Cathedrals in our Hearts
Google Earth Pictorial:
St. Catherine's Convent
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It has been years since I partook in the religious practice of attending daily Mass. It is truly a remarkable practice, but one I have avoided because I despise waking up in the morning. For that reason, I decided to start off easy this week. All the Masses I am going to start around noon, which makes it much easier.
I chose to go to the Cathedral of Chicago as my last stop before leaving Chicago. It was going to be my last glorious church moment, allowing me to take pictures of the Cathedral with me all over the world. Imagine my surprise when I had my first "unexpected moment" of the pilgrimage… the cathedral is closed.
Turns out they are remodeling the cathedral floor and pews. So instead of a cathedral, Mass was said in a basement, the parish center.
Of course this is an important lesson for me, or at least a reminder. Things don't happen the way you plan them, but God's presence is still there, in our hearts. It is the heart which finds for us the cathedral of our journeys. Even of it is under the hum of fluorescent light rather than the soft radiant glow of a stain glass window , God is present. The parish hall was filled with faithful in what turned out to be the patron festival day of the parish. Today we celebrated the Holy Name of Jesus, and the cathedral is Holy Name Cathedral.
I was able to convince a construction worker to let me stand at the doorway and take some pictures of the reconstruction of the cathedral so I could show you the rebuilding of the Church which hosts the Archdiocese from which I am sent off into the world. Click here to see the pictures using Google Earth.
I chose to go to the Cathedral of Chicago as my last stop before leaving Chicago. It was going to be my last glorious church moment, allowing me to take pictures of the Cathedral with me all over the world. Imagine my surprise when I had my first "unexpected moment" of the pilgrimage… the cathedral is closed.
Turns out they are remodeling the cathedral floor and pews. So instead of a cathedral, Mass was said in a basement, the parish center.
Of course this is an important lesson for me, or at least a reminder. Things don't happen the way you plan them, but God's presence is still there, in our hearts. It is the heart which finds for us the cathedral of our journeys. Even of it is under the hum of fluorescent light rather than the soft radiant glow of a stain glass window , God is present. The parish hall was filled with faithful in what turned out to be the patron festival day of the parish. Today we celebrated the Holy Name of Jesus, and the cathedral is Holy Name Cathedral.
I was able to convince a construction worker to let me stand at the doorway and take some pictures of the reconstruction of the cathedral so I could show you the rebuilding of the Church which hosts the Archdiocese from which I am sent off into the world. Click here to see the pictures using Google Earth.