to dream

Mar 20, 2023

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The pics I use on these daily posts are sometimes snapped by me, and often borrowed from free-to-use websites. I thought it might be interesting to move towards using only my own snaps, and then only those I have taken in the past 24 hours. We’ll see how that goes.

I took the pic above yesterday morning on an early walk.

Life took me to Sydney for the weekend for a conference on the theme of hospitality and faith. We celebrated Mass together on Saturday evening which left me free on Sunday morning to join the early morning Sabbath cafe crowds. It was while walking to coffee that this church spire appeared through the fog.

As I strolled I was thinking about St Joseph since March 19 is usually his feast day – but this year the Sunday bumped the liturgical celebration of Joseph to today.

Joseph was a mostly hidden-figure appearing in the scriptures only for a brief time from the conception of Jesus to his birth, then briefly a few years later in the search for his 12-year old son.

Now to my link between Joseph and the foggy spire.

I googled “church spires” and was interested in the search-result. One page commented that the purpose of spires was “to increase the apparent height of buildings to perhaps assuage the vanity of building developers and architects.”  The second search result suggested that a spire was “a symbol of the heavenly aspirations of pious medieval men”.

Most of us might speak of a spire in a positive way, perhaps a sign, an arrow that emerges in our often fogged-up vision and points us beyond daily preoccupations to the divine.

That’s what happened for me on Saturday afternoon at the conference hearing Dan and Rachel speak about their experience of God nudging them to open their home, already happy with two of their birth-children, to foster other children as their own.

Those of us privileged to hear their reflection were moved as they spoke of giving their “yes” to the adoption agency’s request when they had no idea what doors their yes would open.

The fact that their first adoption was of a blind and deaf young boy highlighted the adventure and (as they reflected) deepened their rewards.

Certainly when they gave their yes Rachel & Dan never imagined that as they spoke with us on Saturday their ten-year old son now with sight and hearing would be happily playing with the other children.

When I took today’s pic I wondered how I could get rid of those ugly power wires that slice across the spire. But then I realised that like the fog the power-lines carry their own message, perhaps of the ways that I allow earthly powers (thoughts, projects, preoccupations) to cut short my God-given and therefore healthy dreaming.

And remember, Joseph was a dreamer, awake to the divine not in distant heavens but in the depth of his own resting heart.

Which is why he was able to give the yes that launched him into an adventure as the protector of the vulnerable Christ-child.

Thanks be to God!

+++

FFF IN THE CAFE… Send your name and the name of a cafe or bar to john@fff.org.nz Scribble FFF on a table napkin, take a seat and wait.

DROP IN AT A GATHERING:

Monday 20 March 2023 (and every Monday)
10.00am at Moko (Kudos) in the Bush Inn Centre Christchurch (Directions) Trish

Thursday 23 March 2023
10.30am at Le Chat Noir, Greeton 144 Chadwick Rd, Tauranga. (Directions) Frances

Wednesday 29 March 2023
10.30am at Cafe 28, 28 Cornwall St, Lower Hutt, (Directions) Catherine

Tuesday 11 April 2023 (and second Tuesday of every month)
10.30am at Zenders 44 Hopkins Road, Newstead, Hamilton (Directions). Christina

 

7 Comments

  1. I like the idea of an image taken in the past 24 hrs!
    Your phone would have an image editor. The powerlines should be edited out imo. There could be many other features to illustrate how earthly powers cut short God given dreaming.
    It can be very hard to have hopeful dreams.

    Reply
  2. Good morning John,
    The direct connection with your google search of spires to Saint Joseph is found on page 13 of Don Calloway’s book Consecration to St. Joseph. This page is also Day 1 of the 33 day Consecration to St Joseph which can start today March 30 and conclude on May 1, the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker. St. Joseph is “The Increaser”.
    Kind Regards Bob

    Reply
  3. Was it Keats who said Faith is the upward pointing spire o’re life’s great temple springing! That quote often comes to me when looking up at church spires! Love your pic!

    Reply
  4. Your other sourced pics include stunning art work of the Annunciation, and colourful and very full fishing net. I still want to see those pics again.

    Reply
    • At first glance, I thought it wasn’t a nice picture. However, your reflections made a lot of sense. Thank you.

      Reply
  5. A spired medieval church might perhaps be vulnerable to lightning strike. Did spires have anything to do with protection of nearby persons and buildings from lightning strike?

    Reply
    • I imagine a cross leaning a bit to the side that the horizontal reaches out in love.

      Reply

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