A parable in stone and glass
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
St Matthew comments in the Gospel today that the Lord mainly spoke to the crowds in parables. We heard several of them today: a man sowing good seed, the extraordinary growth of the mustard seed, yeast mixed in with the flour.
St Matthew, quoting Psalm 78, explains why the Lord spoke in parables. He says that it was to “expound things hidden from the foundation of the world”.
The Lord’s preaching and teaching is about spiritual realities, and the Lord used images from everyday life to explain His message. Nature is a witness to the spiritual world. There are some 37 parables recorded in the Gospels, and a number of them begin with the words, “The kingdom of Heaven is like…”
As human beings we are most readily in touch with the physical world around us; the spiritual world, while absolutely real, remains more elusive.
In the living of our Catholic faith we rely upon sacramental signs to point us to the action of grace. Water, bread, wine, oil are used to convey the hidden – yet powerful – action of God within us. Similarly our liturgical year is expressed in colour: white, green, purple, red. The Church has always appealed to the human senses to assist in conveying spiritual meaning.
Thus, Christianity has always turned to the arts – to architecture, to stained glass, to painting, to music – to convey elements of the spiritual world. Christian art is one of the glories of Western civilisation.
When we entered into this cathedral today we are taken up into the spiritual world. This cathedral is a living testament to our Catholic faith. The architectural lines of the building, the focus on the sanctuary – the altar and ambo – create an environment different from any other building. The very atmosphere is captured in colours as the sun streams through the stained glass.
We are absorbed by the beauty and yet simplicity of all that surrounds us. We are enticed to silence, to attention to spiritual things. We find ourselves drawn into prayer.
We have entered into the House of God. This building is a testament to our faith and a vehicle for our communion with things of the Spirit. Here is the pre-eminent place where we find God.
Our first bishop, Robert William Willson, gave priority to building a cathedral in Hobart. He had a particular appreciation of the nineteenth century Gothic Revival movement whose great advocate, Augustus Pugin, was a close personal friend.
Our first bishop struggled to advance his hopes of a fitting cathedral to be built on the site of the first church built by Fr Connolly because of the poverty of his flock, half of whom were convicts. In 1860 a donation of 10,000 pounds by a recent convert to the faith, Roderick O’Connor, gave the bishop the confidence to begin his great work. He engaged an architect from Melbourne, William Wardell, who was a student of the Gothic Revival movement. Thus, the style and character of this cathedral was born.
Today we can look around at its noble and graceful lines which reflect the medieval English architectural and devotional tradition.
The last major work done to the interior to this cathedral was some 60 years ago by Archbishop Guilford Young. There is now a noticeable deterioration in the interior fabric and an evident need for restoration. There are practical things that need attention: heating, flooring and the lighting. There is need for a refreshment of the sanctuary area to enhance the dignity of the liturgical celebrations.
Today, with joy and hope, I launch the restoration project for St Mary’s Cathedral. This restoration will faithfully reflect the liturgical and devotional heritage of this beautiful cathedral, carrying on the vision of Bishop Willson.
This church is the mother church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart. It belongs to the entire Catholic community across the state. It is also an important part of the heritage of the city of Hobart, contributing to the broader life of the city.
Above all, it is the house of God. It is the place where all can find, in moments of quiet and reflection, the way to encounter the presence of the living God.
In its material expression this cathedral is, in fact, a parable in stone and glass which points to the Kingdom of heaven and, in the words of the psalmist quoted by St Matthew, “expounds things hidden since the foundation of the world”.
Archbishop Julian Porteous
Sunday, July 19, 2020