Feast of the Assumption and the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

          This week we celebrate the holy day of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother.

          A year ago I began volunteering once a month as a greeter at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, the mother church of our diocese. It is a magnificent Gothic church with incredible stained glass windows and mosaic stations of the cross. Just entering the church one is overwhelmed by the sheer light and beauty at every turn.

          My greatest joy is introducing the many visitors to its treasures. I am not a docent and do not give tours, but get to tell the guests about some of my favorite features.

           Friends of mine are surprised at the number of visitors who come from cities all over the United States. Some are here visiting friends and family and add the cathedral to their agenda. Others are in groups who include the cathedral as a “must see” on their itinerary. Most of us who’ve lived here for many years are so used to the cathedral that we underestimate its beauty and place in the history and culture of our area.

          Having been to Notre Dame in Paris I can attest to our basilica’s resemblance to that huge church. I have always told visitors that I found Notre Dame to be darker and less inviting than our own cathedral. Perhaps being half the size gives it an intimacy that Notre Dame doesn’t have or the light catches our windows better for some reason. Regardless, I am proud to show off this beautiful tribute to our Blessed Mother.

          If you have the chance to visit the cathedral again it is well worth the trip—the paintings by Duveneck, the wood work in the sanctuary, the baldachino, the organs, the stained glass windows, the Stations of the Cross; everything adds to the spiritual experience. Celebrate our Blessed Mother in the quiet splendor that is our basilica of the Assumption.

       Sr. Nancy Kordenbrock, OSB

The Mystery Of The Holy Eucharist As Depicted In The Murals in Our Cathedral

    During this third week of Easter we have been reading from the Gospel of John 3: 25-71 on the “Discourse on the Bread of Life”.  These Scriptures brought back to me the details of an event I was privileged to participate in recently, “An Interpretation of the Frank Duveneck’s Triptych in the Cathedral Chapel.”

     On April 6, 2019 Rev. Msgr. William Cleves, who had been invited by the Northern Kentucky Heritage League, gave his Interpretation of the Duveneck Murals.  There were some fifty folks gathered in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption to hear Fr. Cleves’ presentation. As this year is the 100^th anniversary of Frank Duveneck’s death it was a great way to recognize him and his work. 

      Frank Duveneck (1848-1919) a local artist who lived not far from St. Joseph Church, 12^th and Greenup Streets, at 1232 Greenup St., spent much of his early years observing and assisting the artists of the Benedictine-operated Covington Altar Building Stock Company.   After much training and experience here and also in Munich, Germany and Florence, Italy, he was commissioned in 1905 by Bishop Camillus P. Maes, to create a set of Murals for the 36.6 ft. high wall of the Cathedral’s Blessed Sacrament Chapel.  The bishop wanted a depiction of the historic lineage of the holy Eucharist from the Old Testament to the present day.  It took Frank five years to complete the work, moving the canvases with him to wherever he was working, especially at the Cincinnati Art Academy.  The Triptych was hung and dedicated in 1909.

     Fr. Cleves pointed out that we will see that Duveneck really studied and knew his material very well in order to produce such a gem. After many hours meditating with these murals while he was rector at the Cathedral, Fr. Cleves shared the theological and spiritual significance that he has gleaned.

     “We read the triptych from right to left, in the style of biblical Hebrew manuscripts. We want to see what it says to us now.  There is no past of future time, only the present.  Events were timeless. They entered the event. We step into it and out again.

The Right scene:  We see Arron’s hand is on the altar.  (The altar and pillars are the Cathedral’s altar and pillars.) The cup of blessing and the show bread are near the other hand.  As we read Exodus 28: 1-40, we see that Duveneck painted all of the details, as described in the text, that Arron and all priests are to wear.

 The Middle Panel:  Bottom:  The woman kneels below the cross in pain and is surrounded by symbols of death, even the city is in the dark.  She looks up seeing only the suffering Christ.  The view from below is not what is seen from above.   God sees differently.  God is supporting Jesus in his suffering.  She sees only partially.

Top:  The Trinity is involved.  Angels span all time – unity the whole triptych.  The Central event is the Paschal Mystery:  the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  All is foreshadowed in the Old Testament.  Jesus is the Bread of Life, and his Blood is our Drink. 

Left Panel:  Now we experience this mystery in this Cathedral.  (Note the altar and pillars are what you see around you here.)  These events are timeless.  We enter them - that they might become flesh.  (The deacon’s apparel is modeled after Arron’s dress connecting the old with the new.  The priests are from religious orders of the Church.  Even one of the stained glass windows is painted above on the wall of this panel.)

      All this takes place under the watchful eye of God and the Angels.  Genisis 22: “God sees to it.”    God Provides=God’s Providence.  It takes the eyes of faith to see beyond. We have outward signs of His presence, especially the Eucharist that continues in this very Church. There is no time when we cannot see the presence of God among us – to be revealed by the eyes of faith.” 

     Fr. Cleves closed by quoting Duveneck, “What Good can come from Galilee, that place of shame?  We have seen.”  With the strength of God he created this beautiful sacred art.  It can reveal the depth of God’s love and care of us.

    What a treasure we have in our midst to help us appreciate the Mystery of the Eucharist over the course of history!  Thanks to the vision of Bishop Maes, the artistic ability of Frank Duveneck and the shared interpretation of Msgr. William Cleves.

       Sr. Mary Tewes, OSB

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

       On a practical note, this is the big feast of Mary on which many young women, especially, entered religious life.  So, many sisters remember celebrating this feast with joy, and then got ready to go off to their teaching assignments or to College classes.  I happened to attend my cousin’s making her first profession in another order on this feast and then I entered one week after the others in my postulant class.

