New York City-St Patrick's
New York · The Elixir
At the Epicenter of Memory
St. Patrick's Cathedral is a landmark on Fifth Avenue. For me, it is something more: a place where New York, family, grief, gratitude, and return all occupy the same ground.
Back at St. Pat's
I had not visited here since January 2013. Coming back was less about seeing the Cathedral again than noticing what the Cathedral now carried with it.
Field Note · A landmark under construction
Buildings endure by being repaired. Memory works much the same way. The scaffolding does not diminish the Cathedral; it makes visible the work required to preserve it.
The Cathedral Was Already Part of the Family
We made the trip to Manhattan for my mother's funeral at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. She did not want a big service, but we chose the largest decorated Gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the United States because we loved her so much.
For our family, this was not the first time St. Patrick's held that kind of weight. The last time the whole family gathered at the Cathedral was for my Dad's service. RIP Mom. And Dad.
The accumulation of birthdays is the leading cause of death in the USA. She lived 84 years, and she had a great run.
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What We Carry Back
A city changes. A cathedral is repaired. Families gather, scatter, and become memory. Then a return visit collapses the years and makes the old place present again.
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And in the hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.