Baptism

  History made: Pope and King pray together in Sistine Chapel https://aleteia.org/2025/10/23/history-made-pope-and-king-pray-together-in-sistine-chapel/

  The Emperor, amused by the whispers of a new faith, commanded  Genesius to create his greatest satire yet: a play to mock the Christians.  Genesius, ever the loyal servant of his art and his Emperor, accepted the commission. It was just another role, another mask to wear. To perfect his mockery,  Genesius delved into the world he meant to ridicule. He studied the Christian's texts and learned their rituals, not with an open heart, but with the sharp eye of a satirist searching for flaws to exploit on stage. The night of the performance arrived. Before the Emperor and all his court, Genesius was magnificent, His parody was sharp, his timing impeccable. The theatre echoed with laughter. Then came the climax: the mock baptism. As the stage water touched his brow and the hol l ow words were spoken, a light, unseen by any other, pierced Genesius’ s soul. The satire crumbled, the character dissolved, and for a silent monument stage, only the man rem...

 Jerusalem is the final destination where Jesus, at his last Passover, must die and rise again and thus bring his mission of salvation to fulfilment. From that moment, after that “firm decision” Jesus aimed straight for his goal and in addition said clearly to the people he met and who asked to follow him what the conditions were: to have no permanent dwelling place; to know how to be detached from human affections and not to give in to nostalgia for the past. Jesus, however, also told his disciples to precede him on the way to Jerusalem and to announce his arrival, but not to impose anything: if the disciples did not find a readiness to welcome him, they should go ahead, they should move on. Jesus never imposes, Jesus is humble, Jesus invites. If you want to, come. The humility of Jesus is like this: he is always inviting but never imposing. All of this gives us food for thought. It tells us, for example, of the importance which the conscience had for Jesus too: listening in his h...

  Ballad of Genesius https://elevenlabs.io/music/songs/RRBuULudZUseHEGYRoJg