- Feb 5, 2002
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The soul and the spirit matter — and they matter to human rights for everyone, everywhere
When I turned up at Jakarta’s Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral 10 minutes before the start of Mass and could not get into the cathedral, I learned my lesson. Religion in Asia matters.
I struggled to find a seat in the overflow area. I grumbled. It was hot and crowded.
But as Holy Mass began, with angelic singing, my grumbling turned to gratitude, and my annoyance transformed to celebration.
My heart told me: “You are in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, in a Catholic cathedral opposite the Istiqlal mosque, Southeast Asia’s largest Islamic place of worship, and yet the cathedral is filled to overflowing and echoing with songs of praise. Even more amazing, the architect of the Istiqlal mosque was a Christian. Isn’t this a moment of awe and wonder?”
That was not the only moment of spiritual inspiration in recent weeks. This summer, I spent six consecutive Sundays in Asia.
From the Feast of Corpus Christi in a yurt in Mongolia, to a chance encounter with Myanmar’s Archbishop of Mandalay in Bangkok, from a Mass said in Thai by an Italian priest in Chiang Mai’s Sacred Heart Cathedral to a rainforest in Bali, I enjoyed the rich variety of God’s Creation — and celebrated the vitality of religion in all its diversity.
Continued below.
When I turned up at Jakarta’s Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral 10 minutes before the start of Mass and could not get into the cathedral, I learned my lesson. Religion in Asia matters.
I struggled to find a seat in the overflow area. I grumbled. It was hot and crowded.
But as Holy Mass began, with angelic singing, my grumbling turned to gratitude, and my annoyance transformed to celebration.
My heart told me: “You are in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, in a Catholic cathedral opposite the Istiqlal mosque, Southeast Asia’s largest Islamic place of worship, and yet the cathedral is filled to overflowing and echoing with songs of praise. Even more amazing, the architect of the Istiqlal mosque was a Christian. Isn’t this a moment of awe and wonder?”
That was not the only moment of spiritual inspiration in recent weeks. This summer, I spent six consecutive Sundays in Asia.
From the Feast of Corpus Christi in a yurt in Mongolia, to a chance encounter with Myanmar’s Archbishop of Mandalay in Bangkok, from a Mass said in Thai by an Italian priest in Chiang Mai’s Sacred Heart Cathedral to a rainforest in Bali, I enjoyed the rich variety of God’s Creation — and celebrated the vitality of religion in all its diversity.
Continued below.
Asia reminded me that life is about more than the carnal and secular - UCA News
The soul and the spirit matter — and they matter to human rights for everyone, everywhere
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