Vatican beauty and influence in the world

The journey to holiness and living in resonance with the Spirit of God comes to mind in the text from the Roman Catholic Lectionary . Sirach encounters Wisdom as a personification of God. The scribes and the Pharisees in the Gospel from Mark are concerned about the authority by which Jesus acts. He redirects them to John the Baptist who is being considered a Prophet by many in his time. Acknowledging John the Baptist as Prophet would open the door for a new possibility in the lives of the people of Israel. Yesterday we toured the Vatican including the gardens, St Peters Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. If we were to ask under what authority the 20,000 daily visitors exercise their choice to take in these sites we may find many answers. Checking off the tourist list and curiosity may be two options. Mark Latta comments on the challenges experienced by Jesus in proclaiming the Good News to the people of His time which involved as it does today the struggle between being of the world and in the world. In addition to associating wisdom and authority with God, we should consider the role of beauty in our understanding of the Divine. The works of human hands to convey beauty in art, architecture and environment is recognized by most people and it may be at the core of the attractiveness of the Vatican tour. The Vatican also stands today as evidence of the struggle of the Church over the centuries to render unto Caesar that which is of the world and to glorify God and introduce His Presence by being in the world in many ways including as a focal point for inspired beauty and a tradition of working with those seeking to administer world affairs according to paths which give glory to God and act to unify diverse peoples and political systems through contact with practice in service of the Authority.