ENDEAVOR
Last week, I went to church on my birthday and on Palm Sunday. On both occasions, I emerged with vital insights on the significance of the act of worship in a church.
I was baptized a Catholic after birth and had my basic education in Catholic schools. As a university student, I was exposed to philosophies of social change anchored on dialectical materialism that led to my being a student activist, for which I was detained at the onset of martial law in the Philippines. But four years of being a radical student activist did not dislodge the faith that had been embedded in my consciousness since my childhood.
My parents enrolled me in St. Mary’s Academy in Pasay City, which was about a half-hour ride from where we lived in Makati – first on a horse-drawn carretela, then on a mini-jeepney that was dubbed as an auto-calesa. After completing my primary grades, I transferred to Don Bosco Technical Institute, located on the corner of what was then known as Pasong Tamo (now Chino Roces Avenue) and Pasay Road (now Arnaiz street).
St. Mary’s Cathedral was where my family and I went to Church in Tokyo last March 28. My epiphany was on the meaning of my Catholic faith as I have lived it through the decades – from my early schooling in St. Mary’s Academy to my participation at mass in St. Mary’s Cathedral.
As a young child, I learned that I had been “created in the image and likeness of God,” and freed from the bondage of sin through baptism. I had been going to churches everywhere for the past seven decades and marveled at the architecture but it was only nine days ago that I realized how blessed I have been all my life.
While hearing mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo, I marveled at its awesome architecture. As described in its website: “The cathedral is notable for its modernist structure, made up of eight curved walls, or hyperbolic parabolas, which form a large cross. It is made of concrete covered by stainless steel.”
When I researched further, I learned that there is another St. Mary’s Cathedral, in San Francisco, California, that is similarly constructed. I had been at a loss for words that would describe my experience inside St. Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo.
I realized how small and insignificant I am compared to the vast, limitless expanse of the universe created by God. My human existence is enveloped in a universe of faith.
This description from the website of St. Mary’s Cathedral of San Francisco says it all:
“In this sacred place, ancient faith and modern technology combine to create a 21st century hymn of praise to Almighty God. Like the great cathedrals of the past, St. Mary's has drawn upon the artistic and engineering genius of its time to shape a gathering place for the Christian assembly. This is a center where the great events in the life of our Church are celebrated.
“Like the Cross itself, St. Mary's Cathedral moves us both vertically and horizontally. As our eyes are drawn upward in the graceful sweep of the cupola, our hearts are lifted up to God. Yet even as we delight in the vast space and play of colored light, the windows open to the city around us, reminding us of our need to work for the Kingdom of God on earth.
“The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption is an artistic and architectural poem evocative of the union between heaven and earth attained for us in Jesus Christ. The balance and simplicity of modern engineering echo the union of human and divine in creation and life.”
And from the website of the Nunoike Cathedral, the main church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nagoya, where we heard mass on Palm Sunday, the description of the church’s architecture is equally instructive:
“The interior is pretty much like most Catholic Churches the world over: long and wide, lined with honey-colored wooden pews below heavenly high arched ceilings, and the focal point being the magnificent stained glass windows depicting the crucifixion behind and above the altar.”
Now I have realized that the high ceilings of churches symbolize the vastness of the universe that God has created. The church provides a sanctuary for the expression of faith in the Almighty and gratitude for the gift of life on earth.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloria…A blessed Easter to all!