A moment of sudden revelation or insight.
Basilica-style architecture is contained within my heart and soul. The rustic and the refined, the mass and volume of its construction, the stone and the support of the columns, the anterooms and cloisters, the fenestration pattern of the clerestory windows: All of these characteristics are seated in my inner Spirit.
My first introduction to this architectural style of the Roman Empire that then spread throughout Christianized Europe came in my studies of historic preservation and art history. The Westside Market in Cleveland, Ohio, is largely indicative of a commercial design of the early 20th Century, a harkening to Basilica-style. Going weekly to the Market required that I grab a bratwurst and wend my way to the end-placed balcony to lunch and contemplate a praxis of this form.
A trip to Italy in 2019 included Florence and Tuscany; two weeks of painting plein air in Tuscany and touring Florence. One of my last excursions before returning to Florence to fly home was San Gimignano. My wanderings through this beautiful country did much to assuage a personal grief.
Yesterday on The Epiphany, as if magically, Memories of Italy popped up on my iPad! Photos taken at Santa Maria Novella in Florence accompanied by a brief musical score revealed an image. What synchronicity—a fresco of The Annunciation by Pietro di Miniato (1366-1490), and Lo and Behold, in the bottom portion of the fresco is a cutaway of the Magi.
In the Adoration of the Magi, located in the lower mid-segment of the fresco, the Magi represent the three ages of man as well as the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, Matthew 2:1-12. Upon finding the image, I looked up this particular scripture.
Magi From The East
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, [a]wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the [b]wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
Matthew 2:1-12, KJV
I recall that when I was in Italy visiting all the various Basilicas and Cathedrals, I was overwhelmed by the art inherent in these places that iterated the story of Christ. The realization of so many artists through time that emphasized this significance was not lost on me. I was in awe.
Since that beautiful summer in Florence and Tuscany, I have marveled at the grandeur of it, which causes me to pair this experience with meaning and connection to my life’s journey. I cannot help but look at the degradation of our culture with the removal of the Spiritual knowledge.
The story of the Magi requires heed in light of the events in the world over the past few years. For myself personally, I have returned to reading my journals since 2006 and finding dreams that I recorded in my Morning Pages. And like the Magi in Verse 12, I have been warned of God in a dream that I should not return to Herod, and therefore, to depart into my own country another way.
This will only make sense to those who know Truth.
It is no wonder then why I love Basilica-style architecture so much.
–Kimberly B. Gray, Santa Fe, New Mexico. All rights reserved.
Kimberly B. Gray 