Since, upon arrival at church today, I discovered that our Sermon was
Part 2 of a exegesis on themes from the movie “ Les Misérables” , and thus a bit complicated for a short reflection here, I thought I would backtrack to my walk with Wil, earlier this morning.
Part 2 of a exegesis on themes from the movie “ Les Misérables” , and thus a bit complicated for a short reflection here, I thought I would backtrack to my walk with Wil, earlier this morning.
When the weather is decent (and it was gorgeous this morning), I take a route east along NDG Avenue to Décarie and then loop around back along rue Côte St. Antoine. This takes about ½ an hour at a brisk pace.
If I time my Sunday walk properly, I get to hear the bells of the Paroisse Notre Dame de Grâce (hence the NDG) and their tolling forms a backdrop to my intercessions.
I LOVE Church bells. In an age where we are constantly bombarded by electronic noises and our days are punctuated by automated beeps, buzzes and alarms, the age-old sound of an actual person tolling a real bell made of solid brass is, well, REAL.
Real people tolling real bells have called people to worship for 2000 years.The sound is so beautiful and powerful. I remember my mother, who grew up in Montreal in the 1930’s and 40’s, saying that this was a city of bells. So many Roman Catholic Churches, in an era when the dominance of that church was felt throughout Quebec.I am not suggesting that sort of dominance was good by any means, but the bells, surely their messages is good and pure. It is a blessing that they have not been silenced in a post-Christian era when the Provinicial Government’s newly proposed “Charter of Values” seeks to swing the pendulum quite the other way and create a totally secular society (as if that were ever, truly, possible).
So I give thanks for the bells; for their lovely and insistent call to worship. It does not matter if those who listen are on their way to Mass, or on their way to a totally different House of God, or on their way grocery shopping. The bells are calling us, we can respond or not, but the message to still out there, a powerful reminder of Sabbath.
“Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock…”
Thanks for that Valerie 🙂 I love that REAL sound of church bells too!