by Veronica Szczygiel
When I visited the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland — a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary — I was struck by a series of paintings depicting the stations of the cross by the late Polish painter Jerzy Duda-Gracz.
Titled “Golgotha of Jasna Gora,” Duda-Gracz imagined Calvary taking place at the Jasna Gora Monastery in Częstochowa in the modern age. In the seventh station where Jesus fell the second time, a skinny, miserable-looking stray dog lifts his paw in a comforting gesture towards the fallen Christ. The dog is clearly sorrowful for His state, and seems to exude pity for the man.
A few years later, I found a similarly themed painting at a gallery in Orvieto, Italy — Umberto Verdirosi’s “The Encounter / Il Povero Cristo.” This painting depicted Christ crucified outside of Rome with a traveler and his dog looking intently and sadly at the scene.
A quick search confirmed what I had already suspected — artists frequently used the image of the dog to portray fidelity.
Dogs are bound to their caretakers and often put us ahead of themselves. They serve as K9 service dogs, military dogs, and bomb-sniffing dogs. Some dogs help with medical rescues. Remember Balto? He was a husky who led his pack sledding across treacherous Alaska to deliver medicine to Nome in 1925. Dogs literally put their lives on the line for us. Didn’t Jesus do the same?
Scripture extols God’s loyalty to us: “Your faithful love to me has been great; you have saved me from the depths of Sheol. … You, O God, are compassionate and gracious, abundant in love and fidelity. Turn and take pity on me. O give your strength to your servant” (Psalm 86:13-16).
I felt God’s everlasting faith and love most perceptible through my rescue dog, Sonia. I was eight weeks along in a long-awaited pregnancy, and Sonia knew. She would never leave my side. One Saturday, I had to be rushed to the hospital. I was in excruciating pain, and after seven hours, I was released, having suffered a miscarriage.
When we returned home from the harrowing experience, my husband and I slept for over 12 hours. Sonia knew we lost a member of our pack. The sad expression on her face said it all. Even more incredibly, she laid by my feet, not once asking to be fed or let out. She was loyal to my suffering, resting her head on my legs to comfort me.
What Jesus has in common with the common dog is his undying fidelity to and unconditional love for us. No matter how many times we sin or turn away from him, he is there to embrace us. He comforts us in our grief and celebrates our joy.
If a dog is man’s best friend, then God is that and so much more. He is the beginning and the end. Our faithful everything.
Veronica Szczygiel, PhD. is the Director of Online Learning of the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University.