Palm Sunday at the Cathedral

I had to share this experience, because it was probably one of the best of the week. Today for Mass, Emily and I decided to go to the Cathedral. Going to Mass in the morning makes Sunday feel much more relaxed and, well, Sunday-like. It was the most unassuming cathedral I've ever seen. It fit right in with the downtown area except for its golden dome (23-karat gold!). After musing on which way to enter in, we finally found our way, realizing that the cathedral was set up a little differently than we anticipated. I'll let the pamphlet speak for itself on this one:

"Although the Cathedral is in a rectangular shape, the new sanctuary was designed to resemble a church-in-the-round. The altar floor was raised so all can see, and the steps were curved and the corners were rounded. Two concentric granite circles were designed around the foot of the altar; the ambo, bishop's chair, and presider's chair are also a round design."



So, yeah, as you can see, there was a reason for every detail in this building. The pamphlet (A Self-Guided Tour of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception) pointed out every detail, from the meaning of the Rose Window (Sun, moon, crown of 12 stars) to the type of architecture used in the pillars and arcs, to the Mother of the Universe sculpture, chapels, and icons. Even the organ was featured (BEAUTIFUL!! It has a special "Tromba Pontificale" feature that sounds like, well, trumpets...it was truly grand.). Even the Baptisimal font was talked about:

"The full-immersion baptisimal font is in the shape of a womb, to symbolize our new birth in Christ at Baptism."



Historical facts? Those were listed too! Tickets were sold to go up the staircase to the bell tower when the cathedral was first opened because, at the time, it was the largest building in KCMO. Each of the bells are named after a different saint: Sts. Catherine, Cecilia, Edward, Elizabeth, Helen, John, Mary, and Thomas (St. Thomas is rung most often). The stained glass windows were installed in 1912 by local artists at the Kansas City Stained Glass Works Company.

The Mass, of course, was beautiful. Between the organ and the wonderful readings and homily, I was just giddy to finally go there. Now, trying to find our way back to the highway we needed...that was a different story. Yay for grand adventures! Happy Palm Sunday!