       Now some 60 years later the feast carries a new meaning, as I serve as greeter at our Cathedral twice a month, The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, in Covington, KY. I call it the Jewell of Greater Cincinnati, because of its magnificent architecture and beauty.  On a typical day there will be visitors from all over the world, some as individuals and some on Tour busses in groups, hoping for a docent to show them the high-lights.The 86 stained glass windows cannot be missed, along with the largest one that is claimed to be the largest of a religious theme in the world, (67x24 feet) depicting the Council of Ephesus in 432, affirming that Mary is “The Mother of God.” The Gothic arches, the mosaic Stations of the Cross, and the three pipe organs are other specialties. Among the art treasures are two murals by a local artist from Covington, Frank Duveneck (1910)  Now of international renown, his works are on permanent exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

      

       On this particular feast, I would point out the ascending Madonna at the tip of the baldacchino in the sanctuary. (See right)  She was the one who announces in the Magnificat, “All generations will call be blessed, for he who is mighty has done great things for me.” ( Lk 1:48-49)  And I would take the group to the front of the Cathedral to see the sculptures by a local craftsman, Clement Barnhorn, who did the relief of the Assumption of Mary into heaven accompanied by the Angels, above the main doors, as well as the central statue he called “The Alma Mater” with child.  They are outstanding works of art.

      

       Let us all give praise and thanks to God for the Gift of Mary and for her being gifted with eternal life with God a prefiguring of our future glory, in the words of the Preface of today’s Mass:

“For today the Virgin Mother of God was assumed into heaven as the beginning and image of your Church’s coming to perfection and a sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim peoples; rightly you would not allow her to see the corruption of the tomb since from her own body she marvelously brought forth your incarnate Son, the Author of all life.  And so, in company with the choirs of Angels, we praise you, and with joy we proclaim:  Holy, Holy, Holy..”

       Sr. Mary Tewes, OSB

Editor's Note: For a great picture of the baldacchino where you can see a close up of the ascending Madonna go to https://www.flickr.com/photos/60124357@N06/8267200076/in/photolist-dArMB4-9AC8cL-dAz15z-dAxyym-dArNZH-dAzuHK-dAEJkq-dAyWbP-aAAaor-dAxgBy-dAF8fA-7itpnk-9Js1jz-doZgxS-dAzh6Z-aACTSd-dAzz6H-dAxgY1-8cmr4X-dAxdeq-8cpLVN-dAzBcr-75VtGf-7ixjk1-dAEtqU-dAEPny-7hwp9v-9AzdB8-7hkrGs-aAA2JK-dAF4W1-aAAaP6-dAF5jS-7ikpHL-dAyWoD-dAziic-dAzo8r-dAzBFe-9yZ4Cm-dAzyB2-9AC7Mb-dAEYsy-5P1wnm-7hgviv-dAvtp2-eMHPLs-dArEgM-dAzxYn-dAxdAG-dAEVDE/

Vigil of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

        This year I extended my ministry of hospitality to being a greeter at our Diocesan Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, in Covington, KY.  It is truly a jewel of the Greater Cincinnati area.  I look forward to my 3 hours there twice a month, welcoming visitors from all over the world to view, pray and experience this most holy temple of the Lord.  I learn something new every time:  from the visitors, from the history, from the docents, from the art work.  The position of the greeter’s desk is directly under the stained glass presentation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, proclaimed as an article of our faith in 1854 by Pope Pius IX. 

The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception
in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption,
Covington, Kentucky, Scanned from the book
Stories in Glass.

        In the bottom half of this window we see the priests, religious and cardinals witnessing this event:  On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX issued an apostolic constitution called  Ineffabilis Deus (The Ineffable God).  In it he said: “We declare, pronounce, and define thus: the teaching that holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first moments of her conception, had been, by the singular privilege and grace of almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from every stain of the original fault, has been revealed by God and is therefore to be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful.”

        In the 4 panels above we see four different aspects of the Church’s teaching. In the far left panel an angel holds aloft an open book which proclaims in Latin: (The original sin is not in you.) In the next stands Mary, resplendent in the glory given her by God. Next, Sts. Peter and Paul kneel in acknowledgement of this truth, testifying to its ancient roots  And in the far right panel St. Michael the archangel holds a sword, ready to strike at the devil. The devil himself lies prostrate and helpless, holding an open book: (Gen. 3:15: She will crush your head…) Even evil itself testifies to God’s power and majesty.

        Above these panels are two scenes.  On the left are Adam and Eve in the very act of disobedience. On the right stands Isaiah the prophet, proclaiming “Behold, a virgin will conceive…).  These two scenes suggest that God’s providence had already taken human hardness of heart into account, and promises new life.

        At the very top of the window the Blesses Mother holds her infant Son, surrounded by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  She wears a crown on her head:  her eyes look down, a sign of her humility, while He look at us, arms open, inviting us to embrace this mystery.  Years later, this child will stretch out His arms on another tree of life, the cross. 

        May you have the opportunity to view the story told in this window and appreciate more the mystery of God’s saving work in human history.  Each of the other 35 Stories in Glass are worth meditating on as well.

(My source for understanding the images was the book, Stories in Glass, by Msgr.  William F. Cleves, former rector of the Cathedral Parish, where he describes the stories told in 36 of the 82 stained glass window in the Cathedral.)

Sr. Mary Tewes, OSB