The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-08-16

Raphael depicting the same exquisite thought
In this painting the Virgin stands between
the horns of o crescent moon, below is the
empty tomb, around, the attendant angels
and above, the brightness of her eternal home
Albert Durer depicts the Apostles kneeline
around the empty tomb, while the sinlest
mother gently ascends towards her divine Scr
who is waiting to receive her. Correggio, il
the Cnpola of the Duomo at Parma, in 1880
made this idea the subject of grand and mag
nificent painting. Titan, in his world famed
Assumption at Venice, throws over the whole
conception such wealth of coloring as tc
make it radiant beyond expression. But there
is not single painter of any fame who die
not lend to this beautiful subject the magic OF
his pencil and the graces of his mind. It is
said that Rubens painted it twelve times, that
Guido excelled in its composition, and that
Poussin loved to paint it, often introducing
exquisite bits of landscape in the scene below
the soaring figure of the Virgin.
We have dwelt thus, at length, upon the
subject considered as one of Art, because
painting has been in every age the language of
devotion, the text book of the learned and the
illiterate and We wished to show how, even
before the invention of printing, this pious
belief in the Assumption of the Virgin pos
sessed the minds of the people, and inspired
the genius of the greatest artists.
Then is it not singular that instead of hold
ing fast to the traditions of the Fathers, the
non-Catholic world to-day is surely drifting
away from all the landmarks of the past, while
ideas the most beautiful in themselves, most
consoling to the human heart and most gIori-
Gus to the majesty and goodness of God are
laid aside as trivialities not to be tolerated in
this age of progress. The whole Christian
world knows that Mary was Mother of Our
Lord, and yet where do we find, outside of
the Catholic Church, single remembrance of
her virtues, her sinless life, OF her holy death
Nay, so far from any remembrance of her.
there is an ever growing disposition to ignore
all her claims to love and veneration, while
the masterpieces of Art, which refer to her,
are valuable only as Art, and not as living
records of that beautiful belief which has
ever existed in the church
To truly rejecting mind, the inconsistency
between the profession and the practice of
Protestants must be very striking They
claim to found their belief upon the entire
Bible; but where do they fulfill one of its
most powerful prophecies: " And hen ceforth
all generations shall call me Blessed!w
They claim that all of it's language is in
spired, and yet are scornfully Indifferent to
the words of the angel, commissioned from on
high: Hail Mary, full Of grace. blessed
among all women - They admire the holy
Baptist the fore-runner of the Saviour, and
yet they sheer at his prophetic mother when,
inspired by the Holy Ghost, she exclaimed |
" Whence is this. that the Mother of my Lord
should visit me" They pretend to unfold the |
mysteries of the Apocalypse, yet see no appli-
cation in that sublime description: ga Woman
clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath
her feet, and on her head crown of twelve
tars, whose Son shall rule the nations with
an iron rod and her Son was taken I'D to
God and to his throne"
Alb, had they firm belief in that Sons
divinity they would not be SO indifferent to His
humanity as to contemn that blessed creature |
n whose virginia. bosom was operated the
mystery of the Incarnation |
hen as natural consequence, there would
ollow reverence for her maternal character
initiation of her virtues and tender remem-
rance of all the events of her life, chief among
'hich is that known under the title of the i.
and which iszbut that crowning
Tory, prefgured of her in the Canticle of
'anticles: Arise, mako haste, my love, my -.
owe, my beautiful one, and come " d,