October 19, 2018 - Wikipedia defines a talisman as “An object that someone believes holds magical properties that bring good luck to the possessor or protect the possessor from evil or harm.” Rome is littered with religious artifacts or talismans. Today, quite by accident we encountered a slew of them as we walked part of the “Pilgrim’s Walk” in Rome. I wanted to share some of them. There are many more.
The first picture is from the altar of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the oldest churches in Rome. It was founded in 432 AD. The chest in the altar contains ‘fragments of the manger’ in which Jesus was born some centuries earlier.
The next is a photo from Scala Santa - The Holy Stairs. In 326 AD Emperor Constantine’s mother Helena brought home 28 marble steps from the palace of Pontius Pilate’s residence in Jerusalem. It is said Jesus climbed these steps to face his death sentence. Today pilgrims climb to to the top of the steps on their knees saying prayers.
The next is a glorious mosaic in the nave of San Giovanni in Laterano that dates to 450 AD and was finished in the 13th century. This beautiful church was where all the Popes were crowned before St Peter’s was completed during the renaissance. What is significant is the picture of Jesus. It was the first time the Roman people, or anyone else, saw an image of what Jesus is supposed to look like. This image influenced all the images we have of him since. We don’t actually know what he looked like, the Bible doesn’t say. Can you imagine the conversation with the artist at the time?
The next picture shows you the chains that held the Apostle Peter while he was in prison. It is housed in a very old church that dates to 400 AD near the Colloseum. It was built around the time Rome was in free fall and coming apart.
And, for my personal favorite, we travel back the the high altar at San Giovanni. “Say Glenn, what is in that cage up there?” “I am glad you asked. Up there are pieces of the heads of Peter and Paul”. Archeologists have been allowed to test the DNA of the Peter head fragments. It does not match the bones ascribed to Peter at the Vatican.
It is easy to chuckle at such things but truthfully does it really matter if these things are real or not? Is this any different than the temple we visited in Singapore which holds in such veneration a molar tooth that allegedly came from Buddha?
The Psalmist writes in 42:1 “As a deer thirsts for streams of water, so I thirst for you , God”. We all have a deep desire to worship within us. History has shown this to be true over and over again. I say if pilgrims come to visit these talismans to quench that thirst then so be it.
If it brings you closer to finding spiritual fulfillment, God isn’t going to mind.
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