Holy Smokes, this place is gorgeous! I had a hard time not gawking during Mass, but gawked to my heart's content afterward. Its design is a hybrid of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture; and although it's a fair debate on whether you prefer Romanesque or Gothic, the main point is that good church architecture necessarily raises your mind to God. In this case the architecture literally forces you to raise your head to take it all in -- everything worth seeing is above the 50-foot mark.
The forms and symbols used in building all mean something liturgically speaking. For a fuller treatment of the subject, I recommend asking an expert: Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy by Denis McNamara.
This one was my favorite, and since it is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I thought it particularly appropriate. There's radiant joy on her face. "The statue by Gordon S. Kray shows this caring Mother reaching down to fallen humanity and pointing to her ascended Son. This is a very unusual depiction of Mary placed here in 1984."
I got some low-res photos with my trusty camera phone, but I recommend the higher-res photo tour that the Cathedral offers.
The music was provided by a cantor and an organ; it was so exquisitely beautiful it makes your heart ache. If all that beauty is an inkling of what life with God is like, then bring it on!-------------------
Update: D Mac has more on church architecture transformations; this one is on a slightly smaller scale.
3 comments:
Thanks for posting. I was in novitiate with D Mac. I recall fondly my days in DC and time spent at the cathedral.
Thanks for posting, beautiful, old Catholic churches are my favorite sites to visit.
Nice blog, by the way...I love the name.
Have a joyous Advent and God bless.
It was pretty impressive. Thanks for stopping by Patty and todustyoushallreturn.
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