Last week, I took my daughter to the History Museum in St. Louis, Missouri. We experienced the exhibit Vatican Splendors.
How can one explain 2000 years of Church history and art? Is it possible to do it justice?
A student in one of my classes said she has a summer job at the exhibit. She told me to get the audio tour. I did, and it was worth every penny.
My 11 year-old daughter loves art. (She wants to be an artist when she grows up.) I purchased the audio tour for each of us. She would point out the number on the wall and tell me to get my tech-toy ready. "Press." She would tell me when to hit the green button so that our headsets would be in sync.
If I started walking away from an exhibit before she was finished soaking it in, she would motion me back with her hand. "Not yet," she'd say.
Her favorite part was the Chalice used by JPII.
My favorite part was the work by Michelangelo. Or the other paintings. Or maybe it was the iconography. Actually, I think it was the papal chairs. No. It was one image of Our Lady. Yes. I think that was my favorite piece.
I know that the exhibit is slated to hit a number of U.S. cities. If it is coming to your city, be sure to go.
And take your friends -- especially your non-Catholic friends. Really, there are few better ways to evangelize. How can anyone say that the early Church wasn't Catholic after this tour? Of course it was Catholic -- and we have 2000 years of art to prove it.
As Cardinal Newman said, "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant."
Oh, I just remembered what was my favorite! It was this gold image of two eyes and a cross on the forehead. You have to go to the exhibit to figure out why it was my take-away memory.
For more information on the exhibit and a list of cities to host Vatican Splendors, click here: http://vaticansplendors.net/
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