One summer day, I attended Mass at St. Clara Chapel, Den-en-chofu Church in Tokyo. At that time, I casually noticed the cross in front of me. I knew that it was the "San Damiano Crucifix"* that led St. Francis of Assisi to conversion, but it was the first time I had looked at it with interest. After receiving the Eucharist, I looked up at the crucifix and realised that the scene depicted was the crucifixion scene from the Gospel of John, chapter 19 (cf. John 19:25-27). 

*Editor's note: The original "San Damiano Crucifix" is in the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi. It was created in the 12th century by an unknown artist from the Umbria region of Italy. It measures 210 cm in height and 130 cm in width and is made of linen cloth affixed to a walnut board, on which the image of the crucifix is painted. 

After the Mass, I spoke to a woman cleaning up the altar. She said, "Yes, there is a good book if you are interested," and kindly recommended a book called The Crucifix That Spoke to St Francis (written by Michael Goonan, translated by Masatoshi Kodaira). 

I immediately ordered the book. When I opened it, to my surprise, I found a picture of a man at the top of the image of the crucifix holding something like a tube with buttons, trying to hand it to Jesus Christ, who was reaching out his hand from below (see figure ①).

The tube with buttons was undoubtedly the scroll "sealed with seven seals" (Revelation 5:1) from the Book of Revelation. When I realised this, I became absorbed in thoughts such as why the Book of Revelation and the Gospel of John were depicted together on the San Damiano Crucifix, what truth it was conveying that led Francis to his conversion, and what truth Francis had received from this crucifix.

On another occasion, that woman introduced me to another book. After reading it, I became even more convinced of the effects of the Book of Revelation.

But why does Jesus, who is reaching out his hand from below, receive the scroll from the right hand of this man? Revelation reads, "He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne" (5:7).

The point is that the two fingers of the right hand depicted above their heads seem to be pointing at this man. The fingers appear to be urging us to focus on him. If these fingers belong to the one "who was seated on the throne," then this man is likely John, the writer of Revelation. In Revelation, the writer expresses his feelings, writing, "I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it" (5:4). Did the artist who painted the Crucifix of San Damiano understand John's feelings and paint this scene? 

When you enlarge the image of the cross, you can see three men with the same hairstyle, which may be a bit of a detailed observation. The first is John, the writer of the Book of Revelation, who is handing the scroll to Jesus (marked ① in the diagram). The second is the Apostle John, who is standing next to Jesus' mother on the right side of the cross (marked ② in the diagram). The third is a small figure depicted over the shoulder of a Roman centurion on the left side of the cross (marked ③ in the diagram). 

All of them have the same hairstyle known as a "widow's peak." And the names of the two of them are both "John." It is not known whether St. Francis of Assisi had a widow's peak. However, the man depicted over the shoulder of the Roman is likely the third man named John, namely Francis. Francis' real name was Giovanni di Pietro di Bernadone, which means his name was also John. Behind this figure, you can also see what appears to be the heads of his disciples following him. 

All the people depicted here appear to be in a harmonious mood. Jesus on the cross also has a peaceful expression. However, the Roman and the man depicted over his shoulder are looking up at Jesus in the centre with serious expressions. The blood flowing from Jesus' left elbow is about to drip onto the man. 

I believe that Francis was the person prophesied in the "Crucifix of San Damiano." Francis must have received the truth that the San Damiano Crucifix wanted to convey. I prayed that we may also receive it. 

(This article is the one I contributed to Japanese Internet magazine, Catholic AI.)

Maria K. M.

 

 

It was last year (2024). I came across a book titled "The Sealed Martyrdom" written by Hiroto Sasaki, a journalist and parishioner of the Ogikubo Catholic Church in Tokyo. When I read it, I was moved by his enthusiasm and attitude in pursuing the truth, and I attended his lecture, held at the Seijo Catholic Church on March 17. As I listened intently to his sincere words, something clicked within me. It was a somewhat strange sensation, which was as if the truth he was conveying was alive. I had never paid attention to such things before. I realised that I had been so absorbed in scrutinising the information being disseminated that I had failed to receive the intentions of those who sought to convey the truth, even though I had received the information itself. That made me feel disappointed in myself.

