The beauty of creation and the work of man can be a path, "perhaps the most attractive and fascinating”, which leads to God. That was the prayer of Benedict XVI at the end of his reflection for the general audience, dedicated to the "true glory of the Christian Middle Ages": the cathedrals, "one of the most universal artistic inspirations."
Built first in the Romanesque and later in the Gothic style, they "can not be understood outside of the Christian faith that was deeply rooted in men and women of those ages."
At the end of his audience, Benedict XVI also appealed for the rights of children. The day after tomorrow is the United Nations World Day of Prayer and Action for Children, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"My thoughts – said the Pope - go to all the world's children, especially those living in difficult conditions and who suffer from violence, abuse, disease, war or hunger." Benedict XVI asked the international community, "to strengthen efforts to provide an adequate response to the dramatic problems of childhood. May the generous commitment of all never be lacking so that the rights of children to grow in dignity always be recognised and respected."
The presence of participants in the plenary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, also gave the Pope the occasion to express his "deep gratitude for the generous commitment to spread the Gospel message” and to invoke the "maternal care" of Mary on" those involved in missionary activities in every corner of the Earth".
Earlier, to the almost eight thousand people present in the Paul VI, including the Latin Bishops from the Arab region, Pope Benedict, after having spoken in recent weeks about medieval theology, turned his attention to how the Christian faith of the Middle Ages inspired some of the greatest works of art of all time. A theme that ties in to the Pope’s meeting with the artists, on 21 November.
"It was like a race between nations”, which led to the reconstructed of almost all the churches, cathedrals, monastic and village churches. Several factors contributed to the revival. The historical conditions were more favourable due to the increase in population, trade, wealth, along with the development of increasingly elaborated technical solutions to develop the size of the buildings, while ensuring their strength, enabling the construction of churches "where the liturgy could be celebrated with dignity. "
"Thus churches and cathedrals were born characterized by their development in longitudinal length to accommodate many faithful." Churches with thick walls, in which sculptures appeared, that were more pedagogically functional than technically perfect". They had an educational function, that they might arouse emotions, to push observers to reject evil and seek good".
"There the Apocalypse and Christ as the universal judge is often represented," "doors that leads to heaven." "The faithful come through the door of the church in a time and space different from that of ordinary life, the anticipation of eternal life in the liturgical celebration and in acts of piety".
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, from France another type of architecture spread, the Gothic, "with new features, vertical thrust and brightness". “They showed a synthesis between faith and art through the universal language of beauty .. Thanks to the introduction of the pointed arch, located on robust pillars it was possible to raise the height. The upward momentum invites one to prayer. The church was a prayer" and represented the "soul’s aspirations to God".
The walls were pierced and decorated with stained glass windows, from which, "a cascade of light poured upon the faithful to explain the liturgical year, telling the story of salvation."
"The entire Christian community participated in the sparkling decoration", "humble and powerful, learned and illiterate, all were instructed in the faith. Gothic sculpture made of the churches, a Bible in stone ".
"In those centuries the perception of humanity of the Lord spread, the sufferings of the Passion were depicted in a realistic way, images that grew to be loved by all, inspiring pity and repentance for sins."
The gothic sculpture of the thirteenth century saw a happy and serene piety, devotion and filial affection towards the Mother of God ", often represented as a young woman smiling, powerful and merciful." The faithful, then, going into cathedrals "loved to find artistic expression reminiscent of the saints, models of Christian life and intercessors with the Lord."
There were also "representations of the work in the fields of science, art, but all oriented towards God in the place where the liturgy was celebrated".
Benedict XVI wanted to underline two elements of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. The first is that "masterpieces are incomprehensible without taking into account the religious soul that inspired them." "An artist, Marc Chagall once wrote that painters for centuries have dipped their paintbrush in that colour which is the Bible". "When - said the Pope - faith, particularly when it is celebrated in the liturgy, encounters art, it creates a profound harmony, because both can and want to talk about God, making the invisible visible".
Secondly, "the strength of the Romanesque style and splendour of Gothic cathedrals remind us that the path of beauty is a privileged and charming one on which we can draw closer to the mystery of God." ' `What is the beauty, which writers, poets, musicians, artists contemplate and translate into their language, if not the reflection of the splendour of the Eternal Word made flesh? The Lord help us to rediscover the path of beauty as one of the routes, perhaps the most attractive and fascinating one to encounter and come to love God. "
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