Ash Wednesday Blessing
Bernard and I began the lenten season with a special blessing. We were able to visit St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. As a Church, it is awe inspiring. Everywhere you look there is beauty in art and form: the altars (there are six), Stations of the Cross, Baptistry, statues, stained glass windows, ceiling… I could go on forever! If you ever travel to Sydney, visiting the Cathedral is a must.
Photography is not allowed in the Church, but I did find a google link with pretty decent pictures: http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=st.+mary’s+cathedral+sydney&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=QLN8S6-iKonEsQOwt628Cw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=6&ved=0CC8QsAQwBQ )
I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the exterior, so here are those pictures.
- The Cathedral viewed from the reflecting pool
- St. Mary's Cathedral with Garden view
- Closer view of the front of the Cathedral
The greatest part of the blessing, however, was that we were able to participate in the Solemn High Mass for Ash Wednesday. Though Mass was at 5:30 pm. the Cathedral was filled with people. As with all solemn celebrations of the liturgy, all the “extras” were there: candles, incense, special music and a VERY special Cathedral Choir. While the environment itself raises your heart and mind to worship, the music seemed to carry our praise and thanks with it. The choir was composed of about 30 young boys and 20 men. The music was a mixture of gregorian chant and polyphony, all sung a cappella. As I said, it was an incredible experience. (If you’d like to read about the choir, here’s the link: http://www.stmaryscathedral.org.au/the-choir.html You can find more about the history of this cathedral on this same website.)
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