Seeing the Sacrifice - Deacon Brendan Brides

Reverend Brother Jerome Kelly was the head-master (principle) at Presentation Brothers College, Cork City back in the seventies - around the time I was there. I spent a lot of time in Brother Jerome's office: I must have been a gifted child. However, most of the teachers weren't able to identify with my plethora of gifts. Brother's office wasn't any more intimidating than any other principal's office. I remember how I was fascinated by a painting that hung behind Brother Jerome's desk. It was a painting of the crucifixion but from a perspective that I had never seen before. Instead of looking up at our lord, the image of the crucified Christ was being looked down upon from above. I later learned that this was a copy of a famous painting inspired from an original sketch by Saint John of the Cross.

As I stood there getting the lecture, I couldn't help but look up at the painting and conjure up an image of the Father looking down on the suffering of his only son and lament what was quoted in Mathew's Gospel (among other places) : "behold, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased" (Mathew 17:5). - obviously not talking to me at the time.

Reflecting on the cross of Christ occasionally from a different perspective can be an opportunity to really identify with the scale of the sacrifice made by God the Father, through Jesus, for each one of us.