Table of Contents
May 15, 2013

Table of Contents

Online Edition:
May 2013
Vol. XIX, No. 3

Table of Contents

Ascension, Giotto di Bondone, fresco (ca. 1304-06 Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

Giotto’s Frescoes

Giotto di Bondone (1267?-1337) is considered an originator of the central tradition of Western painting. Although his artistic works included sculpture and architecture, he is perhaps best known for his paintings, which reveal an innovative break from the highly stylized Byzantine art — introducing a new naturalism, both in the human form and actions, and creating a convincing sense of three-dimensional pictorial space. Cennino Cennini, a Tuscan painter whose father was a contemporary of Giotto, wrote that “Giotto translated the art of painting from Greek to Latin.”

Giotto’s work, which presaged the humanism of the art of the Renaissance, was strongly influential not only in his native Padua region, but in Florence, Rome, and elsewhere in Italy. His contemporary, Dante, in The Divine Comedy, praised Giotto’s art, saying that he had surpassed his master, Cimabue. 

The frescoes in Scrovegni Chapel in Padua are among Giotto’s best-known surviving works. They depict scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary and the life of Christ, and were done from ca 1304-1306. This modest brick chapel was built by Enrico Scrovegni, a local banker. It is often called the Arena Chapel because it was built on the grounds of a Roman arena. 

News and Views — Pope Francis Selects Group of 8 Advisors on Church Governance | CDF and LCRW meet | NAC Seeks Director of Liturgical Music

The Spirit of the Liturgy: What Will Pope Francis Do? — by Helen Hull Hitchcock

The Prayer of the Liturgy — by Romano Guardini

Inspiration and Truth in the Scripture — Pope Francis address Pontifical Biblical Commission on the unbreakable unity bewtween Scripture and Tradition

Books Briefly Reviewed — by Helen Hull Hitchcock

Readers’ Forum — Correction | Crucifix in Church | Lenten Questions | Music Style Wars | Which Bible Should we Choose?

The Meaning of the Ascension — Pope Francis – Catechesis on the Creed

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The Second Glorious Mystery — The Ascension

When the Lord lifted Himself from the earth, there began the wait “until He comes.” Ever since Christ’s Ascension, on earth there has been a single confident expectation; and faith means to persevere in this expectation. For him who has no faith, events take place as though their meaning lay in themselves.

The ordinary and the exceptional, the high and the low, the frightful and the beautiful — everything that makes history — all are

regarded as if each was by itself and there were nothing besides. 

In truth, the Lord’s departure was like the striking of a mighty chord that is now suspended in the air waiting to float away and come to rest. But only with Christ’s return will all things be fulfilled.

 from The Rosary of Our Lady, by Romano Guardini

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The Editors