As well as useful as a meeting place, the narthex has other more utilitarian uses! Here are some other items. At left is a banner for St Joseph’s School. The Latin motto on the crest is translated below. At centre is a photograph of Mary MacKillop, or St Mary of the Cross. Of Scottish descent, she was born in Melbourne but is best known for her activities in South Australia. Together with the Reverend Julian Tenison-Woods, she founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites), a congregation of religious sisters that established a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australia and New Zealand, with an emphasis on education for the rural poor. At right is a list of Church children who have received their first Communion. INDEX
22. NAVE WEST WALL
We enter the vast nave, and turning, look back towards the narthex. The main nave aisle is along a diagonal of the square Church plan, so we are looking back to a corner of the square, between the two narthex windows. These colourful windows can be seen from almost anywhere in the nave. Notice too the (three) gold crosses across the wall of the interior entry doors.
23. SOUTHWEST NAVE
We follow the back wall around to the left, noting the South exit door. Of interest along here are the Stations of the Cross on the walls, and what appears to be a shrine.
24. OUR LADY SHRINE
The shrine contains the colourful figure of the Virgin and Child, with two angels looking down. The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament and the Quran describe Mary as a virgin. In Matthew and Luke she is betrothed to Joseph. According to Christian theology she conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit while still a virgin. She accompanied Joseph to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. I find the right-angled alcove of interest too!
25. STATIONS I – III
There are normally 14 Stations of the Cross in a Catholic Church, depicting the final journey of Jesus to the Cross. They are useful as an aid to meditation, particularly around Easter time. The traditional Stations as fostered by the Franciscans in Spain, begin with I Jesus being condemned to death, and II Jesus taking up his Cross. These stations obviously do not follow this pattern. Pope St John Paul II used a different set of Stations in 1991: these are more closely followed here.
26. NORTHWEST NAVE
Turning to the Northern side, the layout is very similar. Again, Stations of the Cross, a shrine, and here a painting on the wall..
27. SACRED HEART PAINTING
The painting shows the crucified Jesus with his Mother Mary, and a shared ‘sacred heart’. The sacred heart is a symbol for Christ’s love for humanity.
28. STATIONS OF THE CROSS IX – XI
These Stations are subtitled: Nailed to the Cross; The Good Thief; and Mary and John.
29. ST JOSEPH SHRINE
Joseph the carpenter, shown holding his set square and plane – an unusual depiction.
30. LIGHTING
The large nave is illuminated by a number of these prominent square lighting fixtures. I appreciate the referencing to the square theme we have been following, but I wonder whether the size and dominance of these fixtures distracts the worshipper from the true objects of worship?
32. NORTHEAST NAVE
Looking more closely at the Northeast wall, we see there are three colourful glass windows, all having a similar layout, and to the right, an opening into the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Some of the pews are closed off because of the current COVID virus.
33. NORTHEAST WINDOWS
Comparing the three windows, we see that they are identical apart from the circular emblem on the stem of the Cross, and the text beneath.
34. WINDOW DETAILS
Looking more closely we find that these windows illustrate three well known texts from the New Testament. The left window shows a fish with the words of Jesus to his disciples: ‘I will make you fishers of men’. The central window shows heads of grain with the word of Jesus: ‘I am the Bread of Life’. The window at right depicts several sheep, and the words Jesus used to describe himself: ‘I am the Good Shepherd’.
35. BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL
Leading off from the Northeast wall is this Chapel. This limited view shows some of the items to expect: another window, a statue, a painting, the covered tabernacle, and a Paschal candle. The candle is a symbol that Jesus is the Light of the World, the Light that came to dispel the darkness.
36. STATUE AND PAINTING
The statue is St Francis of Assisi, well known for his love of nature. St. Francis spent much of his time preaching about animals, exhorting that all creatures are brothers and sisters under God. Born in 1181 in Italy, St. Francis is today celebrated as Patron Saint of Ecologists. •• The icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help is one of the most well-known and loved images of the Blessed Virgin known to Catholics. For many years, a weekly holy hour or novena in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help was common in many parish churches all over the world, and indeed, the custom continues in many places to this day.
37. TABERNACLE AND WINDOW
The tabernacle is a locked container which holds the Reserved Elements of the Eucharist – Communion Elements which have been blessed. The window above picks up the same theme, showing a wafer and the chalice, and accompanied by the words of Jesus: ‘ This is my body, this is my blood’.
38. ETCHED WINDOWS
In the Eastern wall of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel we find a group of three etched windows, given in thanksgiving for the dedication and love of the Sisters of St Joseph who served the community. They also commemorate the canonisation of Mary MacKillop on the 17th October 2010.
40. SACRED HEART AND VIRGIN MARY
At left we have the figure of the Sacred Heart, and at right Our Lady. Mary has her foot on a serpent – a rather obscure allusion to Genesis 3:15 in which God says to the serpent: ‘I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.’ As an aside, I have seen statues showing St Patrick with his foot crushing a snake (a different allusion), and statues of St George and St Michael slaying a dragon, but never the figure of Christ crushing the head of the serpent.