A truly Sacred moment

On Friday I was privileged to be able to photograph the events of the St Patrick’s day Parade and Mass in New York City. It’s a day of intense joy and remembrance. A day that celebrates the life of Saint Patrick, Irish Catholic heritage and the tradition of New York as a city of immigrants. Regardless of ethnicity or creed, the entire city joins together in a spirit of joyful celebration, it’s an epic experience. There were a endless list moments to capture, from the bagpipers and drums, corps to the solemn remembrance for the 343 FDNY Firefighters that lost their lives on 9/11, to the memory of NYPD Officer Steven McDonald… But the most intense moment of the day didn’t happen among the throngs of people lining Fifth Avenue, it was at the Mass. I saw a young women rise out of her pew to receive Communion…she quietly returned and knelt down, looking upward and slowly closing her eyes at that moment she entered into Communion… It was a truly sacred moment. The beauty seen in the image is not hers…it‘s God’s… Photograph by Jeffrey Bruno for Aleteia