Clare Hudson - Church Visit #1

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

4431 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108

April 2, 2016

1. While I was in St. Louis this past weekend I visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, which has the largest collection of mosaics in the world.  The equivalent cost it would take to build that cathedral today would be in the billions, it was so lavish.  That was one of the main causes, though, that the worship service felt already different than my that of my Baptist childhood.  The second you enter this holy space you are taken into a reverent atmosphere overflowing with God’s light.  This is not just a metaphor they used gold tiles to cover the entire ceiling to represent God’s light among and through his people.  I already felt an intense presence and call to worship just by standing in the building, when Vespers began as both a call to Mass/Vigil and worship.  The second those beautiful voices rang out from the side chapel, the church seemed to awaken and the space felt complete.  To be there in the cathedral looking at the story of faith as described in the mosaics, surrounded by the the “light of God”, and to be lead by holy song into worship made me feel full of awe which is unlike how I feel at my regular church. There is a strict plainness in most of protestantism that I often find the atmosphere to feel rather stoic.
2. The most obvious aspect of Roman Catholic theology that I noticed was the reverence for Mary and the Tradition/Liturgy.  While looking around during the service, Mary’s image was everywhere, and she was often the center piece of the chapels with Christ in her arms emphasizing her role as Theotokos.  From the beginning incense was shaken by a what seemed like a deacon down the aisle and then the bishop/priest was anointed with it as if he was symbolically being anointed by the Spirit.  Also the hierarchy of the church was evident, there seemed to be specific duties assigned to specific reason, such as one man was in charge of reading the scripture in latin and another was in charge of singing and speaking the prayers, as well as a processional where one man carried in an icon of the cross.  Trans-substantiation was also very evident by the Eucharist being in the center of the church and anointed by the incense symbolizing the Spirit.
3. What I am always hit by when I am in these settings, and what I felt was illuminated for me again in this context what the great reverence due to our faith that is found in the Catholic Church.  As I’m sitting there with the story of my faith literally surrounding me on the walls with examples of sanctified lives to help guide me, a rich tradition that not only spans the globe but also two thousand years repetition in front of me (lest I forget that in regards to interpreting the scripture my experience comes after the church fathers and creeds), and enormity and beauty of faith as paralleled by the architecture I begin to feel the weight and severity of the faith that I profess.  I feel so small in the grand scheme of things yet utterly blessed to be allowed to worship in these spaces.  More than anything else the desire and sanctified worship always drives home the supreme holiness of God.  I mean that although my tradition does teach that God is Holy and magnificent I find myself often having a difficult time realizing it, whereas in this Church I felt it from the beginning of Vespers to the final blessing.