cathedral
San Antonio: The Little Venice Of Texas
San Antonio, Texas was a complete surprise for me. I expected a typical busy city atmosphere, and instead found myself in an unusual and interesting environment. Yes, there were elements of the big city but they were tempered by other features which made San Antonio a really pleasant place to be.
Imagine a big city which is hosting 70,000 extra people for about 5-7 days. Chaos right? Wrong. This city had prepared for our event and everything was geared up to handle the inundation of humanity. Restaurants were well stocked and had plenty of staff on hand to deal with hungry mouths looking for some good Tex-Mex food and some of that great Texan barbecue.
The police were really well organized and extremely gracious to the thousands of visitors. Everything that I heard from my fellow convention attendees was positive. Accommodations were good and everyone said they were treated well. The hundreds of local volunteers who greeted people at the airport, outside hotels, and on streets corners were full of smiles, joy, laughter and lots of helpful information.
We were in the heart of the city with just a seven to eight minute walk separating our condo from the Henry B. Gonzalez convention center and the fifty thousand capacity Alamodome. But what a walk! This area of San Antonio is known as RiverWalk and is absolutely beautiful. A whole system of canals intertwine through the neighborhood. Small river boats seating about 25 people are piloted through these waterways as informative guides point out places of interest and speak about the history of San Antonio.
Along each side of the canals were cobblestone walkways and shade trees. These walkways were flanked by restaurants and shops and were criss-crossed by pretty arching bridges. It really made me think of a smaller scale Venice. And because the architecture of this area is so varied and interesting I almost felt as though I was in Europe:-).
San Antonio is the site of the Alamo. This is a famous historical monument which stands as a testament to the bravery and courage of the people who fought for Texas liberty. In 1836 the Texian and Tejano volunteers, alongside famous characters such as Jim Bowie, the well-known knife fighter, and Davie Crockett, famed frontiersman and former Congressman from Tennessee, fought against General Santa Anna’s Mexican army. They withstood the onslaught for just over thirteen days before they were overpowered.
On Sunday, before leaving San Antonio, we attended Mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. This church was built by German immigrants and is very representative of a miniature European cathedral. It is very beautiful both inside and outside and a wonderful place to come and worship God. I think that about seventy five percent of the congregation was made up of our convention attendees, and the priest made a point of making us feel very welcome.
Because we were involved in a four-day convention, we did not have enough time to do this city justice. I know that San Antonio boasts the 750-foot tall Tower of the Americas, is also home to a SeaWorld, the Six Flags Fiesta, a fine zoo, and the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. I certainly would be happy to make a second visit to San Antonio and would highly recommend it as a vacation destination. 
Musings: Overlapping Religions
I had a physical therapy (PT) appointment today. My left knee has been bothering me and, after an MRI, it was decided to go the PT route. All part of the general “aging” process despite the fact that I feel like a thirty-year old inside. (At least I don’t say “like a teenager” any more!!)
Anyway, I was lying on the PT table having my knee iced down before receiving some kind of “electronic” treatment (the proper name just simply will not come out of the “senior ether” for the moment), when I became aware of the TV making background noise. I watch very little TV and so I didn’t really pay it much attention, choosing rather to close my eyes and focus on relaxing.
However, I heard the sounds of Spanish guitar music being played and, because I am passionate about Flamenco, I opened my eyes to see what it was about. I forget the guy’s name, but he does a travel program on PBS and will occasionally tug at my heart strings when I catch him doing a segment on Italy. But today he was in Spain and in that moment was talking about Flamenco dancing and the music was in the background.
After a few shots of various dancers performing he went on to talk about the various architectural influences in Spain and I mentally sat up. He was referring to the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors and how they had radically changed Spanish architecture and the internal and external decorations of buildings.
As I lay there I thought about the scrap of paper that sat in my “inspiration bin” at home. On that scrap of paper is a note to remind myself to write a blog about the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine, Florida. Under that heading are the words “Catholicism-Islam”, and just a few days ago on the internet I had read an abbreviated history of the Moors in Spain. It was time to write the piece.
Twice in the last few weeks Richard and I have ridden our Harley to St. Augustine in Florida. We enjoy the ride and we combine it with going to Mass in the Cathedral-Basilica. I have been inside that building many times, sometimes for Mass and sometimes showing it to friends or family who are visiting.
Just last Sunday we chose to make our run there and, as we arrived a little early, we had time to just sit prayerfully before Mass started. I took some time to look around and appreciate the typical Spanish construction and the beautiful artwork and decor. As I said before, I have visited the Cathedral and looked around before, but I guess I had a new pair of eyes with me this time.
