Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Angela Alaimo O'DonnellOctober 10, 2024

After Caravaggio’s “The Taking of the Christ”

The urgency of the kiss,
the many hands that hold him fast,
one at his throat, one furling a bright

cloak to net him in the web of lies
weft and woven by his brother,
not the first one moved to murder

the beloved in a garden. Cries
of horror sound the silence
of Christ’s sorrow at the center,

his own hands bound by his will,
they offer no resistance
to those he knows will kill

him in the dark hours to come,
their faces full of appetite
and action, only his is still,

the flick of lantern light
singling him out as the one
who dared to promise peace,

who said the kingdom come 
is here and it is one of love,
not what they’re thinking of

trapped by their old violence.
He knew it would come to this.
He longs for and suffers the kiss. 

The latest from america

“One of the things I find most appealing about the award-winning writer and poet Mary Karr is her forthright, almost brutal, honesty.”
James Martin, S.J.July 01, 2025
Pope Leo XIV urged new archbishops to help him foster unity in a church rich in diversity. Eight of those new archbishops are from the United States, and they spoke to Catholic News Service about how they can help promote fraternity in today’s polarized world.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Christopher White about his new book, ‘Pope Leo XVI: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.’
JesuiticalJune 30, 2025
Kerry Weber, incoming president of the Catholic Media Association, and executive editor of America Magazine, speaks June 26, 2025, during the Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
Kerry Weber is an executive editor for America. On May 20, 2025, the Catholic Media Association announced that she was elected president,
Grace LenahanJune 30, 2025