Jan 26 2014

The Alpha-Omega window

The letter alpha (α) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. The second letter is beta (β) and the word “alphabet” is formed from the names of these two letters. The last letter of the alphabet is omega (ω). These are the lower case or small letters. The capital letters are Α, Β, and Ω, respectively.

The combination of Α and Ω is used to refer to God who is the beginning and end of all things –
“I am the first and the last” [Isaiah 44:6]
“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.'” [Revelations 1:8]

The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the image at far right and reads,

ERECTED BY EDMOND FORAN BALLYLAN
IN MEMORY OF HIS WIFE CATHERINE

HIS DAUGHTER MARY AND HIS
BROTHER-IN-LAW JOHN CHEST

Jan 26 2014

The Red Saint’s window

We are unable to say who is depicted in this window. Much of the detail of the hands and face has been worn away. It appears to be a woman but that’s about all we can say, so we have called her the Red Saint because of her red cloak. She may be one of the martyrs who are often shown wearing red garments because of the blood they shed, or she may be Mary Magdalene who is often supposed to have been a great sinner (though there is little evidence to support this) and red is often the colour of sin and evil.

In order to bring out the details of the face and hands we have darkened the two images on the right and increased the contrast. In her right hand the saint is holding a banner which has some very faint writing on it. However, we have been unable to decipher it.

There is a brass plate beneath the window which entreats us to –

Pray for Robert and Mrs. Dowley

Jan 26 2014

The North Transept Windows

There are five windows in the north transept – one on the east wall, two on the gable, and two on the west wall. We will describe them from east to west (right to left). This is the same order as in the menu opposite.

We would be glad to hear from anyone who can give us information on the Red Saint (of the first window) as we know nothing about her (it’s probably a woman). One possibility is St. Brigid. She and St. Patrick (of the fourth window) are our two most important Irish Saints and, perhaps, they are together in the noth transept. Another possibility is St. Ita, another Irish saint who, like St. Declan, belonged to the royal family of the Decies kingdom. She was born c. 480 in County Waterford and was baptised Deirdre. The name Ita, which she later acquired, signified her “thirst for Divine Love”.

The image below is from a stained-glass window in the Church of Our Lady and St. Kieran, Ballylooby, County Waterford.

Jan 26 2014

The tenth nave window

The main detail in this window shows a crown of thorns and three nails. The thorns were used when Jesus was delivered to the Roman soldiers for crucifixion –
“And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him and, twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!'” [Matthew 27:28,29].

The nails or spikes were of square section, about 15 to 20 centimetres (six or seven inches) long and made of iron. Three were used to nail Jesus to the cross – one nail through each wrist and one for the feet which were nailed together. The feet were not nailed as depicted in religious art but were turned outward and the nail was driven through the two heels, just in front of the Achilles tendons.

The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the image at far right and reads,

ERECTED BY MICHAEL
MURPHY IN MEMORY

OF HIS DECEASED
PARENTS

Jan 26 2014

The ninth nave window

This window reminds us of the thirty pieces of silver which Judas Iscariot was paid for betraying Jesus to the Jewish authorities –
“Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?’ And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

Jan 26 2014

The eighth nave window

In this window we see a spear and a stick with a sponge on the end. They refer to two separate incidents that occurred while Jesus was on the cross. The sponge is mentioned when –
“A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.” [John 19:29].

Even today the experts are not sure what plant is referred to as hyssop. It is mentioned many times in the Bible and was frequently used for sprinkling blood during Jewish religious ceremonies. It may have been a variety of oregano which is a member of the mint family (like basil, sage, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, and lavender). In some translations of the incident the sponge is put on a reed rather than a hyssop branch and that is more in keeping with the detail in the window.
You may think that a reed is a bit short for reaching up to Jesus’ mouth. So it would be if the cross were twenty metres high as in many religious illustrations. In fact, Jesus would have been raised only a metre or less above the ground.

The sour wine is variously translated as wine, bitter wine, wine vinegar, and vinegar. It is likely that it was just the wine that the soldiers drank which would have been poor quality wine and might have been tart rather than sour.

