St. Paul - Berger

Hello all.
Before I was injured by a vicious pumpkin, I attended the 8:30 am Mass on Sunday, October 30, 2011, at St. Paul in Berger.

St. Paul is an old, small country church.  It was very quaint and very cold.

There was a choir loft, but the organ had been moved to the front of the church and to the left.  The music:
Opening:  For All the Saints
Offertory:  silence
Communion:  organ music
Closing:  Come Now Almighty King

Father was incredibly reverent for the Mass, even though it was only 45 minutes.  He used Eucharistic Prayer I.  The Consecration was in Latin as was the Final Blessing.  He chanted the preface and the opening prayer.  The Our Father was chanted.  There were bells too.

Homily:
Let's begin at the beginning.  All authority comes from God.  Those given authority answer to God.  God expects justice.  Jesus expects personal authority.  Authority is service to others.  Leaders are to reflect God's Judgement, whether they be leaders in at home, work or Church, in this time and place.  Jesus condemns those leaders unwilling to carry same burdens as the people they leave.  Most follow laws even if the leaders are personal failures.  We all exercise authority.  We influence those around us. We should be leading others towards God.  (uhhh.  oops.)  This was an incredibly dense homily.

Pictures:

St. Paul - Berger

View From the Back Pew

Jesus in the wheat

Station VIII

Links:
Information from St. Louis Archdiocese

ow

I decided to carve a pumpkin tonight.  I landed up carving my hand instead.  I spent 3 hours in the er.  I may or may not have sliced the tendon in the pinky of my right hand.  Needless to say...no post..although I did go to Mass. :)

Oral Defense Announcement

In case you were curious...

Oral Defense Announcement

:)

I picked Nov. 15 because it is the Feast of St. Albert the Great....patron saint of scientists.  :)

St. Gabriel the Archangel

Sorry for the delay.  I'm going to post why there was a delay shortly.

On October 23, 2011, I attended the 6 pm Mass at St. Gabriel the Archangel.  I was utterly exhausted.  I had to work all weekend at my job.  So I was falling asleep during Mass.  I went with a friend who poked me a couple times.  Then I discovered my debit card was missing at the offertory.  So I had to leave Mass to go look for it.  Needless to say, this probably isn't my best report.

The Church itself is beautiful.  Lots of marble.  It's kind of art deco maybe?  The pictures I took don't do it justice.

The music was contemporary with a guitar player.
Entrance:  Send Us Your Spirit
Offertory:  The Servant Song
Communion:  In Every Age
Closing:  This Day was Made by the Lord
Mass Setting:  Mass of St. Francis Cabrini

At the beginning of Mass, Father said he'd make the Mass as quick as possible because of the game, but to remember it is still a Mass.

Father's homily started off with him mentioning that the liturgical police might get upset with him.  (Uh oh...wait...he's not talking about me is he?).  Fill in the blank:  Wax on, _____  or Paint Up, _____.  It's from the movie The Karate Kid.  Holy vs. Religious.  What's the difference?  Blessed John Paul II was holy.  So was Mother Teresa.  Blessed Marie (uh....) from the 1950s was holy.  Holy doesn't mean sweetness.  St. Jerome, St. Paul and St. Edith Stein were all grouches but were holy.  There's spiritual vs. religion.  The Talmud and St. Paul all say to find a teacher to imitate in order to become holy.  In order to become holy, you need to go through that stage where you are religious.  It may seem hypocritical.  Following the rules is not something cool in our culture.  And this is where I pretty much lost it in the homily.  Father went on to talk about how the sacraments can help us be holy.  The Roman Catholic discipline, like eating fish on Fridays, can help.  It's about making the external become internal.  Religious can lead to being holy.

Pictures:

St. Gabriel

Carving of St. Gabriel

View from the Back Pew

The Annunciation

Links:

Website of St. Gabriel
Pictures from Rome of the West

well...

I did go to Mass...sort of.  I didn't take any pics.  I'll post tomorrow.

Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet

I grew up in Carondelet.  I remember passing the Motherhouse all the time.  When I was in grade school, I think in either grade 7 or 8, my class toured the Motherhouse, most likely as Confirmation prep or to encourage us girls to think about being sisters.  I remember loving the courtyard and being creeped out by the chapel, which housed many relics.  And not chips of relics but whole skeletons and all.

The Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet are celebrating 175 years here.  They came in 1836 from Lyons, France.  On October 15, they had an open house and tours of the first floor of the Motherhouse.  Needless to say, I went and took pictures.

Jesus and St. Joseph

Courtyard

Floor Pattern

School Manual

Monstrance

St. Joseph

Mural

Exterior of the Holy Family Chapel worship space

Ascension 

Outside Chapel

Death of St. Joseph

Outside Chapel

The Arrival

Bell

View From the Er. Uh. hmm....

sigh.

why. why. why.  

Altar of Repose

  

  

Mary

St. Jospeh

   

The Evangelists

 

St. Agatha

St. Agnes

Grotto

The stone is from Tiff.

Links:
Website of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
Pictures from Rome of the West