I was at Trim Cathedral for Holy Communion on the Sixth Sunday of Easter and paid attention to the Dean’s sermon. The First Lesson was Acts 17: 22-31 and this provided his opening.
It is the bit where Paul delivers a sermon himself to the Athenians standing in front of the Areopagus. I had to look that up later. It is a big rock in Athens.
The Dean drew our attention to the painted glass East Window in Agher Church in nearby Rathmoylan. It had been painted for the private chapel at Dangan Castle, childhood home of the Duke of Wellington, and moved to Agher after a fire in 1809. Its creator is Dublin-born Thomas Jervais. When so much of Ireland’s past has been destroyed this window had a lucky escape. Jervais based his design on the picture by Raphael, above. Here is his version. It’s rather fine although painting on glass seems to me an inferior technique to making stained glass and less permanent.
It is one of his smaller windows. He really spread himself when he made the West Window in New College Chapel, Oxford. Again he based it on an existing design, this time by Joshua Reynolds. It depicts the Nativity and, at the bottom, seven saints. Cheekily he painted both himself and Reynolds as shepherds.
You may be relieved to hear that I don’t attend church as often as I should and, when I do, seldom remember the sermon. If you are disappointed, try Patrick Comerford.
On the other hand, if you want something completely different, try this …