The photos on this blog--as of this moment--were taken during my pilgrimage from Santiago di Compostella in Spain, through France, to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland in 2006, visiting cathedrals built by the Knights Templar. I brought along a brand-new digital camera. It had a powerful zoom function that I didn't realize was very sensitive to movement. Hence, the blurred image of the saint in a stained glass window that has a more mystical fascination than if it were perfectly focused.
The golden banner photo is part of the intricately carved ceiling at Roslyn Chapel. The ceiling is actually gray in color. However, an incandescent light was projected onto it and the flash on my camera didn't go off. Thus, the image picks up the glow of lightbulbs, which lend a sepia tint. Again, a much better, more lyrical photo than if I had captured the stone in its natural hue.
When I remember my time in Rosslyn Chapel, my most vivid memory is of the moment when the group I was with gathered in a small room above a vault where it is suspected the treasures sought in
The Da Vinci Code are hidden. We formed a circle to pray. A young woman we didn't know asked to join us and together we prayed for peace in the words of all the world's major religions. It was a very moving moment. When we were done, the young woman was in tears and expressed her gratitude at being allowed to join us. She said she had lived in Roslyn for years and had never visited the chapel until today, when she felt compelled to come. We felt blessed by her presence and by the moment of special communion.
The cathedrals on this pilgrimage are hundreds of years old. They stand as soaring testaments to faith and belief in a mystery we know in our bones, our hearts, our souls. The stones of these amazing edifices remember us, I am sure. Collectively, they hold all our hopes and prayers in a sacred place where each generation picks up the last line of the song and sings its praises to God. I hope you can visit these beautiful places some day. I hope I can return, soon.
