Notre Dame du Cap.

For me, photography is something of a contemplative discipline. The work that goes into framing an image that is both aesthetically and spiritually meaningful makes me more aware of God's presence in creation; as a result, photography can often be an aid to prayer. Over the next few days, I'd like to share some photographs that I've taken over the course of the last semester. My hope is that some readers will find them to be an aid to their reflection.

The three photos shown above were taken at the Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-du-Cap, located at Cap-de-la-Madeleine on the outskirts of Trois-Rivières, Quebec. I visited Cap-de-la-Madeleine on a weekday evening in early January; Christmas decorations were still up (Epiphany was a couple of days away) but no more than a handful of pilgrims (mostly locals, I surmised) loitered and prayed on the grounds. Looking at the exterior shot of the basilica (top), I'm struck by the way in which the newfallen snow, the subdued glow of electric lights, and the twilight sky conspire to give a monumental 1950s church building an eerily ethereal look. The interior shot (middle), with its bank of votive lamps and softly lit windows, conveys an atmosphere of calm that somehow makes me think of Simeon and Anna in the Temple. Finally, the gates of the Jardins de Lumière (bottom) have an elegiac quality that leads me to reflect on the culture that produced places like Cap-de-la-Madeleine but which pays little attention to them now.

I hope the above photos are of interest. Expect to see another set in a couple of days. AMDG.