3 minute read
Faith & Footprints
Speyer Cathedral — Speyer, Germany
By Kelly Wise Valdes
The month of October in Munich, Germany is wellknown for its Oktoberfest celebrations. If you are making a pilgrimage to Germany, consider traveling three hours west of Munich, where you will find the quaint and charming town of Speyer that boasts many architectural gems as well as the historical Speyer Cathedral.
Speyer Cathedral is an almost 1,000-year-old structure that is historically and architecturally one of the most noteworthy examples of Romanesque architecture in all of Europe. This cathedral, a basilica with four towers and two domes, was founded by Conrad II in 1030 and remodeled at the end of the 11th century. It’s one of the most important Romanesque monuments still in existence from the Holy Roman Empire and is the largest Romanesque church in the world. In addition, the cathedral was the burial place of the German emperors for nearly 300 years.
This adjoining crypt, consecrated in 1041, holds eight medieval emperors and kings of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation laid to rest in its vault. In 1689, the cathedral was seriously damaged by fire. The reconstruction of the west bays of the nave from 1772-78, as an almost exact copy of the original structure, can be regarded as one of the first great achievements of monument preservation in Europe.
In 1981, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites as a major monument of Romanesque art in the German Empire. UNESCO awards the title of World Heritage to sites that are of world importance due to their uniqueness, authenticity and integrity.
Currently, Speyer Cathedral has an active congregation of more than 5,000 people still worshiping in the church today. Mass is celebrated in the cathedral every day of the week.
There are private tours as well as self-guided audio tours which include music, historical sound recordings and excerpts from Pope John Paul II’s speech in front of the cathedral in 1987. There is also a children’s audio guide. Visit www.dom-zu-speyer.de.
Live Like You Mean It ...
“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
“Who created all these?
“He who brings out the starry host one by one
“and calls forth each of them by name.
“Because of his great power and mighty strength, “not one of them is missing.” — Isaiah 40:26.
Each morning and evening, in addition to the general moving around involved in daily life, Max and I head out for our regular walks. That’s 30 minutes first thing, while the coffee is making, and then 45 minutes before bed. It’s good for me, it’s good for the dog and it helps keep me around my 14,000-step goal most days and my 100,000 for the week.
It’s also good for my spirit, offering uninterrupted time for silence, or meditation, or more focused thinking.
This is especially true when I remember to look up. And I am talking both literally and metaphorically. ‘Up’ is more than a direction, it is a state of mind and an orientation of spirit. Literal or not, I tend to connect more with the glory and the light of God when I look around me and into the heavens than when I am gazing at the sidewalk in front of my next step.
Like Sunday evening. It was around 10:30 p.m. when I was walking past the soccer field on Holding Avenue. The sky, full with thin clouds passing in front of a full moon, opened up like an invitation. “Lord, our Lord,” the psalmist sings, “how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.” — Psalm 8.
Sometimes just paying attention is an act of worship.
We were built with a considerable capacity for wonder, and exercising that muscle is — I believe — an important element of living a full and balanced life.
So, this is my devotional assignment. Find something each day this week that leaves you breathless with wonder and grateful for life. And, if at all possible, find this without looking into the screen of some electronic device.
Just grateful to be alive and paying attention. — DEREK.
Derek Maul has written for many news outlets, including the Tampa Tribune, The United Methodist News Service, All Pro Dad, FOCUS Magazine, Newsweek, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, Presbyterians Today, Guideposts, Chicken Soup for the Soul and many other publications. Read Derek Maul’s daily blog posts at www.derekmaul.wordpress.com.
10/31/2022
10/31/2022