I spent the next year or so reflecting on this. Eventually, I decided to try submitting an article to Catholic Ai, a magazine I had been reading regularly. I wanted to become a living reader myself. I thought that by doing so, I might be able to receive the intentions of those who try to convey the truth. Mr. Sasaki passed away last November. The news came so suddenly. I regretted not being able to visit him, but now I believe that he is with Pope Francis, freely meeting with him and praying for us.

For a long time, I have been very interested in Ananias, who played an important role in Paul's conversion. Reading the Acts of the Apostles, I found it remarkable that he seemed accustomed to hearing the Lord speak to him in visions and that he conversed with the Lord as if it were normal (cf. Acts 9:10-19). I wondered how he could do such a thing. That scene begins very simply: "Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Anani'as" (Acts 9:10), but the description here seems to convey something extraordinary.

Ananias had encountered Jesus. That is because it says, "The Lord said to him in a vision, 'Anani'as.' And he said, 'Here I am, Lord.'" (ibid.). In this situation, the Holy Spirit sent in the name of Jesus (cf. John 14:26) could naturally interact with him and lead him to rescue Paul. In contrast, Paul heard the voice of the Holy Spirit saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4), to which he replied, "Who are you, Lord?" (Acts 9:5). This was Paul's first encounter with Jesus. I think the Holy Spirit does not work on people based on whether they know Jesus or not but rather on whether they have an attitude of accepting the truth. Through his powerful experience, Paul believed that the name of the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament was Jesus, and he understood that God had saved humanity through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He then left behind numerous teachings that are to make up his theology.

Meanwhile, Paul urged his disciples: "Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart" (Ephesians 5:19) and "Attend to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, to teaching" (1 Timothy 4:13). Furthermore, he wrote, "the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:15-16). The "scriptures" Paul refers to in these letters are the Old Testament. I think he used hesitant expressions such as "are able to" and "profitable for" because the Old Testament contains prophecies about "Christ" but never mention the name "Christ Jesus." Paul, having encountered Jesus Christ, been born anew through baptism, and been transformed into someone like Christ by the Holy Spirit, no longer needed to rely on the Old Testament. However, he had nothing else to offer his disciples that would serve as training to support their daily lives.

Later, Paul recounted that Ananias' words had restored his sight, which had been lost, and that Ananias had testified to him, urging him to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ: "The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard" (Acts 22:14-15). However, as for Ananias himself, Paul simply described him as "a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there" (Acts 22:12). Paul seems not to have considered Ananias to be highly trained as a disciple of Jesus.

We have the New Testament, which did not exist at the time when Paul preached. I thought that there must have been training to become a disciple like Ananias in it. That is training to experience Jesus. Just as Paul judged that his disciples needed training to support their daily lives, the Holy Spirit, who descended upon us believers, would not have failed to prepare a means of training for us. After studying these matters for about seven years, I came to realise that the Book of Revelation is a training book of Jesus Christ from the words, "Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near" (Rev 1:3). I thought that it might be writing about the blessings of those who read this prophecy aloud, hear it, and keep it in their memory. I have now been reading the Book of Revelation aloud a little each day for nearly four years. I hope to share my experiences and reflections during that time in future posts.

For me now, the words "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" (Rev1:1) at the beginning of the Book of Revelation seem to guarantee the training hidden in the book. Following this, it says, "[John] bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw" (Rev 1:2). These words seem to echo those at the end of the Gospel of John: "This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true" (John 21:24). Here too, we see the desire to convey the truth. I suppose they were also "good journalists."

(This article is the one I contributed to Japanese Internet magazine, Catholic AI.)

Maria K. M.