Do you ever talk back to the TV? My husband tells me that this is an effective means of communication and that the football players and referees will alter their actions because he has told them what to do. He has told me this frequently through our married life and I am certain that he would not lie to me. I am hoping that blogging is a similarly effective form of communication because I went to mass this morning at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and this must be said.
This…..
….is a baptismal font.
You will see something similar to it in every Catholic Church every place on the planet. They come in many different sizes and shapes and depending on when the church was built it might be at the front of the church or at the door as you walk in. Even if it is big and looks like it might sort of be like a fountain, it is not. It is a baptismal font. You may dip your fingers in the water and bless yourself with it, if you would like. Even if you are not Catholic. Really. Everyone is welcome to bless themselves with the water. It is not, however, a wishing well. Please do not throw money into it.
Thank you. I feel better now.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Kelly // Jul 27, 2008 at 7:42 pm
This reminds me that I owe you a big thank you! I read your excellent post on the dedication of the Cathedral a few months back. It came to mind when my husband told me he would be attending a conference there.
Normally, he isn’t able to make it to Mass during conferences, because he isn’t allowed to rent a car, and there aren’t any churches close to the location. However, he saw that the Cathedral was very close to the convention center and his hotel, and attended Mass there this morning. He said it was extremely beautiful, and proof that one isn’t required to build ugly churches in this day and age.
2 Jeff Miller // Jul 27, 2008 at 9:06 pm
And considering the size of many please don’t decide to swim a few laps.
3 Sister Spitfire // Jul 28, 2008 at 8:13 am
Kelly, your husband was at Mass there yesterday? What a small world! I am so glad he got to see our Co-Cathedral, I wonder if I saw him there?
4 Sister Spitfire // Jul 28, 2008 at 8:17 am
LOL….Jeff….the architects of those churches with the huge baptismal fonts are just getting us ready for a wave of adult converts just like the ancient days. I was appalled when I travelled in Europe that signs were necessary in the tourist churches that these buildings were actually churches and many people present in the building were actually praying and requested that visitors act accordingly. Sigh….the signage that is required in our lives these days…
5 Erin // Jul 28, 2008 at 6:02 pm
They. . .actually . . . threw coins into it????
6 Sister Spitfire // Jul 28, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Erin, I did not witness someone actually throwing coins into the baptismal font but there were at least a dozen coins in the bottom. I assume that the people who take care of the Co-Cathedral remove them regularly so they have to be collecting at a semi-regular rate.
7 Kelly // Jul 29, 2008 at 5:51 am
I don’t know what to say. I guess the ridiculous apparent signs that I feel are unnecessary really are necessary.
8 Marie // Jul 29, 2008 at 7:19 pm
To be charitable, it could be that small children, having been given coins to put in the offeratory basket, tossed them in the baptismal font before their parents (who knew better) could stop them.
That’s the kind of thing that happens when you take small children to mass - they’re always coming up with something new for you to discuss with them on the way home : )
9 Sister Spitfire // Jul 29, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I hope you’re right Marie. You certainly get today’s gold star for charity. It just seems like there were too many coins for that to have been the case. Nevertheless, I will try meditating on your explanation in hopes of building up a little of that charity in me.
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