April 13, 2008

  • candlelit reflections

                                                                                          

          Yesterday I went out into the cold & rain to a craft show at St. Mary Magdalene
    Byzantine Church. It was a nice show, but poorly attended, probably because of
    the weather.    
          The church part
    was open so people could go in, which I had hoped for before I went. I love seeing
    churches and had never been in a Byzantine one before that I could recall. I
    really liked it; the icons, the stained glass, soft lighting, the atmosphere. 
           As I was looking at the stained glass
    windows along each side of the sanctuary, I was startled to see that one of them was
    dedicated to the memory of someone I used to know. I knew he had died, but
    didn't know about the window. His family was one on my paper route in school and I became friends with his mom. I watched him grow up. He had gotten
    married & moved to Indiana. Soon afterwards, he died in a motorcycle accident.
    This was his window.   
         They had the candles one
    could light, something that is increasingly rare to find. So I  lit one for a friend's comatose friend. It was tall candle & has burned for hours, a symbol of hope.   
         There was a mystical
    peacefulness in that place, something that I wanted to bring away with me. I got
    so much more than a t-shirt at the craft show.      

Comments (8)

  • How nice but also a touch sad.

  • I'm glad you found some peace in that church.

  • The Catholic churches here still have the candle burning feature. Although I must admit I haven't been in the one near me of late so really shouldn't say I guess.

    Too bad you couldn't get a picture of the window. I did that for a friend of mine and it was OK with the chapel.

    ryc: the rose picture was achieved using a mask and I suppose it was the mask that gave that 3 D effect.

    Take it you are feeling better. Good!

  • And aren't the stained glass windows so beautiful?  I, too, like the idea of the burning candles, although I'm not Catholic.

    A.

  • Amazing ambiance that we found in the past in all of the churches ( catholic ) includin the small villages ' s ones .
    Take care

    Michel

  •  Illustration of my previous comment :http://www.xanga.com/fauquet/470875879/item.html

  • Wanted to check in and say hi and see how you and Rufus are doing!

  • It's so sad, but it's really a lovely thing that you could find peace in this as well as being able to give and to take something away from it, too.

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