A Proper Sacrifice

Lucy Schultz, a Master of Fine Arts Industrial Design student here at the University of Notre Dame, guides us through a contemplation of The Rejection of Cain’s Offering and the Sacrifice of Manoah by Gaetano Gandolf. This piece was a preliminary sketch for one-half of the cupola fresco in Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna, Italy. In sketching, speed was key. It required active looking, intuition and invention, and muscle memory built up over extended periods of repetitive exercises. These sketches invite the viewer to acknowledge the artist in the active process of painting itself as this was a necessary practice and preparation. 

The portion we see in today’s image depicts two Old Testament sacrifices: Cain’s offering of his cultivated crops which was rejected by God, and the accepted offering of a young lamb by Manoah, father of Sampson.

What might prompt God to accept one offering while rejecting another? At first glance, Cain’s sacrifice doesn’t appear unworthy of approval. Both tending to a garden and caring for a herd demand comparable investments of time, energy, and attention.

However, we know that God can see what is in a person’s heart when making such a sacrifice. Though Cain’s offering seems pleasing to the eye and desirable to eat, some other flaw keeps it from being accepted. Shortly after this rejection, Cain chooses the sinful path of killing his brother Abel. 

In stark contrast, the sacrifice of Manoah is made in thanksgiving for the gift of his son. A slaughtered sheep or goat, while unappealing to our modern senses, carried a profound meaning in ancient times. Today, we understand that the sacrifices in the Old Testament foreshadowed the redemptive gift of Christ. His ultimate sacrifice supersedes all others, bringing about the salvation of the world.

As we continue making our small sacrifices in this season of Lent, may we offer them with humility and gratitude for all that God has done for us.

This Lent, ThinkND invites you to join FaithND and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art for a journey of Lenten discovery through some of the most significant liturgical paintings in the Raclin Murphy collection, challenging you to contemplate prayer, fasting, sinfulness, mercy, grace, and God’s infinite love from the perspectives of the artist’s gaze. To subscribe to the FaithND Daily Gospel Reflection visit faith.nd.edu/signup.

For closer viewing of this work through the digital collections of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, please click here.