He is up there, with his cross, way up in the center of this picture, taken by Marissa at the Church of Sant'Ignazio. What is this picture of, exactly? It is the ceiling of Sant'Ignazio, painted in so-believable-it-is-unbelievable 3D. It is a Baroque wonder, a riot of color and illusion. Standing underneath, our necks growing tired from all of that craning, the only word that seemed appropriate just uttered itself from my lips, slowly: "Jeeee-suuus."

I know this little photo on this little Web site does it little justice. Try, though, to imagine this as a fairly massive ceiling about 60 feet above your head. You'd be muttering the Name of our Lord as well. And this ain't nothin', as they say in Rome. The Sistine Chapel (which wouldn't allow photos?) Seriously mind-blowing.

And then there is Santa Maria in Trastevere. A Church that dates back to the 3rd century AD. This picture is of the mosaic (yes, that is all done in tile) behind the main altar. The mosaic was done sometime between the 8th and 10th century. Oh, and the columns of the church were recycled from old Roman temples that, yes, are even older.

I walk into these churches and I am amazed at the ability of the human mind and the human hand. We can conceive of and build the most beautiful and thought-provoking things. I also love the irony - these masterpieces that were/are meant to glorify our supposed creator, without whom we are nothing, are actually celebrations of our own human potential. We created them to celebrate the myth of our own creation.

The ceiling of one of the Raphael rooms in the Vatican museum. Hmmm... I wonder where Dalì got some of his inspiration...?

Reading about Raphael, and Michelangelo, and their humanist ideals, you start to see that they "got it". They understood that, during their time, the best - or maybe the only - way to bring their vision to life was to do it through the church. Certainly that is where the resources were. If I had to choose between learning from, honoring and expanding on the masterful work of the ancient Romans and Greeks by painting the walls and ceilings of some big ol' Catholic churches and maybe just not doing it at all, well, show me to the church.

Caravaggio. The poor quality photograph above, taken at the church of San Luigi dei Francesi (the subject is Saint Matthew) gives only a hint of his brilliance. In a nutshell, Caravaggio shocked many by his depiction of the holy as human - saints with dirty feet, blessed virgins as the girl next door. But the quality of his work is what stands out. Go to any church that houses a Caravaggio, then walk chapel to chapel. You will see paintings that are nice, paintings that look like paintings that belong in a church, and then Pow! -you will see the Caravaggio and you will know it is something different altogether. It may or may not have been divinely inspired, but it is definitely sublime.

Speaking of the sublime, I think that is what Teresa is experiencing above. Another sculpture by Bernini, St. Teresa in Ecstasy, housed in the Santa Maria della Vittoria, takes the meaning of God's love to a whole new level. Seeing this up close I almost blushed, so intense and personal is the moment Teresa is having. I know this is carved out of stone and is in the middle of an old church, but it is anything but cold. God bless you, St. Teresa, God bless you. And God bless you, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, for sharing your gifts with the rest of us humans.