THE MISSING GRAIL

"Great. And one final question. How many wineglasses are on the table?"

Sophie paused, realizing it was the trick question. And after dinner, Jesus took the cup of wine, sharing it with His disciples. "One cup," she said. "The chalice." The Cup of Christ. The Holy Grail. "Jesus passed a single chalice of wine, just as modern Christians do at communion."

Teabing sighed. "Open your eyes."

She did. Teabing was grinning smugly. Sophie looked down at the painting, seeing to her astonishment that everyone at the table had a glass of wine, including Christ. Thirteen cups. Moreover, the cups were tiny, stemless, and made of glass. There was no chalice in the painting. No Holy Grail.

Teabing's eyes twinkled. "A bit strange, don't you think, considering that both the Bible and our standard Grail legend celebrate this moment as the definitive arrival of the Holy Grail. Oddly, Da Vinci appears to have forgotten to paint the Cup of Christ."

Now let us start at the beginning. Close your eyes. Consider yourself as Leonardo Da Vinci. You are about to paint your masterpiece- The Last Supper, an iconic painting which is going to make you one of the greatest painters in history. So how would you paint it? What will be the most important factor? Will you give preference for beauty? Or will it be accuracy?

In such a sensitive topic, accuracy is of prime importance. An inaccurate painting could bring the ire of the Church. Then what would be your reference? The four Gospels, of course. After all it is the most widely accepted source.

So, now we have a starting point. Let us now see what the Bible tells about the Last Supper. It tells us that our Lord, Jesus Christ, instituted the Eucharist during that eventful supper. It was at this supper that the Lord took the Holy Grail and shared it with his disciples.

Let us start painting. We have Christ at the center. He is surrounded by the twelve disciples. Before them is a table prepared for the Passover. The Holy Grail is at the center of the table radiating its glory.

Now, open your eyes and look at The Last Supper. Where is the Holy Grail? There are thirteen ordinary cups but no Holy Grail.

Before you come to any fast conclusions, take a deep breath. Open the Bible. Take the passage in the Gospel of Mathew.

“Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying,’ Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”’

The passage does mention ‘a cup’, but where is the Holy Grail?

 Let us go on to the next Gospel, that of Mark.

“Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.”

No Grail again. What about Luke?

“Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ’Take this and divide it among yourselves;’”

The first three Gospels do not say anything about ‘the Cup of Christ – The Holy Grail’. Surely, the last Gospel must be the one which led to the Grail legend. Let us examine the Gospel of John.

Here also you will find no reference to the Holy Grail.

Also to be noted is the lack of significance given to the ‘cup’, spelt with a small letter ‘c’.So where did the Holy Grail legend orginate?The Holy Grail legend, unlike the Holy Chalice, has its origins in Arthurian legends. The knight Galahad was the first to begin the Quest. It would be strange if an Italian painter would base his paintings on an old English myths ( which he may never have heard).If the Bible does not mention the Holy Grail, would it then be appropriate for Da Vinci to include the majestic Grail to please the public?

Was the grail really a precious object? Even Indiana Jones knew better. Jesus was brought up by Joseph, a poor carpenter. How could he afford a magnificent Grail. Or did the precious gem studded golden Grail fall from heaven? Gold and gems are of the world. And it is the world which looks for things of the world.

St. John Chrysosthum’s words regarding the grail are enlightening.

“The table was not of silver, the chalice was not of gold in which Christ gave His blood to His disciples to drink, and yet everything there was precious and truly fit to inspire awe.”

The Holy Chalice is not holy because of what it is made of. It is holy because of what it holds. Our ignorance makes us look only for the worldly wealth. We become blind and fail to see God’s Love.

“Blinding ignorance does mislead us.

O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!”

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HOLY MASS

“By fusing pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties.”

“And virtually all the elements of the Catholic ritual-the miter, the altar, the doxology, and communion, the act of ‘God eating’ were taken directly from earlier pagan mystery religions.” 

The Holy Mass is a symbol. Just because the rituals are identical, it doesn’t mean that they symbolize the same thing or have the same meaning.

Symbols are tricky customers. They mean different things to different people. Each person gets a different meaning from the same symbol. Take the following symbol for example. What does it represent?

A E I O U

Among the English alphabets, it is the letter ‘O’.

0 1 2 3 4

Among numbers, it becomes the number zero.

 

Among geometrical figures, it becomes a circle.

 

In a picture of the night sky, it becomes the moon.

Does this mean that letter O and number 0 were copies? No. When the symbol has a different meaning then it is not a copy. The same applies for the Holy Mass.

The Holy Mass is the remembrance of the Last Supper. I wonder how Langdon, who has extensively studied the Last Supper, forgot this fact.

' Then he took a loaf of bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying ,”This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." '(Luke 22:19).

The Holy Mass was not started by Constantine. It had been prevalent among the very first Christians. It must also be remembered that the Last Supper was in itself the remembrance of the Passover. So the actual origins of the Holy Mass can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt. This is given in detail in the Bible.

But is the Holy Mass a mere ritual? Or did Christ have a greater purpose in establishing the Holy Mass. As you are well aware, the Holy Communion, the 'act of God Eating' , is the core of the Holy Mass. Catholic doctrine teaches us that through Communion we are receiving Christ. It is important that we purify ourselves before we receive him. One must prepare oneself before receiving God. It is considered a grave sin to take communion without preparation. As preparation, we do self-introspection and confess our sins. This, I believe, is the higher purpose that Christ had in mind.

Even atheists, would admit the need of self-introspection in a person’s life. It helps him/her grow into a better human being. But in our busy lives, how many of us can find the time to reflect upon our life? If you are asked to do self-introspection one hour every week, would you do it? The Holy Communion is the answer to this. It makes us look back into our lives even without our realizing it. It helps us correct our mistakes and become a new human being.

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BOOK REVIEW : CAT O’NINE TALES

Author: Jeffrey Archer

Other works: ’Kane And Abel’, ‘Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less’

Synopsis:

A collection of 12 short stories, nine of which are based on stories he heard while in prison.

1.    "The Man Who Robbed His Own Post Office"- A couple decide to rob their own post office so as to retrieve their hard earned money.

2.    "Maestro"- A master chef and his tax evading antics.

3.    "Don't Drink the Water"- A husband plotting the death of his wife.

4.    "It Can't Be October Already"-A man who makes an annual “visit” to prison.

5.    "The Red King"-How a man came to represent both competing parties in an auction for an item which belonged to him.

6.    "The Wisdom of Solomon"-A divorce case

7.    "Know What I Mean?"-A smuggler’s tale.

8.    "Charity Begin at Home"-The noble accountant.

9.    "The Alibi"-How a prisoner murdered his wife.

10. "A Greek Tragedy"-A Greek wedding.

11. "The Commissioner"-An ex-con turns a new leaf.

12. "In the Eye of the Beholder"- Why a football star married a stout lady.

Note: None of the stories make a lasting impression. Jeffrey Archer’s greatest gift is his narrative skill. He rarely got a chance to use it. In a short story, it is the plot that matters and he has been found wanting in this direction.

The fact that most of the stories were those heard from prison means that most of the protagonists end up in jail. This takes the sting off the plot.

Plus Points: None that I can think of.

Things to ponder: “It Can’t Be October Already”. Is it based on an O.Henry short 

story? Why has Cat O’ Nine Tales got 12 tales?

Remark: Archer should stick to novels.  

Who should read this: Die-hard fans of  Jeffrey Archer.

Who shouldn’t read this: Those who don’t want to waste their time and money.