Pentecost illumination

COMMENT:
... the mission of our own monthly book of hours, our MAGNIFICAT

MAGNIFICAT June 2014

The Glory of the Church

                                                                _______ Pierre-Marie Dumont   _

Front Cover Artwork

This miniature from a book of hours illustrates the conclusion of the Hours of the Holy Spirit. Painted on velum in Paris around the year 1500, the manuscript begins with the prologue: "In these present Hours is briefly proclaimed the Old as well as the New Testament; and, with a view to the salvation of every soul, in the calendar is noted the form and manner of living in this world, during the little time God grants us, to grow in goodness and in virtue." Here already is what was to become the mission of our own monthly book of hours, our MAGNIFICAT: at every hour of the day, to inspire our prayer through the word of God, and to spiritu­ally accompany us throughout our pilgrimage on this earth, that each day we may grow in the imitation of Christ.

Central to this illustration of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples is the Blessed Virgin Mary dressed in widow's garb: the Mother of God, she is also the Mother of the Church. Shown at prayer, Mary intercedes for her "daughter" at the moment of her birth at Pentecost, just as she will constantly intercede for her to the end of time. Kneeling in the right foreground is Saint Peter, the first pope, wearing the mozetta in cloth of gold. Opposite him is Saint John, a handsome reddish-blond young man. In the mid­dle ground, between Mary and Peter, stands Saint James. The first bishop of the Church, in the see of Jerusalem, he is recognisable by his ermine rnozetta. symbol of the episcopacy. In a most stunning way, all are clad in white. For, at Pentecost, the Apostles underwent a kind of baptism. Like catechumens, they have cast off their old clothes to be robed anew in white. Through this divestiture and reclothing, the artist seeks to express a radical change in function and vocation: to receive this immaculate uniform is a royal, priestly, and prophetic investiture. But, further, the artist represents a gath­ering in the Upper Room where all are clothed in white "brilliant as lightning" (Lk 9:29), just as Christ at the Transfiguration. Taking inspiration from the Evangelist, who continues, they "saw [Jesus'] glory" (Lk 9:32), the miniaturist here offers us a vision of the glory of the Church, encapsulating at the same time both its divine origin as well as its fulfilment as the Body of Christ. •

www.magnificat.com, June 2014-06-29 Front cover:Pentecost illumination fromHours of the Usage of Rome, French School. 16 c. Fol. 48r, ...