Re: Re: reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches

In French gothic cathedrals, time was divided between the North Transept which represented the past, and hence the Old Testament]

Brilliantly arranged! Note the powerful eloquence of the aquatic motif of redemption through water (from Christ’s pierced side on the cross – together with the Precious Blood) inthe South Transept. Water cleanses and restores life; in the sacraments it wipes away sin and restores the divine life of grace to the parched soul. This is true of the water of Baptism (Christ’s pierced side) and the tears of Penance (the weeping Magdalen at the foot of the cross). It was water that brought St Patrick and the missionary saints to Ireland and took Irish missionaries away to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. That transept faces out toward the water. Because it is the transept closest to the water, sailors can gaze from their vessels upon the rose window of Our Lady Star of the Sea when the cathedral is lit from within, say at Vespers or evening Mass. When navigators are able to come into port and worship within the cathedral, they can gaze into that window of the south transept in the direction of the water.