Ornate gold-gilded cathedrals spiral upward from cobblestone streets in the old cities we find ourselves in. Why do we stumble in over the thresholds to gaze at the decadence of religion?
Some of us are appalled at the wealth the Catholic Church has reaped from the common people over centuries of history. But I stand and breath it all in deeply, marveling at the monuments we have built in our desire to connect with an Omnipotent Loving Intelligence.
All over the world travelers can step into an oasis like this to find rest for our souls. In recent our journey to Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands, we rested on the benches of many grand cathedrals. We’d zoom in with our cameras and it felt like we could reach out and touch the intricate designs far above us.
We can almost taste flavours in the beautiful subtle colours because each cathedral has it’s own unique personality. Some richer, some poorer, kind of like people with sincerity just being who they are.
As high as a bird can fly, the ceilings arch over us in minute detail….
Pillars reach upward like strong tree trunks supporting a canopy of living stone. And all the while, sounds echo off the walls in glorious acoustics.
If you’re lucky enough to wander in when the monks are reverently chanting, or if you discover the nuns singing softly, these sounds will penetrate even the most hardened hearts with wonder. Can you imagine the music soaring from these two organs being played in this atmosphere?
“All this wealth”, I say to myself, “is the accumulation of gifts given by individual people, poured out to their God from their heart.” From the mere pittance of a widow-lady to the grand show of the aristocrat, coins of money went into the offering basket. Isn’t this from humanity’s desire to atone for our humanness, and align ourselves with some greater source of Being?
In awe, I soak it in….
No, I’m not Catholic but when I leave I feel lighter, and I bow and make the sign of the cross: head-heart-left-right. I whisper, “With my mind and with my heart, with my spirit and all my strength; I love you too, my God.” And then I blow a kiss upward into the higher realm, and I see it rising even above the exquisite stained glass windows.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ♥ Heart Thought ––––––––––––––––––––––––
Straight from the big black book: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17KJV
Excerpt from the book: The Celestial Proposal,– Our Invitation to Join the God Kind, Chapter 5 , Our Celestial Superhero, page 53.
“He (Jesus) came for the sake of all people, not for one church, one ideology, one race, or even one historical period. How silly of us to set up elite groups of people through brands of religion or methods of government or color of skin when the Great Ones in their invisible spirit state are concerned with saving the whole human species on planet earth.”
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Jane Catherine Rozek 
Our God, Creator of all beauty, deserves the best we can give.
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Amen to that!
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Thanks for sharing this post on Christians Anonymous!
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