Explain This One

This morning I woke up dreaming about photographing the Pieta. I love taking pictures and I actually dreamt that I was there as Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in his mother's arms. It seemed so real. It was actually very colorful and sadly beautiful in my dream, very much like this image of the Pieta in Raphael's painting. I never have religious dreams or dreams with religious imagery so I found this one especially intriguing. I woke up either after a phone call or the dog wanting to go out, but I really wanted to go back to sleep to try to finish it. It wasn't like I was a first century follower of Jesus in the dream. I was myself, a modern day woman, probably a reporter or photographer reporting on the actual event as it happened. That was was was so interesting about the whole thing. Earlier in the day I was talking about the New Testament, the four Evangelists and the gospels and their histories. In our time period, we know we don't have actual eye-witness writings from the event, but that the gospel writers were writing after the period. We know the gospels were written after his death and not complied into the Bible as we know it until much later. Maybe in my dream, I was trying to be there, trying to witness the history for myself. I love history and I love journalism. Hmm... that makes sense.

Also, yesterday, my dad and I were talking to the tenants who rent our old family home and they were asking about the mosaic on an exterior wall. It's an old house, 250 years or so. It's been in my mom's family for years, and I thought the mosaic was very old. It turns out it's not much older than me. My aunt brought it back for my mother from Italy. My mother really doesn't like any kind of religious art at all so she didn't want it in the house per se. So, Dad put it on the back wall outside. It's held out well, not one piece of glass is missing. While it's not the Pieta, it's the entombment of our Lord in the tomb. It may have also sparked my dream. Nonetheless, it's quite gorgeous and sadly I don't have a picture, but I'll get one.

However, in this one you can get a glimpse of it in the background. That's me and my godfather, Uncle Frankie, my mom's youngest brother.


Perhaps, I in my dream, I was taking pictures of a reenactment. My friend was telling me about the "Religulous," Bill Maher's movie, which mocks religion. It's not on my list of movies to see. I finally stopped watching him as he managed to offend me, but anyway, in the movie she said there is a theme park in Orlando where apparently the crucifixion is reacted for an audience. She said he showed the audience captivated. They were either crying or applauding. I shudder to think about it. As Catholics we reenact the Passion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. I know we follow the Stations of the Cross, but we don't do these things as a stage production but as a witness and testament to our faith. I'm might be judging something too harshly but it sounds like cheap thrills to me.