The Madonna

"And if there is a Christ who must come, for whatever reason, to judge the quick and the dead, then let us hope and pray that he can be reminded that he is – as he has always been – his mother’s son."

Michelangelo’s Pietà Mary. Photo by Richard Wang on Unsplash

I cannot visit Italy without wandering into churches.

There is a transition at the doorway as the quiet strikes. Always, a subtle confusion on protocol, but definitely hat off, voice lowered, a flash decision on how deep into the church to wander. A look to the ceiling, an inventory of the off-…