Free Essay About A Visit To The Cathedral Basilica Of Saint Louis

In the United States, the majority of the people believe in Christianity, who make up for 76% of the population. The rest of the population constitutes believers of other religions and non-believers. Christianity is based on the teachings described in the Bible, and is especially based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, who is an integral part of the faith, the prophecies, and is regarded as the Son of God-incarnate. One of the places that represent the way of worshiping the God in Christianity is the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. It is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located in the Central West End area of St. Louis, Missouri. In this reflection essay, I will talk about my visit to this cathedral.
As a Muslim, this was the first time ever that I had visited a church in my entire life. I went with my friends, all of whom are Muslims. I have experienced the Christian way of worshiping only on television where they show a Christian form of practicing faith and praying. Hence, we were excited to witness the form of worshiping in-person at the cathedral. We arrived at the cathedral at about 11:45 a.m. on a Sunday, which is the holy day for Christian prayers. Friday is considered as the holy day for prayers in the Muslim faith. As we were parking our car outside the Cathedral, we could see the big building, which reflected the ancient beauty of the church. It presented itself as a piece of architectural beauty that demanded one’s attention. Therefore, we stopped for enjoying the architecture before entering the church. The door at the entrance was massive and reminded me of the gates that one would see at the entrance of a castle. When we entered the cathedral, we could see help desks for helping people if they required assistance. The visit was our first visit to a church. Therefore, we inquired the help desk personnel regarding the time at which the mass would commence. The personnel said that we could just sit anywhere we liked and wait for the mass to begin. When I first entered the hall, I felt wowed by it. I was amazed at how big, wide and high the cathedral was. It reminded me of Mecca, where I used to experience the same feeling every time. Both of these iconic places give a person the feeling of sacredness.
Inside the building, there were a lot of colorful paintings, which I thought were painted using regular paints. However, later I found out that it was mosaic, and this surprised me. The mass began at noon when all the people sat down in their places, letting the mass go no without interruption. The mass started with the bishop and a group of his followers walking from the doors towards the stage. They were chanting and praying while they walked to the dais. They were dressed up in golden white robes and looked prepared to conduct the mass. This kind of dressing or the concept of wearing clean clothes for praying is similar to the idea of mass prayers in Islam on Fridays. On Fridays, the Imam and other Muslims come to the mosque in clean clothes and wear mild perfume to soothe the senses before they go to pray.
At the cathedral when the bishop and his followers reached the stage, everyone took their places. As the prayer was in session, three of the worshipers offered to tell stories from the bible or the gospel. When I listened to them, I realized that each one took on a character from the story during narration converting the entire narration into a narrative skit. There was one more person who sang when the narration paused. In addition, when the person sang, people started to sing along with him. The people at the mass stood, kneeled or sat during prayers. In Islam, Friday prayers are always performed in a sitting pose. The same posture is maintained while listening to the Imam. Everyone stands up once he finishes talking, which is followed by praying in a standing position. Therefore, it looks like the same concept, but implemented in a different way. At the cathedral when the mass ended, people stood up and formed a line to get the bishop’s blessings. The bishop stood on the stage as the people walked up to him. He gave them sacramental wine (grape juice for children) and sacramental bread for consumption. After that, people left the church, which marked the end of the mass and the prayer.
Once the mass ended, we went to a man who was to give us a tour of the Cathedral to inquire the timings. He told us that it will start in fifteen minutes. Among the people, who were leaving, there were a few who were waiting for the tour. Hence, we sat with the group to take the tour. The tour guide started with a brief history of the cathedral. It was during this narration that I learned that the drawings were made of mosaic and not paint as I had previously assumed. These mosaics were a combination of millions of pieces made from thousands of different colors to pass on the stories. In addition to the hall for prayer where the mass took place, there were different sections in the cathedral for weddings and consolation. The only drawback of the tour was that the tour guide did not show us around much and we spent much of the time listening.
In conclusion, the visit was great, and I learned plenty about Christianity. I also learned that there are some concepts that are similar to my Islam’s praying customs, which gave me a sense of closeness to Christianity. This visit has given me a real experience, the feeling of sacredness as I have felt in any mosque I frequent back home and the motivation to see more such religious places.