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Windows
of the Cathedral Center
of St. Paul
Let there be light...
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Hildegard of Bengen
Hildegard was born in 1098 in the lush Rhineland Valley. She was a
mystic, poet, composer, dramatist, doctor, and scientist. As her
parent’s tenth child she was tithed to the church and raised by the
anchoress Jutta in a cottage near the Benedictine monastery of
Disibodenberg. Drawn in by a life of silence and prayer with other
women, Hildegard was able to develop her intellectual gifts. From
childhood she experienced dazzling spiritual visions. At the age of
43 she was commanded to tell what she saw, so she wrote down her
visions, many of which included feminine imagery for God. Hildegard
became abbess of her convent in 1136. She carried out four preaching
missions in northern Europe, an unprecedented activity for a woman.
She practiced medicine, focusing on women’s needs, published
treatises on natural science and philosophy, and wrote a liturgical
drama, The Play of the Virtues. Hildegard became famous, eagerly
sought for counsel, and was a correspondent of kings, queens,
abbots, abbesses, archbishops and popes during her lifetime.
The Window
Hildegard is shown dressed in traditional Benedictine robe and
sandals and carrying a walking stick for the mission trips she
undertook. She holds a basket of herbs and fruit for the many
medicines she developed, particularly for women. The window below
depicts a shield with pen and music scroll representing her famous
liturgical compositions. The inscription, “These visions which I
saw,” attests to her spiritual writings. The background matches the
two adjacent windows and the windows in the balcony.
Donation
$8,000
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Click on the image to
enlarge for detail
For
information on sponsoring a window, please call the Bishop's Office
at 213.482.2040, ext.236 |
Los Angeles, City of
Angels
Inspired by the words of Psalm 91:
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the
shadow of the Almighty,
2 I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in
whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the
deadly pestilence;
4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will
find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies
by day,
6 Or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that
wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand;
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the
wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your
dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, no scourge comes near your tent.
11 For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all
your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash
your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know
my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
The Window
The window depicts the role angels can play in our lives, protecting
us from evil through the archangel Michael, guardian of the souls of
humankind and especially of children. Michael is slaying the dragon
and carrying a balancing weight where he weighs the souls of good
verses evil. Children walk innocently as angels guide their
footsteps. The predominant use of red signifies the angels who are
closer to God—the center image of the great light. This window has
been designed around the intersecting balcony so that it reads as
one continuous story line.
Donation
$42,000
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