The spear incident occurred after Jesus had died on the cross. The crucified victim was not able to support his own weight properly and, when hanging from his (women were never crucified) arms, could not breathe properly. Death eventually came from the wounds of the scourging and nailing or from suffocation. It was common practice to “finish off” the victim by breaking his legs, thus ensuring speedy suffocation. The victim was often left on the cross for several days. Crucifixion was normally a slow death but, for Jesus, it lasted six hours from the third hour (9 a.m.) until the ninth hour (3 p.m.), hence the spear. –
“But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.” [John 19:33,34].

The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the image at far right and reads,

ERECTED BY ELLEN POWER
BALLYBRANKNOCK IN

MEMORY OF HER BELOVED
HUSBAND PATRICK POWER

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Jan 26 2014

The seventh nave window

The main detail in this window reminds us of the scourging that Jesus endured before he was crucified. Three objects are shown: a stone pillar to which the victim was tied, a flagellum, and a rod. A rod is a bundle of stalks or twigs bound together. A flagellum is a whip with multiple lashes, each lash being knotted with pieces of leather or metal which tear the flesh. The Romans were particularly adept at scourging and it was common practice to scourge a victim before crucifixion. The victim was flogged until almost dead but was not supposed to die as crucifixion would then be pointless. Crucifixion was much worse than scourging and was a slow, painful, and shameful death, usually reserved for those who had defied Rome.

The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the image at far right and reads,

ERECTED BY JOHN POWER
IN MEMORY OF HIS

PARENTS LAWRENCE &
BRIGID POWER

Jan 26 2014

The sixth nave window

This window is difficult to photograph as it is partially hidden by the gallery. These photos were taken while kneeling on the floor and pointing the camera almost vertically. That is why the window looks so wide at the bottom and so narrow at the top.

The main detail shows a garment and three dice. The garment is the tunic that Jesus was wearing before he was crucified. The word tunic may not be the best translation of the Greek word chiton which means “a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin”, although the tunic in the window could not be described as long. The tunic and dice refer to the occasion in the gospels when, after Jesus was crucified, the soldiers divided his garments among themselves, except for the tunic for which they cast lots –
“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.’ This was to fulfil the Scripture which says, ‘They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.'” [John 19:23,24]

A “lot” is any object that is used to secure a chance decision and may be a stick, a pebble, or almost anything. It may or may not be a die (die is the singular of dice, i.e., we say “One die, two dice”). No one knows what the soldiers used as lots so the three dice are there simply to remind us of the chance way in which Jesus’ tunic was dealt with.

The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the image at far right and reads,

ERECTED BY MISS
MARY MOONEY IN

MEMORY OF HER BELOVED
PARENTS & RELATIVES

Jan 26 2014

The North Nave Windows

The north side of the nave is the right side of the church looking at the altar, from the door of the porch as far as the front benches. There are five windows in the north wall of the nave and we have numbered them 6 to 10. Window number 6 is next to the porch door and number 10 is nearest to the altar.

Windows 1 to 5 are in the left side of the church looking at the altar (the south side of the nave) with number 1 next to the altar and number 5 nearest to the porch door. So if you stand in the nave facing the altar and turn to the left through a complete circle, you will see the nave windows in order from 1 to 10. The windows appear in the same order in the menu on the left.

The windows all have the same decorative features but in different colours. Each window has a different main detail in the centre of the window, such as that below left, but they are all connected with Christ’s passion – all except window number 1. At the bottom of each window there is a dedication such as that below right.

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Jan 26 2014

The fifth nave window

This window can be seen properly only from the stairs of the gallery. The cross is the main detail in the window, signifying the horrible death that Jesus suffered. It also symbolises Christ’s victory over death and sin. The cloth draped over the cross is the shroud that Jesus was wrapped in when laid in the tomb. The empty shroud was left behind when Jesus rose from the dead. The cross and shroud together symbolise Jesus’ death and resurrection. Together, they are known as the empty cross or the shrouded cross or the resurrection cross –
“Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. [John 20:6-9]

The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the image at far right and reads,

ERECTED BY JOHANNA
O’KEEFFE IN MEMORY OF

HER BELOVED HUSBAND JOSEPH
& HER SON THOMAS O’KEEFFE

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Monthly Archives: January 2014

The Alpha-Omega window