Yesterday
I went for a long stroll in the old town. There's something
inexplicably calming and cheering about the old town of Luxembourg. And
taking account of the fine weather and the green green trees ... I just
blissed out, walking slowly those cobbled streets, drinking in the
atmosphere and smelling the aromas of trees in blossom, freshly ground
coffee and all kinds of meals cooking in one restaurant or another.
In one of the narrow winding streets, I suddenly noticed two doors. Very nondescript doors, except for the signs that hung above them. "Believers" said one and "Non-believers", the other. Intrigued, I ventured closer, and after a moment of doubt, opened the one under the sign "Believers".
I found myself in the town history museum and ... an exhibition called "Matters of faith". Well, that should be interesting, I thought. The guy who sold me the ticket hung a computer card around my neck, also called "believer" ... that made me feel a bit funny!
It was a good exhibition, you know. Interactive! That's what the card was for. You had to slip it into a computer workstation in every exhibition room and answer a few questions about how and what you think about spiritual matters. The questions were not unlike the test you can find on Beliefnet.
The exhibition itself used a lot of video installations. There was a room where people of different confessions spoke about their faith and prayer. That was so sweet in a way because, the impression I got was that no matter what anyone chooses to call himself or herself, we are all simply human, with similar thoughts and hopes, beliefs and fallacies. If we would only understand that ... this planet of ours would be a much nicer place.
I remember one of the people speaking, an older lady, a practicing Catholic. She said something like this: "When I was younger, I imagined God to be a strict and scary guy, sitting somewhere there, above, and keeping his beady eye on me. As I grow older, I notice that God has grown older together with me. And he has grown softer, kinder. I feel that I have no fear of God these days. Also my prayer has changed. When I was a girl, I simply had to kneel down and recite my prayers or God would disapprove. These days, I hardly ever do that ... now, a walk in the nature can be a prayer for me and no words are needed ..." In those words, you can feel how a person has grown into the acceptance and kindness that age can bring. Not afraid of God anymore, God has grown old with me ... I found that simply moving.
There was another room that dealt with what is a very Luxembourgian thing. Apparently, they have a cult of Virgin Mary here, a special statue that is called the Mother of God of the Afflicted that is supposed to be very helpful in case of illness or bad luck. Now that was also the reason why they had this elaborate religious procession last week. It was the culmination of a 5 week to-do, a prayerfest in honour of the same.
The statue has a cupboard full of exquisite brocade gowns (that come second only to Imelda Marcos') that are the presents from people and organisations across centuries. And 15 of those gowns were on show at the museum! With little matching outfits for Baby Jesus! Those were mindblowing! The craftsmanship!
At the end of the exhibition, the last computer station delivered its verdict.
Apparently I am
PATCHWORK RELIGIOUS !!!
Which basically means that my beliefs are made up of bits and pieces of this and that. And I'm supposed to be OK with almost everything :)))
I had a look at the statistics and over 1000 exhibition-goers had felt the same way as I did.
A funny tidbit to end this story:
seems that the majority of women believe in heaven but don't believe in hell.
And a majority of men, on the contrary, believe in hell but are a bit iffy about the existence of heaven!
Now analyse THAT !!!
In one of the narrow winding streets, I suddenly noticed two doors. Very nondescript doors, except for the signs that hung above them. "Believers" said one and "Non-believers", the other. Intrigued, I ventured closer, and after a moment of doubt, opened the one under the sign "Believers".
I found myself in the town history museum and ... an exhibition called "Matters of faith". Well, that should be interesting, I thought. The guy who sold me the ticket hung a computer card around my neck, also called "believer" ... that made me feel a bit funny!
It was a good exhibition, you know. Interactive! That's what the card was for. You had to slip it into a computer workstation in every exhibition room and answer a few questions about how and what you think about spiritual matters. The questions were not unlike the test you can find on Beliefnet.
The exhibition itself used a lot of video installations. There was a room where people of different confessions spoke about their faith and prayer. That was so sweet in a way because, the impression I got was that no matter what anyone chooses to call himself or herself, we are all simply human, with similar thoughts and hopes, beliefs and fallacies. If we would only understand that ... this planet of ours would be a much nicer place.
I remember one of the people speaking, an older lady, a practicing Catholic. She said something like this: "When I was younger, I imagined God to be a strict and scary guy, sitting somewhere there, above, and keeping his beady eye on me. As I grow older, I notice that God has grown older together with me. And he has grown softer, kinder. I feel that I have no fear of God these days. Also my prayer has changed. When I was a girl, I simply had to kneel down and recite my prayers or God would disapprove. These days, I hardly ever do that ... now, a walk in the nature can be a prayer for me and no words are needed ..." In those words, you can feel how a person has grown into the acceptance and kindness that age can bring. Not afraid of God anymore, God has grown old with me ... I found that simply moving.
There was another room that dealt with what is a very Luxembourgian thing. Apparently, they have a cult of Virgin Mary here, a special statue that is called the Mother of God of the Afflicted that is supposed to be very helpful in case of illness or bad luck. Now that was also the reason why they had this elaborate religious procession last week. It was the culmination of a 5 week to-do, a prayerfest in honour of the same.
The statue has a cupboard full of exquisite brocade gowns (that come second only to Imelda Marcos') that are the presents from people and organisations across centuries. And 15 of those gowns were on show at the museum! With little matching outfits for Baby Jesus! Those were mindblowing! The craftsmanship!
At the end of the exhibition, the last computer station delivered its verdict.
Apparently I am
PATCHWORK RELIGIOUS !!!
Which basically means that my beliefs are made up of bits and pieces of this and that. And I'm supposed to be OK with almost everything :)))
I had a look at the statistics and over 1000 exhibition-goers had felt the same way as I did.
A funny tidbit to end this story:
seems that the majority of women believe in heaven but don't believe in hell.
And a majority of men, on the contrary, believe in hell but are a bit iffy about the existence of heaven!
Now analyse THAT !!!
That was the best exhibition I've ever been to - in Letzebuerg as well as anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the Madonna in the Cathedral ... has to be experienced to be believed!