Oakland and More on the Way
We loaded up the car (not our sled with goodies, but rather the car with people), and started to head in the direction of the freeway. In my mind, I was thinking, "We have visited five churches already. All we need is two more, and we will have completed a traditional, seven-parish pilgrimage. That would be SO cool!" Then, all of a sudden, above the other buildings, I saw it! There was a great solution! The steeples of the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of San Francisco!
"And the cathedral has the only Holy Mercy Door in the city of San Francisco! There is no way that Maria and Nico would say 'No' to that! And we would need only one more church! And we could go to one close to Fenton's!" My mind raced through all of the possibilities and ways of phrasing it to make sure that, "Let's do it!" was the response. I didn't have to worry. As soon as I mentioned "Holy Door," the response was positive.
"And the cathedral has the only Holy Mercy Door in the city of San Francisco! There is no way that Maria and Nico would say 'No' to that! And we would need only one more church! And we could go to one close to Fenton's!" My mind raced through all of the possibilities and ways of phrasing it to make sure that, "Let's do it!" was the response. I didn't have to worry. As soon as I mentioned "Holy Door," the response was positive.
After seeing so much traditional Catholic artwork and inspiring Churches and then having passed through Holy Doors in Sacramento and Modesto, the contrast was pretty stark at the cathedral in the City. First we walked into the entrance visible in the photo above. There was no labels or anything on the door and no signs, so Maria immediately asked the way to the Holy Door. There was a woman standing near the entrance who responded, "You just went through it."
Our response was essentially, "Uh, ... ok ...." There was no indication at all that the door was different and no explanation regarding the indulgences or even anything about the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Our surprise continued as we looked around the interior of the cathedral. We first noticed how the interior looks similar to senate chambers in the Star Wars prequels. We could each imagine a senator of the Republic sitting in the heights of the cathedral's ceilings. Next, we search to find a crucifix. Liturgically, there should be a crucifix on or very close to the altar. We had to search for one. It was very beautiful, but no where near the altar. Then, we had to search to find where the tabernacle was. Each of these left us a little down. If it wasn't for the side chapels with beautiful artwork, we would have been disappointed with our visit to the cathedral.
Our response was essentially, "Uh, ... ok ...." There was no indication at all that the door was different and no explanation regarding the indulgences or even anything about the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Our surprise continued as we looked around the interior of the cathedral. We first noticed how the interior looks similar to senate chambers in the Star Wars prequels. We could each imagine a senator of the Republic sitting in the heights of the cathedral's ceilings. Next, we search to find a crucifix. Liturgically, there should be a crucifix on or very close to the altar. We had to search for one. It was very beautiful, but no where near the altar. Then, we had to search to find where the tabernacle was. Each of these left us a little down. If it wasn't for the side chapels with beautiful artwork, we would have been disappointed with our visit to the cathedral.