As I biked home last night in the not so softly falling rain; while wearing my bright orange snow pants as rain pants, and a bright yellow running jacket for visibility; in the glow of ever present overhead city lights, I heard a magical sound. I was coasting down the street, no hands on my handlebars as this sound began to ring, and literally it rang. See, as I bike home after work sometimes I am so lucky as to pass a Catholic Church around 8 o’clock. This is a wonderful and special occasion because it means that I get to hear these beautiful bells ring out across the dark night sky. This night in particular I was actually several blocks before the church when I began to hear the ringing. And it continued up until I passed the church when the last bell tolled and echoed with reverberation into the night. (Granted it did not echo quite like other nights, see rain is not so conducive to reverberations. Bright clear and cold nights on the other hand literally hum for blocks with the sound of the last bell.)
All that is to say that they are beautiful bells. Every time I pass them as the ring I am amazed at the splendor of the bells, amazed at the beauty of them, and amazed that they can be heard for several city blocks.
Every time they ring I feel as though time slows and I am in a movie. I wish they would never stop and that I could just listen forever. They echo not only in the real world, but ever so softly in my heart, softly pulling at the emotions. Honestly there is no good way to describe them. It is an experience one must have all for him or herself, and it is an experience I would go out of my way to hear.
Granted I lived without the bells till now, but now that I have heard them… I don’t believe I can stop. They make me ponder and think every night of beauty, serenity, power, grace, love, hope, peace, wonder, awe, and most of all…….. they make me consider becoming Catholic.
