You know how I love these sky-reaching southern bridges! This one leads into the central city of Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
From the pinnacle of the bridge, a vista of Jacksonville skyline is revealed.
At last, stopped at a stoplight, I was able to snap a photo of yet another young-person-next-to-road with a sign. This Statue of Liberty wants motorists to stop in and get some cash!
After a 3-week hunt, I found my new Sea Bird, a beautiful carved-wood looking Pelican! He was my first choice after finding many roosters, hens, ducks, and parrots - a genuine Sea Bird. About 12 inches tall, he will be a suitable addition to my flock at home. Other finds today included a small glass fish, and two rustic shell sconces.
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| The newest member of my Bird Family at home, Mr. Pelican. |
Immaculate Conception church is much smaller and much grander than I had imagined. I arrived with approximately 30 seconds to spare in time for 12:10 p.m. Mass. The celebrant told the sizeable congregation (for a weekday Mass) about how he had attended this church for a year before he became a priest. At that time he noticed that some of the people in church seemed to be very wealthy, healthy and well-dressed, while others were unkempt, unwashed, and some even mentally unstable. He resented the ones who disrupted others, himself included. He now feels that Jesus welcomed each and every person into his church. There is a large Spanish presence in this community.
The Basilica of Immaculate Conception, Jacksonville, Florida, 2/20/14.
The Central Altar: window to the left shows Jesus instituting the Holy Eucharist. In the center we see Jesus' Crucifixion and Death. At the right, Jesus is Feeding the Multitude.
These two windows together show Jesus' Presentation in the Temple as a baby, to comply with the Jewish laws. We need to remember that when the stained glass art form was started, in the 7th century, most of the people could not read nor write. The windows told the story of Jesus' Life, Death, and Resurrection. This church not only tells Jesus' life story, it presents several scenes from the Old Testament of the Bible, 1) the Gathering of Manna by the Jewish people during their 40 years in the desert, and 2) the Sacrifice of Melchisadeck. I have never seen Old Testament windows in a Catholic church.
Jesus raises Lazurus from the Dead! What a moment! Don't you wish you had been there! To hear, "Lazarus, come out!" would have been spectacular! And even more wonderful would have been seeing Lazarus alive again!
In addition to the magnificent stained glass windows, Immaculate Conception Church has very life-like, carved Stations of the Cross. This is the Tenth Station (out of 14): Jesus is Stripped of his Garments by the soldiers.
What a glorious old worship space Immaculate Conception Church is! It even still had small brass nameplates on the pews (benches). Some years ago, each family had a particular place they would gather every Sunday; this was marked on the pews. In my memory, this has not been done. There are many, more than would be expected, statues, of all sizes, all beautiful.
On both sides of the main aisle, in the back of the church, there are twin angels holding holy water, with which the congregation may bless themselves (perform the Sign of the Cross) as they enter the church. The white-veiled person sitting in the last pew is a Catholic nun.
Going the opposite direction back to Patty & Raj's condo via the John T. Alsop, Jr. Bridge. No matter where we have gone in the city, we somehow have a part of the trip on I-95!
PARTY TIME!
Mallory and Patty are nearly ready for the party!
Raj cooked a mutton dish (Biryani), especially tasty okra (Bhindi), and rice, while Patty made Parathas (like tortillas) and a chocolate cake, and I made devilled eggs. After the guests arrived, Raj made us Sunrise Margaritas.
Gentlemen guests with Raj from India and Morocco were K.G., Ragu, and Othmane. (Son, Johnny is at far left.)
The ladies are (left) Lina, Ghizlaine, Mallory and Jan.
We laughed and ate all night!
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