Gospel in Art: Feast of Saint Cecilia

Saint Cecilia, by Stefano Maderno,1599-1600, © Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome / Wikimedia

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 22 November 2022
Luke 21:5-11

When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, 'All these things you are staring at now - the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.' And they put to him this question: 'Master,' they said 'when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?'

'Take care not to be deceived,' he said 'because many will come using my name and saying, "I am he" and, "The time is near at hand." Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.' Then he said to them, 'Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.'

Reflection on the marble sculpture

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Cecilia. Little is know about her life. Born in Rome in the late 2nd Century AD, she suffered martyrdom circa 230AD under Roman Emperor Alexander Severus (reign 13 March 222 - 22 March 235). According to legend, despite her vow of virginity, her parents forced her to marry a pagan nobleman named Valerian. During the wedding, Cecilia sat apart singing to God in her heart, and for that, she was later declared the patron saint of musicians. When the time came for her marriage to be consummated, Cecilia told her husband that watching over her was an angel of the Lord, who would punish him if he sexually violated her but would love him if he respected her virginity. According to legend, when Valerian asked to see the angel, Cecilia replied that he could see the angel if he would go to the third milestone on the Via Appia and be baptised by Pope Urban I. Out of love for his wife, he followed her advise and then saw the angel standing beside her, crowning her with a chaplet of roses and lilies.

Today's marble sculpture of Saint Cecilia by Stefano Maderno, executed in 1599-1600, shows Cecilia extending three fingers with her right hand and one with her left, testifying to the Trinity: one God , three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). The sculpture beautifully conveys a heaviness which recalls the weight of a body no longer living. Note also the thin but very noticeable slash in Cecilia's neck, the mark of her beheading.

Stefano Maderno's sculpture is said to replicate the way that Antonio Bosio (he was born in Malta in 1575 and was the founder of Christian archeology in Rome and the first scholar to apply the study of ancient Christian texts to a systematic investigation of the Roman catacombs) described the Saint at the moment of her discovery: 'namely on her side, uncorrupt, clothed in drapery, and with her veiled hair turned eerily towards the ground'. This fostered a legend that our sculpture was modelled on the very corpse of St Cecilia herself. However, it has since been concluded that the statue is Maderno's own composition, inspired by the words of Bosio as well as studies of ancient sculptures.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/

Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-21-5-11-2022/