like i said, it’s one of those buildings that you notice straight away the moment you emerge into the daylight from the enclosed building that is the flinders street station. with its gothic look, you’d almost expect to see gargoyles perched on top of its towers. but gothic as it may be, gargoyles run parallel to the doctrine of the catholic church so instead of those grotesque concrete creatures which immediately brings to mind the movie “anastasia,” (i should watch that movie again.) you get doves loitering on the steps of st. paul’s cathedral. which i think is only appropriate, considering. but then again, they’re kind of considered as pests here. like rats, except that they fly. but put a sandwich on the ground and they’ll come flocking like f*cking piranhas.

the inside of the church may be a bit dim but aside from the fact that it was built in the 1800’s and may have had centuries’ worth of souls and stories, it’s not all that creepy. it’s actually pretty amazing and for a moment, i was blown away by the majesty of the interiors — the gray and white columns whose grayness almost looks blue in real life (but also because i kind of suck at accurately identifying colors according to their specific names);

the persian tiles dating back to god-knows-when; the intricate details of the, uh, everything with the intricate details on them; the oldness and apparent solemnity of it all;

the huge pipe organ that’s larger-than-life which reminded me of the one in san agustin church in intramuros, except that the one they have here is like a massive boombox! it’s something angels could definitely headbang to like it’s some sort of medieval rock ‘n roll minus the mosh pit.

and we’re not even talking about the processional door or the altar yet. they’re beautiful, the way the light hits them and they cast this radiant glow that’s even more stunning than those of a blushing june bride. the altar tripped me out. it’s gorgeous. i don’t know what they’re made of but i’m guessing they’re made of these really small mosaic tiles? yep. like the one imelda marcos had in her mansion in leyte.

but hands down, my most favorite would have to be these intricate colored glass windows. the interplay between light and dark punctuated by bursts of blue, red, yellow, and green. the mystery of the shadow that the light creates. like sinners searching for redemption which only the light can grant. dark as their world may be, the light will always be there.

as a matter of fact, they are surrounded by it.