Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
The Dwinell Memorial Window
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" -- the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:4).
This is distinctly a children's window overlooking the baptismal font and standing guard at the door of the Children's Chapel.
The three lancets suggest three ways that purity of heart can be won and kept: praise, prayer, and aspiration.
The theme of the left lancet is praise. Children with lifted heads are singing "Sanctus, Sanctus," with an angel choir chanting "Gloria in Excelsis Deo."
The more subdued right lancet shows children in prayer.
The central lancet shows the Angel of Aspiration holding the Flower of Purity and pointing aloft to the Star of Mystery.
The tracery of the window was suggested by the text "Their angels do always behold the face of my Father in heaven" -- Matthew 18:10.
The window was made to conform to the Phillips Window facing it in the North transept that is based on another of the Beatitudes, "Blessed are they who mourn." It has similar colors and a similar canopy motif. The gritty texture leaves some clear spots in the glass, allowing light to come through and giving the window a sparkly effect.*
* The text of this paragraph was taken from a lecture given at Second Church in November 200 by Peter Cormack, an English historian of English and American stained glass.
Click or tap the image to enlarge it.
Designer: Reynolds, Francis & Rohnstock
Dedication Date: 1930
Donors: In memory of Clifton Dwinell, given by his family
Location: South transept