Stained Glass: St. Patrick and St. Bridget – Steadfastness

With March 17th coming up, and many around me preparing to down green beers, and cook corned beef and cabbage, I thought I might post the window for Saint Patrick, as he appears in his stained glass portrait, at Grace Cathedral. His window is paired with that of St. Bridget — another iconic Irish saint — and the rosette window above their pair, is “Steadfastness.”

While reading a brief biography of St. Patrick a while back, I learned nothing about snakes. I did, however, learn quite a bit about the harrowing, early life of Patrick, and how all the relentless despair (after early years of privilege) caused him to look more thoughtfully at his priorities. I admire his devotion to prayer, often during weeks of imposed isolation and struggle. I know that it’s difficult to maintain focus while in pain, but Patrick did, and that makes his story, to me, quite remarkable.

St. Patrick - Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

St. Bridget - Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

Rosette Window: 'Steadfastness'

Stormy Sunset

Yesterday, San Francisco had some pretty wild weather — which culminated in dramatic, dark blue clouds on the western horizon, gilt in the smoldering embers of a golden sunset. Here are a couple of quick snapshots. It’s times like this when I’m happy to have my little camera nearby.

Storm Gilt in Sunset

Sunset on St. Ignatius Church

“I wandered lonely as a cloud…”

“I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

“Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

“The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

“For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,”
William Wordsworth, 1804

Stained Glass: St. Aidan and St. Polycarp

From Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

St. Aidan, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

St. Polycarp, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

Rosette Window: 'Meekness', Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

The Mark Hopkins at Sunset

While on a walking meditation on Grace Cathedral’s labyrinth a few weeks back, as I turned and looped and gently guided my mind to stillness, I kept seeing the warm face of the Mark Hopkins Hotel, framed by daffodils and the darkening winter sky. Its flag flapped festively overhead, while each window whispered with the potential of elegant intrigue.

Can one be mindful/prayerful/thoughtful, and still admire the elegant face of architecture, quickly disappearing with the set of the winter sun?

The Mark Hopkins at sunset, as seen from Grace Cathedral, Nob Hill, San Francisco

Stained Glass: The Arizona Biltmore

Been away for several days, and had occasion to stop by the Arizona Biltmore for a martini (or two). The stunning Frank Lloyd Wright building had a beautiful, glowing stained glass installation in the lobby.

In the lobby of the Arizona Biltmore, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed hotel