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24. června 2006

Seven perspectives on wondrous Svatá Hora

The number seven is usually linked with phenomena such as perfection and plenitude.
"The seven wonders of the world" is one very well-known phrase featuring the number seven. Svatá Hora is also an incontestably wondrous place. Not, however, in the usual sense of the word. The wondrousness of Svatá Hora consists principally in the marriage of its physical beauty, its artistic beauty and its spiritual core. Wondrous things, even miracles, have occurred here, and continue to occur here, quietly and unobtrusively. The dome in the cloister is of course covered with one hundred odd paintings depicting miracles which are actually connected to Svatá Hora. Possibly, however, many of these miracles would raise a smile in today's world - for example, one of them was constituted by the alleviation of toothache. Nonetheless, those smiles would unwittingly show how much more we demand from God than our forefathers did (strange that we should have demands of Him). All the same, miracles do occur here even in this day and age. Perhaps it is no longer so much a matter of curing physical ills, even if I could cite a few such (unconfirmed) cases. Contemporary miracles are after all perhaps rather different from the miracles of the Baroque age. For all those individuals connected with Svatá Hora doing everything they possibly can to support this place, one of the modern-day miracles is the fact that the funds needed to keep Svatá Hora going have never run out, even if the legion of Svatá Hora's friends is rapidly dwindling on account of their advanced age. But back to the wondrousness of Svatá Hora. For the normal visitor, it is perhaps difficult to absorb all the beauty here, and often this over-abundance of beauty leads to a satiation of the senses. Conversely, some people do not see the beauty they should be looking for here, apart from exquisite architecture and artistic wonders, and they depart disappointed. The statue of the Virgin Mary does not strike them as one of the highlights of Svatá Hora, but rather as a somewhat incongruous part of the whole, a curious piece of amateurish handiwork which strikes a jarring note amidst the vernacular style of a bygone age. However those of you who see and feel, and have open minds and hearts, can apprehend the beauty of Svatá Hora in the following ways.

I. With your eyes
From a distance Svatá Hora appears like a Marian stronghold floating above the roofs of the town of Příbram. Closer still, its beauty is reminiscent of an old book bound in smooth leather covers, in no way different from its fellows in a row of other venerable old books. Having opened the book, we see that the book's age in no way diminishes its value for the contemporary world. Quite the contrary. Its beauty is not static, it does not belong in a museum; rather its beauty is alive. This beauty however does not appear without our active involvement, it demands our participation. Its language is not straightforward like that, say, of a newspaper headline, it requires comprehensive and repeated perusal and study. Only after a time does it reveal its profundity, from which it is possible to glean much, and from which so much has been gleaned in the past. The sight of its beauty, created by the artistic skills of our forebears guided by the hand of God, together with our attempts to read it, constitutes Svatá Hora's true beauty.

II. With your ears
Listening to the word of God in a place imbued with divine grace is certainly the fundamental element of understanding Svatá Hora with your ears. This is true of listening to song to perhaps a lesser extent, and to an even lesser extent of listening to music unaccompanied by the human voice. It is however often completely forgotten that with our ears we can apprehend silence. Silence is as inherent a part of Svatá Hora as is the noise made by tourists and the songs of the pilgrims, the sound of music and of the ringing of the bells. It is necessary to search for silence just as it is necessary to search for its opposite, and to hear God's voice not only in the Word but also in silence.

III. With your sense of touch
We don't even realise how much we can recognise through our sense of touch. We don't have to be blind for this to happen. After all, we all continually touching something: a door-handle, a hymn-book, the Holy Water font or a pew. Even the sacrament of Holy Communion has an element of touch: Christ humbly transformed himself into an everyday object - bread - so that he could offer Himself to us on a daily basis. Also the garments on the statue of the Virgin Mary of Svatá Hora offer themselves up to our touch, even if there is less interest in this now. It is a shame that in this day and age, which proclaims the end of all barriers and prejudices, we are ridding ourselves of one of the ways of appreciating the sacredness of this place because of prejudice and impatience.

IV. With your sense of smell
Every space has its own smell. Here, for example, the fragrance of roses and other flowers, incense, melting snow and spring are now in the air. At Christmas, the air is filled with the scent of pine needles and the straw in the manger. In summer there is the hot scent of the shingles baking in the sun, with the damp breath of dew in the evenings. Food and other things given off their aromas, but I notice too little of these various scents.

V. With your sense of taste
Food is a part of every pilgrimage. The spiritual nourishment and taste of the Body of Christ in its material form is supremely fitting inside a church. But everyday nourishment is also necessary. Or perhaps it is fatuous to mention here beer, sausage or Svatá Hora wafers? Is food part of a pilgrimage only out of necessity? Is it too worldly? Does it deflect from the pilgrim's real aim? Bavarian pilgrims, who until 70 years ago used to walk from their homes to Svatá Hora, would have been able to tell us exactly whether sustaining food would bring a pilgrim closer to or further away from Svatá Hora. All roads can lead to or away from a destination. It depends on how we travel them. A place of pilgrimage is of course a prodigious gift from God to us, and that means the entirety of a place of pilgrimage, including the hot-dog stand, not to mention the monastery's superb kitchen. That's why I am of the opinion that we can also come closer to Svatá Hora with our sense of taste.

VI. With your heart.
Often I hear long, exhaustive and quaint sermons about the nature of true love. It is difficult to discern an aim in these sermons. They often suggest that the word "love" is misunderstood in today's world, they speak of love as an appetite, as a desire to give rather than receive. Love for Svatá Hora principally means, apart from love of God, his Holy Mother and those surrounding God in Heaven, pleasure at the beauty which we and God can see, hear, touch, smell and taste in this place. However, Svatá Hora is also loved by many people who do not visit it so often, who do not hear the sermons mentioned, or who perhaps have only been here once or twice. Nonetheless, neither great distances in time nor in space prevent them from loving this place. Even at a distance, Svatá Hora is present in people's hearts. It was in this way that my grandmother loved Svatá Hora, and there are certainly many more like her. Beautiful, gracious Svatá Hora - where Mary dwells - Beautiful, you are made to be loved - Virgin Mary of Svatá Hora.

VII. With your soul.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei: ora pro nobis peccatoribus.Amen.

Pavel Šmolík

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Fotogalerie

• Velikonoční vigilie 2012
• Roráty s P. S. Přibylem, CSsR
• Benefiční koncert G. Demeterové a J. Tůmy
• Věčné sliby - David Horáček
• Noc kostelů 2011

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