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St. Joseph's Chapel Tympanum, College of the Holy Cross |
I will got to the altar of God,
to God who gives joy to my youth.
This fall, I had the privilege to visit a new friend who is an art professor at the College of the Holy Cross. After he generously treated me to lunch on campus, we walked over to St. Joseph's Chapel on a beautiful October afternoon.
In looking up at the tympanum (i.e. the triangular area often decorated with sculptures at the top of a chapel building), he helped me focus on the special artistry that features a risen and ascended Jesus (most often it's either a scene from the nativity or the crucifixion).
I was captivated by this depiction of the victorious King Jesus after the last couple months have included many moments of seeming defeat to an onslaught of violent actions and violent words that have been filled with murder, hatred, racism, supremacy, blame-shifting, fear, censorship, apathy, and more across the U.S.
I was captivated by this depiction of the victorious King Jesus after the last couple months have included many moments of seeming defeat to an onslaught of violent actions and violent words that have been filled with murder, hatred, racism, supremacy, blame-shifting, fear, censorship, apathy, and more across the U.S.
And in my wondering, I was invited to worship the King in light of the words in Latin that provide the base for the tympanum:
Et introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum
qui laetificat iuventutem meam.
I will go to the altar of God, to God
who gives joy to my youth.
This is also why my return to St. Joseph's Chapel during this season of Advent for their Festival of Lessons and Carols (via invitation from the same friend and professor) stirred an even deeper joy in me.
Joy doesn’t rise from comfort
but from conviction,
not from absence of sorrow
but from trust that God’s future
is breaking into present.
My time in St. Joseph's Chapel has now repeatedly been a space the Spirit of God has used to welcome my awe and worship on College Hill, one of the "seven hills" of Worcester, the City on Seven Hills.
The view of the tympanum's visuals and verbiage, along with the crescendo of ancient and fresh hymns being orchestrated and sung within, have continued to resonate deeply with me, bringing to life the verses I have returned to the most during the second half of 2025:
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD ...
+ Psalm 121:1-2
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| HC Choir during Lessons and Carols on Thursday, December 4, 2025 |
Along with Psalm 121 and songs like "Creator of the Stars of Night" that were sung by the Catholic college choir on that wondrous night last week, these words from a priest below also continue to challenge me to pray for joy that is a defiant celebration of conviction and courage in the face of suffering, to "turn my eyes toward heaven" during the darkness of Advent:
Unless we are anchored in something
beyond the here and now,
chances are we will drown
in the present moment.
The Gospels describe Jesus
praying in different ways,
but sometimes they simply say,
"He turned His eyes toward heaven!"
The same expression is used
of other great faith figures
(ex. see Stephen in Acts 7:55)
and it's used of them
precisely at those times
when the forces of madness
are threatening to kill them.
When the world around them
is going mad,
they "turn their eyes toward heaven."
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| "Creator of the Starry Night" Hymn at HC Lessons & Carols |
Prayer is a question of
unity and surrender —
of uniting one's will with
someone else and
surrendering one's will to that other.
Prayer is the desire
to be in union with someone,
especially in union with
that other's will ...
surrender of one's will to
a higher power, to God.
Each of us needs to find
our own way of doing this
if we are to cope with the forces
that threaten to drown us ...
We will always be adrift,
until we, like Jesus, regularly
"turn our eyes toward heaven."
+ Fr. Ronald Rolheiser,
"Prayer: Our Deepest Longing,"
pgs. 41-42
If you are feeling bombarded by the madness in the darkness of this Advent season, I hope the tympanum and these words above help turn your eyes toward heaven, and that in looking up, you discover King Jesus looking at you with joy love, courage, compassion, and strength.
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| HC St. Joseph's Chapel on Advent Thursday, December 4, 2025 |
And perhaps, like I sense Jesus has been inviting me to do, you will find a place where you can do what the Latin phrase says underneath St. Joseph's Chapel's tympanum during Advent:
I will go to the altar of God,
to God who gives joy to my youth.
Bonus Posts:
With anticipation and joy,
Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan
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