Sojurn in Europe

After two weeks in Europe - Italy, France & Spain - I am still marvelling at the incredible churches, cathedrals, and synagogues that we visited.

Even the "local" parish churches that were constructed from about 1100 ACE to 1750 ACE, were clearly lavished with great care and substantial resources. The architecture, the art works, the statuary, the altars, etc., reflect a level of devotion that is remarkable.

Indeed, these buidlings in those times represented the center of life. The culture of day-to-day life, event the government, was centered on the church. So the level of effort that went into these structures reflects that connection.

How odd, then, to see that today, in the communities that we visited - from Rome to Barcelona - these great edifices are used primarily by tourists. Even the services and masses seemed to be mostly populated by tourists. I suppose that this can be seen as the result of the erosion of the influence of the Church(es) in modern Europe.

That being said, the churches themselves (we also visited a synagogue in Rome) were amazing. Meditating in a chapel build in 1600, or viewing art by Raphael, Michelangelo, and other masters was transforming. Most of the churches in the areas we visited were Roman and Baroque architecture - we only visited two Gothic churches. One gets a sweeping sense of the sacred in these buildings, designed to take one out of oneself, toward the transcendent.

This was a trip that I will never forget. I intend to honor the consciousness that build these wonderful buildings, and the tender care with which the designs were executed.
What a joy!

Love and Light,
RevJim