CLEAN AND GREEN EVEN BEFORE IT BECAME FASHIONABLE

[Photo: Sunset at Brunnen at Lake Lucerne, Switzerland]

From myswitzerland.com:

Brunnen enjoyed early prominence when, in 1865, King Ludwig II, a great admirer of William Tell, travelled to Brunnen. Regularly at midnight, he would have himself rowed out on the Urnersee to listen to alpine horn music, played at his command, against the backdrop of fairytale mountain scenery.

The 114 sq km (44 sq mi) lake has been called the heart of Switzerland and it is surrounded by four cantons: Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. 'Lake Lucerne' is a name given by English speakers; its real name is the Lake of The Four Cantons (Vierwaldstättersee in German, Lac des Quatre Cantons in French).

Mention Switzerland and may images come to my mind. White cross against a red field. Swiss army knife. Luxury watches such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Omega, IWC, and Longines. Chocolates with the brand names of Toblerone and Lindt. Nestle. Not only the chocolate bar but Milo and Nescafe as well. Bear Brand milk. The cities of Geneva, Lucerne, Bern, Basel and Zurich. Snow-capped mountains like the Matterhorn. Crystal clear lakes like Lake Geneva and Lake Lucerne. And then you have personalities such as William Tell, Zwingli and in modern times, Federer.

I was given the opportunity to visit Switzerland twice. The first time was part of the program “In the Footsteps of St. Francis de Sales” and the other was to do Holy Week ministry among the Pinoys there. Thanks to Fr. Johann for this.

Geneva was part of the itinerary in the program “In the Footsteps of St. Francis de Sales” because he was appointed as bishop of Geneva. But having been under the Calvinists for a considerable period of time, St. Francis de Sales could not take possession of his cathedral in Geneva. Instead, he had to be content to take possession of a similarly named church at Annecy just like his other predecessors.

We visited three places in Geneva. The first was the Reformation Wall. It was a memorial to personalities of the reformation. Among them were John Calvin along with William Farel, Ronald Knox and Theodore Beza. The second was the cathedral of St. Peter which was supposed to be the church of the Catholic bishop of Geneva. But since the time of Calvin, it had become the church of the Calvinists. 

Our final visit was at the headquarters of the World Council of Churches. What I found surprising was an altar on which were placed an open bible, a metal cross, a candle and an icon of Mary with Jesus! Protestants allowing an icon and an icon of Mary and Jesus at that! I think they had to make a concession to the Orthodox Church that loves Mary very dearly.

MOSES HAS WHAT?!

[Photo: Moses by Michelangelo at St Peter in Chains, Rome]

St. Peter in Chains is a minor basilica in Rome. It is home to “Moses”, a sculpture of Michelangelo. It was supposed to be part of a grand tomb for Pope Julius II. What is so weird about the statue is that Moses is depicted with two horns. What could be the reason for this?

The culprit is a mistranslation of the Hebrew text of Ex 34:29: “And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.” Instead the correct translation is: “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.”

How did the mistranslation come about? The Hebrew word is “qaran” which means “horn”. But it has also another meaning which is “to emit rays”. The choice between the two depends on the context. When the context is about animals such as an ox, then “horn” would probably be the right word. But in the case of Moses, “to emit rays” that is, “to be radiant” would probably be the correct one. Hence, modern translation use “radiant” and not “horn”.

Translating Sacred Scriptures is not an easy task. One must be an expert not only in Hebrew and Greek but in related fields of knowledge as well. It is also not just a matter of using the right word but in conveying what the words mean in the original language. For the same reason, teaching and preaching Scriptures is not to be taken lightly.

The minor basilica of St. Peter in Chains is called that way because it contains the chains the bound St. Peter in Jerusalem and in Rome. The legend says that Empress Eudoxia gave to Pope Leo I the chains that bound St. Peter while he was in prison in Jerusalem. When the pope held them next to the chains that bound St. Peter while he was in the Mamertine Prison in Rome, the two chains miraculously fused.

The name of the church, St. Peter in Chains, figured in the life of Don Bosco. That phase of his life was called “The Wandering Oratory”. Don Bosco could no longer meet the boys for games and religious services at the Little Hospital of St. Philomena. Without a permanent meeting place, they had to go here and there to meet on Sundays and holy days. One of the places they went was the church of St. Peter in Chains in a cemetery that was no longer in use. But their first time there was also their last. They were not allowed to go back again. The noise of the boys playing was too much for the housekeeper of the chaplain. At the instigation of the housekeeper, the chaplain wrote a letter to the municipal authorities asking that Don Bosco be not allowed to return.

 

A few hours after the chaplain had written it, he was suddenly brought to death's door by an apoplectic stroke, and died within three days. A similar fate befell the housekeeper two days later, so that before the week was over these two, who had opposed the Oratory, were removed from the scene. On the preceding Sunday Don Bosco had said that neither the chaplain nor his housekeeper knew if they would be there themselves on the following Sunday. His remark had been a prophecy. 

SEGOBRIGA, THE HOME OF THE TOWERING ROMAN AQUEDUCT

[Photo: Roman Aqueduct, Segovia, Spain]

Sebobriga is the ancient name of the city of Segovia.

Mention the word “Segovia” and two things come to my mind at once. The first is Andres Segovia, the virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist. He is recognized as the father of modern classical guitar. The second is the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. It covers the province of Ilocos Sur and has Vigan for its seat. And just as New York is the New World counterpart of York in England, so Nueva Segovia is the Philippine counterpart of Segovia, a city in the autonomous region of Castile and Leon in Spain.

Segovia boasts of three landmarks: the Roman Aqueduct, the Cathedral and the Alcazar.

The best know historical monument of Segovia is its imposing Roman aqueduct. Built towards the end of 1 AD, it is still standing today – a testimony to Roman engineering genius. It is said that until recently (how recent is not stated) it was still in use. This towering Roman structure was what greeted me when I arrived in Segovia from the train station.

The cathedral of Segovia is huge and beautiful. It was built in the 16^th century in the Renaissance Gothic style. It is huge not only in terms of floor area but height as well. When you go inside the cathedral, you will see pillars rising from the ground to meet the ribbed vaults that make up the ceiling of the cathedral. San Sebastian church will give you an idea of how a Gothic church looks like.

And speaking of San Sebastian church, it was there that I had my first confession and first communion. On the importance of preparation for first communion, Don Bosco had this to say: “With all my heart too I recommend to parents, teachers and all those who are responsible for the young, to give the greatest importance to this great act. Be assured that the First Communion very well made is a solid moral foundation for the rest of the child's life. It will certainly be an extraordinary thing to find anyone who has made this great act with real devotion and care and has afterwards gone astray.”

Alcazar de Segovia is a castle. (A castle is a large fortress, usually containing a palace, and normally has spiraling towers as well as a courtyard, and is frequently surrounded by a mote or by a cliff.) It was built in the 14^th century. Isabel la Católica used it as the starting point of her royal procession before being proclaimed queen in the Plaza Mayor. It was here that the queen promised to finance the voyage of Christopher Columbus which eventually led to the discovery of America. If the castle of Sleeping Beauty was inspired by the late 19th century Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, the castle of Cinderella was inspired by Alcazar de Segovia. This was probably the reason why it looked familiar when I saw it from a distance.

In addition to the three landmarks, there is an interesting church in Segovia. It is called the Corpus Christi church. It used to be the principal synagogue of the Jewish population of the city in medieval times and dates from the 13th century. It was later converted into a church. It was perhaps for this reason that when I entered I felt that there was something different in this church but I couldn’t put my finger on it. There must be something of the old synagogue still enduring in it..