Happy Easter and Chag Pesach Sameach

Happy Easter and Chag Pesach Sameach to everyone. May your day be filled with peace, hope and love. Wherever you are, have a smile on your face, a twinkle in your eye and a friend to share it with.

With all the trouble in various parts of the world today, this is a good time to reflect on what is important. Too often, there are people who think only of themselves and try to force their views on others, be it religious or otherwise. Instead of creating misery caused by hatred, if we can all live together and show respect for those who are different, those who have different beliefs, those who speak a different language, this world of ours would be a better place in which to live.
It is not what we say or what we think, it is what we do that defines us.

I am the Resurrection and the Life

Today's quote: God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~ Saint Augustine.

The Spires

 

Above: The spires of St. Patrick's Cathedral

St Patrick’s is one of the worlds most elegant and inspiring neo-gothic Cathedrals. This bluestone/sandstone gothic revival cathedral was designed by William Wardell. It was built in stages from 1858 to 1940, when the spires were added. Saint Pat's as it is fondly called, was accorded the title "Minor Basilica" in 1973 and is on the corner of Gisborne Street and Cathedral Place, East Melbourne.


Today's quote: I never weary of great churches. It is my favorite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral ~ Robert Louis Stevenson.

Easter Sunday

May this Easter bring you happiness, joy and love, and may you find new meaning in the world around you.

Above: The Resurrection
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.
Alleluia.

Above: Antique Easter cards

The History of the Easter Card
We send cards for different celebrations, but do you know when the first Easter card appeared? The tradition began in the 19th century. In 1898, the first Easter cards were postcards - mail requirements for postcards stated one side was for an address and the other side was for a greeting which left little space for a long message. Mail requirements eventually changed to the familiar postcard design we see today.
Rabbits, lambs, flowers and bunnies were some of the first images to appear on Easter cards. Today, these postcards are now larger and folded in half with a picture appearing on the front and a greeting on the inside with room for the sender to write a message.

Above: The Easter egg
The egg is a symbol of the start of new life, just as new life emerges from an egg when the chicken hatches out. And so we give an "Easter" egg at Easter. The Easter eggs of old which were hard-boiled eggs painted with coloured paints and decorated have now been replaced with chocolate eggs.










Today's quote: The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances ~ Robert Flatt

Mingary - the quiet place

Mingary ~ A peaceful sanctuary for people of all cultures and religions. Mingary is a Gaelic word meaning 'the quiet place'

Here, rocks, water and light have been brought together in harmony. These elements are the ancient and contemporary symbols of life, strength and spiritual elevation.

Mingary has been developed as a place for quiet reflection and offers an escape from the hectic demands of city life. It is a place for solitary contemplation. Mingary is dedicated to healing, restoration, inspiration, vision and empowerment.

The feature light which is 2 metres across and wall lights were designed by Stephen Hennessy Art & Design and made in 1999.

Water
On entering the gates, you will see a rough-hewn rock. Water falls down it from above reminding us of the gift of life coming to us, unsought. At the base, are numerouse small stones representing us as individuals.

Mingary
The lighting is subtle and unobtrusive, providing a relaxing glow in the room. The small candle lights define the edges of the space, and the large feature light, situated directly above the sculpture, illuminates the scultpure without drawing too much attention within the room.

Bowl of Welcome
As you enter the sanctuary, you see the Bowl of Welcome - it is set on two stones. One, a fragment of green marble from the island of Iona, the other, a gift from the Aboriginal Mia Mia tribe who it is believed once lived on this sacred site.

Water flows down the table-rock and into the Bowl of Quietness and Peace.

Seating
Plain chairs are placed around the room close to the walls.

Enter in silence ~ leave in silence.

Garden
Part of the garden around Mingary. Mingary is part of St. Michael's Uniting Church 120 Collins Street, and you enter from Russell Street.

I found this place quite by accident on one of my city walks. The place was empty when I arrived, thus I was able to take photos. Other people came and sat down. It was a very peaceful experience and it's really wonderful that Melbourne has such a place to offer for those just wanting some time out from their busy lives.


About the artist

 

The sculpture was created by the Japanese artist, Akira Takizawa and called in Japanese, Seinaru-ishi - sacred rock. It is composed of three large rocks, a surge of white marble, and the magnificent water bowl at the base. He was born in Japan and has been resident in Australia since 1978. He has responded to many commissions in Melbourne and Osaka, Japan and has participated in many solo and group exhibitions. (Photo from State Library of Victoria)


Today's Quote: If you reflect within yourself and find nothing to be ashamed of, how could you have anxiety or fear ~ Confucius

St. Francis' Church - Victoria's oldest Catholic Church

St. Francis' Church - West Window, Elizabeth Street

St Francis' Church, the oldest Catholic church in Victoria is located on the corner of Lonsdale Street and Elizabeth Street and is one of only three buildings in central Melbourne which predates the Gold Rush of 1851. The "mother church of Victoria", St Francis’ Church was commissioned by the Franciscan priest, Fr Patrick Bonaventure Geoghegan, and the foundation stone was laid on 4 October 1841, the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, to whom the church is dedicated. The first mass was celebrated in the completed nave of the church on 22 May 1842. The church was blessed and opened on 23 October 1845.


View south, Lonsdale Street

The building looming over the church is the Melbourne Central office building which is Melbourne's sixth tallest building, with 54 floors and standing 246m high.


St. Francis' 1845

In 1848 St. Francis became Melbourne's first Catholic Cathedral and was the Episcopal seat of Bishop James Alipius Goold O.S.A. and remained so until 1868, when the diocesan seat was moved to (the still unfinished) St Patrick's Cathedral.

Blessed Mary MacKillop (1842–1909) made her first communion at St Francis’ in 1850, the same year that Ned Kelly’s parents were married in the church. (Ned Kelly is Victoria's most (in)famous bushranger).
(Lithograph National Library Australia)


St.Francis' 1861

St Francis’ Church became a eucharistic shrine in 1929, when the Archdiocese of Melbourne entrusted its care to the Blessed Sacrament Congregation.

St. Francis' 1930

A religious community of priests and brothers (currently under the leadership of Fr Tom Knowles SSS) live in the monastery attached to St Francis’ Church. The St Francis’ community was the subject of the five-part television documentary Once Were Monks, which was broadcast on SBS Television in April 2000.

Today, St Francis is the busiest church in Australia, with forty-three masses and over 10,000 visiting worshippers each week.

St. Francis is listed with the Victorian Heritage Register, the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and the Australian Heritage Commission. Although there have been many changes made to the building, including the erection of a new tower to house the original 1853 bell imported from Dublin, the church remains essentially as it was designed by Samuel Jackson.

Today's Quote: Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words - St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral

St. Pauls Cathedral was opened in 1852 and concecrated in 1891, but work didn't begin on the spires until 1926. One of Melbourne's icons, it stands at the corner of Flinders Street and Swanston Street in the heart of the city.

St. Ignatius RC Church

St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church was designed by architect, William W. Wardell. Built 1867 and 1894, the spire was added 1927-8 by architect, Gerald W. Vanheems.