Old Faith

Is faith written into the light shining through church windows? Does the stone of the chapel soak it up and hold it? Do the statues sense it, their faces reflecting it back onto the devoted?

My father has spent his life as a devote Roman Catholic. I watch him put ash on his forehead for Ash Wednesday, fast on good Friday, and go to church every Sunday. My mother is atheist, but her family is also Catholic. When I visited them last, I watched my baby cousin's baptism. I was there for the prayers (though they were in Italian), the speeches and the celebration with all the rest of my family. When I came across this exhibit in the MET Cloisters, I had to wonder if the old church held similar memories of those who had faith in its walls. I had to wonder who laid in the middle of the floor, and who loved that person.