For one I noticed, I mean really noticed, a small side chapel about halfway up the length of the Cathedral. It is done in exquisite shades of green with some lovely ceramic tile work. There was a statue on the small altar which I did not readily recognize as a known saint.
I leaned over to my husband and whispered, “Was that chapel there before?” He replied in the affirmative and went on to tell me it was dedicated to St. Augustine. I was quite taken aback that I had never noticed it before or realized that it was the patron saint of the town in there! (I was also pretty flabbergasted that my husband knew something about the Cathedral that I didn’t!!)
I continued to peruse the rest of the Cathedral and it suddenly came to me, even though, as I said before, I had visited here on numerous occasions, that this Cathedral was full of Islamic nuances. Starting with the vivid red vaulted ceiling and then taking in the intricately painted or inlaid gold decor on all the beams supporting the ceiling, it was indeed very “Moorish”.
For a moment I pictured dark, olive-skinned men with thin, black, face-framing beards. I could see them sitting on piles of rich red and gold silk cushions piled haphazardly under a multi-roofed tent and surrounded by soft hanging red drapes held back by gold tasseled cords. And undulating all around them I could see beautiful women dressed in diaphanous veils and marvelous jingling gold jewelry.
Guiltily I came back into the present moment and looked around wondering what the people around me would think if they could see my daydreaming. I wondered if any of the regular parishioners ever thought how strange it was that they came to celebrate the Roman Catholic Mass in such “Islamic” surroundings. And I said a prayer to God that maybe truly this world could come together in peace.
Musings: Overlapping Religions
I had a physical therapy (PT) appointment today. My left knee has been bothering me and, after an MRI, it was decided to go the PT route. All part of the general “aging” process despite the fact that I feel like a thirty-year old inside. (At least I don’t say “like a teenager” any more!!)
Anyway, I was lying on the PT table having my knee iced down before receiving some kind of “electronic” treatment (the proper name just simply will not come out of the “senior ether” for the moment), when I became aware of the TV making background noise. I watch very little TV and so I didn’t really pay it much attention, choosing rather to close my eyes and focus on relaxing.
However, I became aware of some Spanish guitar music being played and, because I am passionate about Flamenco, I opened my eyes to see what it was about. I forget the guy’s name, but he does a travel program on PBS and will occasionally tug at my heart strings when I catch him doing a segment on Italy. But today he was in Spain and in that moment was talking about Flamenco dancing and the music was in the background.
After a few shots of various dancers performing he went on to talk about the various architectural influences in Spain and I mentally sat up. He was referring to the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors and how they had radically changed Spanish architecture and the internal and external decorations of buildings.
As I lay there I thought about the scrap of paper that sat in my “inspiration bin” at home. On that scrap of paper is a note to remind myself to write a blog about the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine, Florida. And under that heading are the words “Catholicism-Islam”.
Twice in the last few weeks Richard and I have ridden our Harley to St. Augustine in Florida. We enjoy the ride and we combine it with going to Mass in the Cathedral-Basilica. I have been inside that building many times, sometimes for Mass and sometimes showing it to friends or family who are visiting.
Just last Sunday we chose to make our run there and, as we arrived a little early, we had time to just sit prayerfully before Mass started. I took some time to look around and appreciate the typical Spanish construction and the beautiful artwork and decor. As I said before, I have visited the Cathedral and looked around before, but I guess I had a new pair of eyes with me this time.
For one I noticed, I mean really noticed, a small side chapel about halfway up the length of the Cathedral. It is done in exquisite shades of green with some lovely ceramic tile work. There was a statue on the small altar which I did not readily recognize as a known saint.
I leaned over to my husband and whispered, “Was that chapel there before?” He replied in the affirmative and went on to tell me it was dedicated to St. Augustine. I was quite taken aback that I had never noticed it before or realized that it was the patron saint of the town in there!
I continued to peruse the rest of the Cathedral and it suddenly came to me, even though, as I said before, I had visited here on numerous occasions, that this Cathedral was full of Islamic nuances. Starting with the vivid red vaulted ceiling and then taking in the intricately painted or inlaid gold decor on all the beams supporting the ceiling, it was indeed very “Moorish”.
For a moment I pictured dark, olive-skinned men with thin, black, face-framing beards. I could see them sitting on piles of rich red and gold silk cushions piled haphazardly under a multi-roofed tent surrounded by soft hanging red drapes held back by gold tasseled cords. And undulating all around them I could see beautiful women dressed in diaphanous veils and marvelous jingling gold jewelry.
Guiltily I came back into the present moment and looked around wondering what the people around me would think if they could see my daydreaming. I wondered if any of the regular parishioners ever thought how strange it was that they came to celebrate the Roman Catholic Mass in such “Islamic” surroundings. And I said a prayer to God that maybe truly this world could come together in peace.