Today we decided to have a relaxed and quiet day for our wedding anniversary. All our kids phoned just the same. After Sunday Mass we walked slowly home hand in hand enjoying each other's company in silence as we did not have any lunch to prepare as we normally do. At home we then planned to visit the Archbishop's Curia as they were having an open day during the week end. I didn't think it would be very interesting but boy was I wrong. I didn't know anything about the history of the place even though I had visited the place during my work at the Ministry of education. Now I know that it was founded as a retreat house by a Jesuit priest in 1743 and reflects the baroque architectural style of the time. The bottom left picture in the montage is from the chapel dedicated to Our lady of Manresa depicting St Joseph on his deathbed. The paintings in the chapel are by Antoine Favray and were started in 1748. I chose the picture which is the ideal portrayal of a good death , as the dying saint is accompanied by Jesus and Mary. It also shows the ideas of the time about St Joseph. Close to the chapel is the refectory, which is a jewel of mural art. We attended the talk (top left) delivered by Dr Theresa Vella about the paintings from scripture where food is mentioned. Most interesting is the food drawn at the bottom of each biblical episode which shows the typical Maltese food in the 18th century.
I chose the granita top right. It was made with ice imported from Sicily. Chocolate bottom right and the famous cheeslets.
Well that was a really interesting read. I love the idea of "a good death" in that painting. I remember Max Lucado once saying that Jesus delegates many jobs to angels, but He always comes in person to take you home at the end of your life. I thought that was lovely. There may be no other people there, but you won't be alone.
