Church Windows-Symbolic Reminders of Christ
In St. Teresa of Avila Church, some of our most profound spiritual images are found in the windows that span both sides of the church. These images tell the stories of the Passion of Jesus, the 14 Stations of the Cross, and end with the Glorious Mysteries and the Communion of the Saints.
The windows are the creation of our former pastor, Fr. Ted Maida and Nick Parrendo, an artist who specializes in religious art and owner of Hunt Studios in the West End. While the church was being constructed, they spent more than a year discussing the windows and developing their ideas.
The windows are not really "windows" at all. They are chunks of faceted glass set in such a pattern that our eyes actually make the picture. The choice of color was important, too; the windows on the right are in subdued colors and the ones on the left are bright, giving a light and dark contrast.
At your next opportunity, take a closer look at the windows. You'll be amazed by the images you'll find there.
The windows begin with the betrayal of Judas, depicted by 30 pieces of silver. Next, Jesus is in agony in the garden contemplating the chalice, which represents the passion. A rooster signifies Peter's betrayal. Then the soldiers come at night, with lanterns and spears, to arrest Jesus.
These scenes lead us to the first Station of the Cross where Jesus is condemned to death. The two hands and bowl of water symbolize Pilate declaring his innocence. At the second Station, Jesus embraces the cross for the salvation of the world. He falls for the first time at the third Station, where the ball and chain symbolize how we must free ourselves of earthly attachments so that we can go to Heaven.
Mary meets Jesus at the fourth Station. When she saw him, her body and soul were separated as symbolized by the sword piercing her heart. Jesus redeemed her and brought her back together. In the fifth Station, Simon helps Jesus carry the cross, while at the sixth Station, Veronica wipes Jesus' face. If you look closely, you can see the image of Jesus' face in the cloth. The glass was heated to 2000 degrees to create this image. The seventh Station shows Jesus falling a second time. Near him, a bird carries a thread, indicating that the soul cannot soar to Heaven. There must be a detachment from things to be completely united with God. The eighth Station shows the women of Jerusalem, one with a child in the womb, weeping for the sins of abortion.
Jesus falls the third time in the ninth Station. An hourglass, with the sand almost reaching the bottom, represents the spiritual struggle of people in their final moment of life. The message is to stay faithful to God, for even at the end, God and Satan have one last chance. At the tenth and eleventh Stations, Jesus is stripped of his garments and nailed to the cross, his body arched in pain. Jesus dies on the cross. Underneath, blue rivers of salvation come from the cross, symbolizing the twelfth Station.
At the thirteenth Station, Jesus is taken from the cross and put in Mary's arms. Fr. Ted described a meditation of St. Teresa's: She admitted she was jealous because Jesus was so close to Mary then. "I am closer to you now than to Mary then, because now I'm living and then I was dead," was Jesus' response to St. Teresa.
Jesus is buried in the final, fourteenth, Station. Grains of wheat remind us that "unless the grain of wheat is buried in the Earth, it can't produce new life.” The remainder of the windows show the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Holy Spirit coming down on the Apostles and Mary.
The final window shows a heart formed by Mary and Joseph, with God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus, the Lamb of God. The races of the world are gathered around because the only way into the Kingdom is through our love for each other. It represents the end of the world when everything is made one in the love of God.
