Inside of the Cathedral and to home
The Cathedral had a very traditional feeling to it, with high stained glass windows, high ceilings and a beautiful altar. The stained glass windows were beautiful and in a very new style, which appear more like paintings over glass, instead of the older colored glass pieced together. We were surprised to see artwork on the ceiling as well. It reminded me a lot of the Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto whose ceilings are packed with scenes from throughout salvation history. The ones at the Cathedral include images of each of the 12 Apostles with their names in Latin below. They were quite beautiful. On either side of the choir loft there were two other images, which it took a little to figure out, but made perfect sense to be located where they were. On one side was St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, with a harp. On the other, with a lyre, was an image of King David, the premiere Old Testament musician who wrote a large part of the Psalms.
To one side of the altar, there was a permanent baptismal font. That shouldn't come as a surprise with the name of the Cathedral, St. John's (the Baptist). The nice surprise was that immediately behind the font, there was a statue of the Baptist himself. It was a perfect addition reminding all of our baptismal promises, and he who baptized Christ.
To one side of the altar, there was a permanent baptismal font. That shouldn't come as a surprise with the name of the Cathedral, St. John's (the Baptist). The nice surprise was that immediately behind the font, there was a statue of the Baptist himself. It was a perfect addition reminding all of our baptismal promises, and he who baptized Christ.
On one side of the altar, I saw a large picture: and there she was again, the patron saint of the Diocese, St. Therese. We concluded our visit to the Cathedral by praying evening prayer together at the back of the church. It was a beautiful way to conclude our pilgrimage to such lovely places. We tried to sing the Salve Regina in Latin to end our prayers, but got lost in the Latin (and, unlike our parish, we couldn't find a hymnal which had it in writing).
Our final surprise came at dinner. After much discussion, we decided on Panda Express. When we arrived, we noticed that they had a new item, one that made us all smile. Tyson, Francesca, and I are part of a weekly Bible study, which refers to ourselves as Better Spreaders of Bacon. We were discussing a reading that talks about being "beacons of light" for the love of Christ. Tyson was talking quickly and called it "bacons of light." We all laughed. I pointed out that is exactly what the love of Christ is about, JOY, laughter. The idea of bacon stuck, since who can think about or smell bacon and not smile. We should be the same thinking about Christ, no? Well, Panda Express' promotion was "Orange Chicken and Bacon: Feed Your Soul." We had been feeding our soul throughout the day, not with the physical sustenance of Panda Express, but without heavenly thoughts and prayers. Here when we need physical food, we were again reminded about feeding our soul and with something VERY meaningful for us: BACON (even though not in the way that Panda Express thought it was meaningful). What a wonderful pilgrimage!
Our final surprise came at dinner. After much discussion, we decided on Panda Express. When we arrived, we noticed that they had a new item, one that made us all smile. Tyson, Francesca, and I are part of a weekly Bible study, which refers to ourselves as Better Spreaders of Bacon. We were discussing a reading that talks about being "beacons of light" for the love of Christ. Tyson was talking quickly and called it "bacons of light." We all laughed. I pointed out that is exactly what the love of Christ is about, JOY, laughter. The idea of bacon stuck, since who can think about or smell bacon and not smile. We should be the same thinking about Christ, no? Well, Panda Express' promotion was "Orange Chicken and Bacon: Feed Your Soul." We had been feeding our soul throughout the day, not with the physical sustenance of Panda Express, but without heavenly thoughts and prayers. Here when we need physical food, we were again reminded about feeding our soul and with something VERY meaningful for us: BACON (even though not in the way that Panda Express thought it was meaningful). What a wonderful pilgrimage!