Photo Copyright: Maggie May
I recently went into our city Cathedral on impulse on one of my Thursday afternoons off. I hadn't been there for a good while and although I had to be careful walking in a dimly lit building because the floor levels seemed quite uneven in places with unexpected steps going up or down, I did feel that the windows were so spectacular and luckily I had my camera with me.
I'm sure my photos don't do them justice but I was overawed by the magnificence of the large windows in the traditional style of Bible illustrations and I was also taken with this small modern one in a corner that I found by chance.
The whole place had a kind of aura of peace and I felt quite small thinking of all the generations of people who had worshipped there and walked before me.
There were memorial stones underfoot wherever I went and tombstones in recesses.
Do other people have these sensations when they go into a very old building/church/cathedral?
Our weather seems to be really muddled and we have experienced sunny days followed by constant rain. A bad day can follow a good one and then it goes back to the bad. The temperature of each day is very varied too from mild to decidedly chilly. I should think the flora and fauna would be really baffled by it.
I was very moved to see the thousands of ceramic poppies that were put around the Tower of London, in a place that used to be the moat. It was meant to be a sea of blood, to represent the soldiers lost in all the recent wars, from WW1 to the present time. Although I got to see it on TV, I wasn't able to go to London. There were thousands upon thousands of individual poppies that were *planted* there, each one representing a soldier who was killed. Even viewing it on TV gave me a really moving feeling of all the suffering that had been caused in the past and is still being caused through war today.
I think you could still Google the Tower of London poppies if you haven't seen this spectacle that was created by an artist for Armistice day on 11th November.
I am amazed/almost dismayed at the amount of Christmas things that are already filling up the shops. Apart from vaguely totting up whether I shall have enough Christmas cards, I haven't given it much thought.
I have some important Birthdays to get through first.
Is it too soon to be thinking of Christmas?
8 comments:
I do like the feeling inside those big old churches and seeing their windows, I find it awe inspiring.
I do wish the stores would leave off hauling out the Christmas things at least until December.
I feel brainwashed by Christmas! Each year I dread it more and more.
I also dislike the hideous black and orange Trick or Treat merchandise that floods the shops in October.
This cathedral is masterpiece... Poppies are great..
I love seeing the interior of old churches and other buildings too. You snapped some lovely windows. And yes, for me, it's way too early to think about Christmas.
I feel the same sense of peace and awe that you feel when I go into a cathedral, Maggie. I have only been in a few, but the ones I have visited brought those same feelings to me.
Love you, my friend....
Jackie
I saw the sea of poppies on the telly... it brought tears to my eyes. Remembrance Day has always been an emotional day for me.
And yes, FAR TOO EARLY for Christmas... especially that annoying jolly Christmas music in the shops. Wish they could wait until Dec 1, or even later!
Perhaps following the church calendar and the liturgies that lead up to Christmas contribute to a calmer and more meaningful frame of mind than following what Walmart is selling as the bargain of the week!!!
what beautiful windows!
Post a Comment