Tour of the CathedralMy mother was home Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I called her on Wednesday because I really needed to walk. With the weather in the 20s and snow and ice on the ground, I can't really walk around the block. I usually walk the mall. When I asked my mom if she would take me to the mall, she told me 'no'. I then told her I didn't care where I walked, as long as I could walk.
She picked me up at 10:30 and said, "Let's tour the new cathedral."
The cathedral is across the street from where I live. It recently reopened after a few years of renovation. There were many protests against the renovation. Although she has not darkened the inside of a church in a few years, my mother closely followed the saga of the renovation, especially the protesters.
My mother dropped me off at the new church entrance. I waited for her to park the car and we went inside. The new entrance is in the back of the church. A secretary warmly welcomed us, telling us we were in the narthax.
My mom waddled through the narthax, looking at the new room put in for child care during Mass, as well as peeking inside the cathedral bookstore. I opened the door to the cathedral and we walked inside.
I think the renovated cathedral looks nice. It's lighter and seems warmer. My mother kept pointing at the angels lining the ceiling and saying, "Look at the little angels!"
We then went up to the new baptismal font in the back of the church. My mom dunked her hand in the water and splashed it around. At least she didn't throw a coin in.
The old confessionals along the wall are now alcoves with statues. One alcove had three bottles of liquid in it. "I wonder what that is?", my mother asked me.
"I don't know. We can ask the secretary." I told her.
We wandered up to a side chapel. The ceiling is painted with stars. My mom really liked that.
She then walked onto what used to be the main altar. She looked at the bishop's chair and the two chairs flanking it at either side.
"That's the bishop's chair," I told her.
"What's those two chairs?" she pointed, "For the midget bidgets?"
"Midget bigdets?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"
"You know, the midget bidgets...midget bishops." She annunciated the last part.
"Um, I think for priests?"
"No! For the midget bidgets!" she insisted.
We wandered back into the narthax. The secretary was gone on lunch, so my mother didn't get to ask about the bottles of water.
Last night, I told my father about our cathedral visit.
"I heard," he said. "Your mother asked me, 'What are those bottles?' It took me a few minutes to figure out that she was talking about the chrism oil. She said she didn't like the renovations because the cathedral is now too bare."
"Yeah, she told me that too."
He then said, "Her other big thing was about a 'midget bidget'. Do you know what she's talking about?"
