Transcript
Mark Mary (0:00)
Foreign Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of Renewal and this is the Rosary in a Year podcast, where through prayer and meditation, the Rosary brings us deeper into relationship with Jesus and Mary and becomes a source of grace for the whole world. The Rosary in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. This is day 177. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a year, visit ascensionpress.com rosary in a year or text RIY to 33777. You'll get an outline of how we're going to pray each month and it's a great way to track your progress. The best place to listen to the podcast is in the Ascension app. There are special features built just for this podcast and also recordings of the.
Franciscan Friar (0:39)
Full rosary with myself and other friars.
Mark Mary (0:41)
I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Rosary in the Year Prayer Guide, a book published by Ascension that was designed to complement this podcast. You'll find all the daily readings from Scripture, saint reflections and beautiful images of the sacred art will be reflecting on Today we will be meditating upon and praying with the fourth luminous mystery, the Transfiguration, with help from an icon entitled the Savior's Transfiguration, written by Theophanes the Greek. Okay now, brief introduction to our artist and the icon. Today we have a Byzantine style icon that has traditionally been attributed to Theophanes the Greek, and it exemplifies late 14th to early 15th century Russian iconography blending spiritual intensity with dramatic composition. So Theophanes the Greek was a Byzantine master who reshaped Russian medieval art and he was one of the most influential iconographers of the 14th century. He was born in Constantinople. While at one point this icon was confidently attributed to Theophanes, there is some debate now due to some stylistic inconsistencies with his other works. So the timeline of the writing of this icon, right in the 14th to 15th century, was a time of a final flowering of Byzantine art before the fall of Constantinople. This particular icon was written around the year 1403 and now a description of our icon. So this icon style depiction of the Transfiguration is rendered on a flat vertical plane. At the top Christ stands radiant in.
Unknown Friar 1 (2:44)
Pure white with a textured golden halo.
Mark Mary (2:48)
Behind him his glory is revealed with layered geometric shapes in concentric circles and pale blues intersected by sharp white rays that convey his divine radiance. On either side of Christ stand the prophets Moses and Elijah, each positioned on their own red mountain peak. On either side is a small scene of Jesus leading three disciples up and then down the mountain, their posture demonstrating the experience changed them. In the top, left and right corners, small blue angels hover. Below. Three disciples are shown recoiling down the mountain in fear. Two turn their faces away, shielding their eyes, while one looks directly at Jesus. Their dark robes are struck by beams of pale blue light emanating from Jesus, highlighting the moment of divine revelation as it physically and spiritually touches them. All right, so before diving into some of the specifics of our icon today, let's just have a quick general introduction to icons and spirituality of icons, with a little caveat that these are a deep part of many people's spiritualities, particularly within Eastern Christianity, such as Byzantine Catholics, which I didn't grow up in. So I am speaking into it as a bit of an outsider and I think that's just an important note. So the key theological like, foundation for icons is the Incarnation, right? That the invisible God was incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary and took flesh like became visible. The invisible God became visible in Jesus in the Incarnation. And icons give witness to the fact that spiritual realities can be communicated and even made present through the material world. So icons are not simply seen as art, but as windows to heaven, an expression that I'm taking from the Orthodox Bishop Callistos Ware. And their end isn't just simply like admiration of beauty. They are intended to lead us into contemplation and communion with the thrice Holy One, the thrice Holy God. So for example, the flatness or having the perspective reversed or intentionally distorted is. It's all intentional and its intention is to draw the viewer in and keep the focus on spiritual realities rather than like earthly realism, to draw us to prayer rather than just saying, oh, that's so pretty. Right. Lastly, we say that icons are written and not painted as they are viewed more as visual theology than just like artistic creation. And the iconographer, he writes the icon generally while praying and fasting and following strict theological guidelines. And I'll say this, if anyone's interest by this brief introduction has been peaked, I'd really encourage you to do some more like, reading on the subject as I. I do believe that like some formation and knowing what's happening with icons, like, really can open up a whole new avenue and space of prayer. It was important to me that we included at least one icon for our rosary in a year pilgrimage that we're on here. And I do think, though that it is quite appropriate that the mystery we have for our icon is the transfiguration, right? As it is the mystery where the invisible glory of Jesus is momentarily manifest. And it even transfigures the material world, right? Not only his flesh, but even his garment becomes white as light. And we see in our icon Jesus on the mountain, and Moses and Elijah also on their mountains, right, Alluding to some of their own mountaintop experiences. But also this consistent theme of the mountain being the place of theophany, of divine revelation, manifestation. As we mentioned, a little callback to our description. We see kind of on the left and the right, Jesus leaning up and then down the mountain. Peter, James and John. And that's where I want us to, if you will, like, rest and to dig in. This communicates that there is this before and after in the lives, minds and hearts of Peter, James and John and their witnessing of Jesus being transfigured. This draws me particularly into a dialogue with Peter because obviously this is an unforgettable moment. And we do have Peter's own words attesting to this and to the transfiguration. In the second letter of Peter, and this is chapter one, he writes, for we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory. This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. We heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. Peter saw Jesus transfigured and he heard.