St. Anthony of Padua - St. Louis

Happy Feast of St. Francis of Assisi!

To celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, I headed to the local Franciscan parish, conveniently located about 10 minutes from my house.

I attended the 10 am Mass at St. Anthony of Padua on Sunday October 4, 2009. Because it is a parish run by the Franciscans, the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time was superseded by the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, so all the readings and other liturgical pieces, like the opening prayer were different.

The choir was in the choir loft with the organ, which was used.
Before Mass Reflection: All Things Bright and Beautiful
Opening: For the Beauty of the Earth
Offertory: For the Fruits of This Creation
Communion: Canticle of the Sun
Communion Reflection: Prayer of St. Francis/Make an Instrument of Your Peace
Closing: All Creatures of Our God and King

Father wore gold sparkly vestments, which from a distance, looked like unbleached linen, but they then they sparkled when the light hit them. He did wear his stole on the outside, which had the Franciscan Cross and St. Francis on it. The Franciscans from the Friary also attended and they were all in their Franciscan habits, minus sandals (but wearing shoes). Right after the Gloria, the children were sent out for Children's Liturgy, with Father telling them they were going to learn about God, Jesus and maybe St. Francis.

The homily was about how St. Francis was searching for the answer to "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Francis spent his life trying to be Christian. The final thought was a quote from St. Francis, "May Christ teach you what is ours to do."

The Intentions of the Faithful were orientated to St. Francis and Franciscans, with the response, "Remember us Lord, in Your Love." There were bells rang at the Consecration.

I will have to say, of all the churches I have visited, St. Anthony's has the roomiest pews. I'm not all that thin, and it was nice to be able to kneel without my back-end hitting the pew. I also didn't feel crowded, like in some churches were the pews are closer together.

Pictures:

View from the Back Pew!

(I believe the aisle is 125 feet.)

The nave of the Church is decorated with paintings of

the Saints and scenes of Christ's life.

These are pretty high up.

St. Anthony of Padua

Extra Pictures:
St. Anthony of Padua Website
Pictures from Rome of the West or here.

Pictures from Built St. Louis

As a special bonus, the Franciscans had a little fair in the parish hall to display their different ministries.

Brother Bear

To celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, here are some St. Francis links
My Favorite Franciscan, Father Charles
Franciscan Archive
Franciscan Prayers (Thanks Lavona for the link.)
Prayers of St. Francis of Assisi (Thanks Joy for the link.)