Weekly Reflections, Announcements, News & Thoughts
Enhancing our Beautiful Church. Some Small Projects…
Tapestry in the Vestibule…
The beautiful tapestry placed at the main entry to the church came from the rectory. Fr. Jim, with his excellent taste, found this years ago and had it stretched and placed in a beautiful frame. It is too nice not to share with all those who come to church, parishioners and visitors alike. Here are some details about it…
The tapestry was made in 1934 (contemporary for our church which was built in 1937) and it is based on a famous painting done by Henrich Hofmann in 1887 titled Christ and the Rich Young Rule. It presents the encounter of Jesus with the Rich Young Man seeking to know what he must do to gain eternal life (which appears in all three synoptic gospels).
It sends a beautiful message to all who to pray at our parish church.
Joseph and Mary statues in the Vestibule…
Another effort to create a welcoming environment in the vestibule is the addition of two statues of Joseph and Mary. We have moved around bulletin boards and created focal points as people enter the church. Two beautiful wood-carved statues of Joseph and Mary now welcome all to this sacred place. These statues were donated by Fr. Pat from his special hobby…see below. This reduces a little of the “busyness” or clutter of our vestibule and leads us to focus on our prayer time with God.
Finally, our Grotto Area at the side of the church…
This is a beautiful walkway at the side of the church and it can be a wonderful top quality viagra online place of prayer and reflection. We are in the process of planning a new landscape (simple) with a beautiful new statue of our Blessed Mother and Child. The current statue (18 inches tall) is just sitting on some dirt. The new statue is 5ft. tall and will sit on a beautiful pedestal and send a message to the neighborhood about Mary’s role in guiding all to Jesus, her Son. This project will take some time and we are trying to finish it soon…maybe by the Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15th but more likely for August 25th when Bishop McElroy arrives for Fr. Pat’s pastor Installation Mass on August 25th.
Pastor Installation Mass w/ Bishop Robert McElroy Sunday August 25th at 10:30am
A special tradition as a new pastor begins is for the Bishop to visit and formally install him as pastor. Bishop McElroy will join us on Sunday August 25th for our 10:30am Mass to install Fr. Pat as our pastor. Please join us for this special ceremony as we ask God to bless our parish and its leadership going forward.
Fr. Pat’s Special Hobby…
As mentioned above, Fr. Pat has a special hobby. He loves beautiful religious art and searches for beautiful pieces that come from sacred spaces (churches and elsewhere) that have closed. It is a special joy to see a beautiful work of art find a new home in a new sacred space and continue to fulfill its intended purpose of drawing minds and hearts to God. We’ll see what the future holds…
Have a blessed and holy week! In Christ’s love, Fr. Pat