romanesque roots, Gothic style, Baroque accents but yet making it a 21st-century modern-looking interior. I personally think it is rather stunning. It is where the old and the new merge into one timeless creation. Architectural labour and creativity of 1,000 years preserved, enhanced and celebrated.

'He who labours as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands.' - Saint Benedict of Nursia

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/479

Christian Art - www.christian.art