HOW WOULD YOU SCULPT OR  PICTURE OUR LADY OF SORROWS  OR THE PIETA? 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “How Would You Sculpt or Picture Our Lady of Sorrows or the Pieta?”

Teachers and parents, aunts and babysitters, know that little kids love to draw with crayons or sculpt with clay. They don’t say, “I don’t know how to draw!” They just do it.

How would you sculpt or picture Our Lady of Sorrows or the Pieta?

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows - Mater Dolorosa - The Pieta. It follows the feast of the Holy Cross. Like the 13th station of the cross following the 12th station. The sorrowful mother is holding her dead son.

QUESTION

How would you sculpt the scene?

Michelangelo did 2 pietas. We all know the famous one in St. Peter’s. It’s in the back. When you come into St. Pater’s look to your right. There it is. It traveled to the United States for the New York World’s Fair in the 1960’s. It was the one that was banged up by a guy with a sledge hammer.

Then there is the other one that is tall and thin. It’s in Florence.

How would you  paint the scene?

There are all kinds of paintings of Mary, the Mother of Sorrows. There is the famous icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help

MY ART

I would sculpt Mary holding a globe and the globe would have people on it. It would be a globe of people. I might even build into the globe 14 television monitors  - each having scenes from around the world of people suffering. I would have about 5 minutes of tough world scenes on each TV monitor. I’d show car and plane crashes. There would also be TV news clips which feature stories about killings, torture, rapes, corruption, bishop cover ups, stealing. Just watch the 10 o’clock evening news.

QUESTION

Why is Mary so popular? Why are there so many pietas? Why are there so many pictures of Mary? Suffering is so universal. So real. So much pain.

QUESTION

How would you sculpt the Sorrowful Mother?