Our Lady of Guadalupe

Guadete!

Was today not a Sunday in Advent, it would be the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  To celebrate, I headed to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Because it would have been their patronal feast, the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe started the festivities at midnight.  At midnight there was singing and what sounded like cheers from a pep rally.  At 1 am, there was a Mass.  After Mass, there was more singing and such in the Church with traditional Mexican food and snacks in the cafeteria.  There were more activities after that, but it was 3 am with snow, so I didn't stay longer.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is another church that has the look of a temporary church that has become permanent.  There are stained glass windows but given that it was dark, it was hard to make out what they were.  I saw the Nativity, the Visitation, the Holy Family, and the Wedding at Cana.

Mass was absolutely packed!  It was standing room only and the standing room was packed.  What was most interesting was seeing all of the men in church.  Lots of young, single men!  Some had mohawks and everything.  And they sang!  Many people brought flowers to place before the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It was so cute?/sweet? to see these tough young Hispanic males bringing bunches of roses to place before Our Lady.  Some of them looked rather shy about it.

The other thing I noticed was that even though there were probably 400-500 people at Mass, only 1/4 went up to Communion.   It was quite different from other parishes were nearly everyone goes.

As Mass was in Spanish, I can't tell you much about what happened.  I know the homily was about Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego.   The readings were from the 3rd Sunday in Advent.   I think the music was traditional for the culture.

Pictures:

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Mosaic Outside

View from the Back Pew

Close Up of Altar

Baptismal Font

VIII:  The Holy Women

Our Lady of Guadalupe and Flowers

Links:
Website of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Picture from Rome of the West

St. Raphael the Archangel

Hello All!
For the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, I attended the 7 am (ugh!) Mass at St. Raphael the Archangel.

St. Raphael always makes me think of an old Protestant Church in New England.  It just seems colonial.  I still have a hard time dealing with drapes in the windows of a Catholic Church.

Because of the extreme early-ness, there was no music, but there were bells at the Consecration.  Father used Eucharistic Prayer II.

Father gave a brief homily about how the first reading was actually the first prophecy about Mary and Jesus.  He gave it a Latin term which I didn't catch.  The snake in the first reading refers to Satan.  The seed is sin and spiritual death.  The reading refers to Mary though.

Pictures:

St. Raphael the Archangel

St. Raphael and Tobiah

View from the Back Pew!

Advent Wreath

Station VIII

St. Raphael

Links:
Website of St. Raphael the Archangel
Pictures from Rome of the West

St. Nicholas

As I write this, it is now the Feast of St. Nicholas!  I hope you were all good little boys and girls and St. Nicholas put oranges in your shoes and not onions and you got lots of candy!

St. Nicholas is on the northern edge of downtown, next to the Washington area.  St. Nicholas is predominately African-American and the statues and such reflect that.  There was even a shrine to St. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The music today was provided the Children's Choir.
Opening:  Preparing the Way for the Lord
Offertory:  The Lord is My Light and My Salvation
Communion:  Instrumental
Recessional:  This Little Light of Mine

There was an interpretive dance after Communion.  It was kind of like jazz and ballet mixed together.

There was a ritual to light the Advent wreath. After the opening prayer, there was a reading and a reflection about heralds.  The the Advent Candles were lit and the family received a special blessing.

Homily:
Father's homily started off with asking the children about Advent.  In Advent, we are preparing the way for the Lord.  Father then asked us all about the highways and interstates.  When you build a highway, you want it straight and you want a clear path.  So to in this season of Advent.  We need to prepare our homes and hearts for Jesus.  Clear out the obstacles, which are sin.    Father then had a mini-homily for the children.  He asked them to pray, "Lord, Help Me to Be Peaceful"  The first reading is peaceful.  The wolf is a guest of the lamb.  There will be peace and harmony.  Everyone will be on the same page.  What is your priority in life (DISCOURSE ANALYSIS!!!! MY DISSERTATION!!!!)?  Is it the right priority (uhhhhh)?  How do you prepare for the Christmas season?  Everything is so hectic, with no time to pray.  Take a step back.

Everyone in church held hands for the Our Father and made a big chain.  Father used Eucharistic Prayer II and there were bells at the Consecration.

Also, St. Nicholas is hosting a priest from Poland and Rome, who is in town for 6 weeks to learn English.

Everyone seemed friendly, although there were some people suspicious as to why I was there.

Pictures:

Exterior of St. Nicholas

The Nativity is already out!

Back Wall.

I think that is the Kwanzaa thing.

I didn't think Kwanzaa was Catholic.

Uhm.  I thought we had you know Christmas.

Jesus

This was on the top of the above picture

Mary

St. Joseph

St. Nicholas

View From The Back Pew

Advent Wreath

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Shrine

 

VIII:  Jesus with the Holy Women

I'm not sure what Gospel story this matches.

It's Jesus being forgiving I think

Jesus with the children

Jesus with the woman who anointed His Feet

and washed them with her hair.

Jesus raising the girl from the dead.

Jesus with the Samarian woman.

Jesus with Mary and Martha

Jesus with the Rich Man

Jesus Calming the Storm

Sister Thea Bowman

St. Charles Lawanga

St. Monica and Young St. Augustine

St. Martin De Porres

???

Jesus and Mary

King and Queen of Africa

And the whole world

Links:
Website of St. Nicholas
Pictures from Rome of the West

Archbishop Carlson's Survey for Catholic Education

The Archbishop is seeking response to a brief 3 question survey about Catholic Schools in the St. Louis Area.

Survey

I firmly believe in the necessity of Catholic schools and believe it is the responsibily of all Catholics to support Catholic schools.  I went to Catholic school for 12 years and really believe my successes are due to that.

St. Jude - Overland

Happy New (Liturgical) Year!

As the semester is winding down, I'm feeling particularly swamped and hopeless.  I decided to visit St. Jude, who happens to be the patron saint of hopeless causes.  I went to the 10:30 am Mass.

St. Jude was built in 1953 and I get the feeling it was supposed to be a temporary church that became permanent, like Cure of Ars.   If you take out the altar it could pass for a banquet hall.  The stained glass windows however were installed in 1986 and were designed by Brother Mel Meyer and made by Emil Frei Associates.

Father was very personable and friendly.  He saw me taking pictures before Mass and asked if I was putting the camera away during Mass.  Of course.  Hence there are no pictures of Father's lilac vestments.

There was a deacon/adult male server.  I'm not really sure what his role was other than server.  He wore some triangle shaped thing like you see on Gospel choirs.  It wasn't a stole.  It wasn't a dalmatic.

The choir was up front to the right of the altar.  There was an electric organ to accompany the music.
Music:
Opening:  O Come O Come Emmanuel
Presentation of Gifts:  Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Communion:  was sung by choir "Waiting in Silence"
Recessional:  City of God

There was incense at Mass!  Father blessed the Advent wreath and gave us an extra blessing at the end.  Father used Eucharistic Prayer II and there were bells at the Consecration.  At the Elevation, Father said My Lord and My God three times.  The Precious Blood was not distributed.

The homily was essentially about death.  Time passes quickly and we stand as if we are in a doorway.  We have moved closer to our rendevous with Jesus.  We do not know what the new year will bring.  It could be the End Times or it could be our own personal death.  We live in hope though.  We live in hop that we will see Jesus face to face.  We hope that the year was pleasing to God (uh oh).  That we have grown and made progress, putting away imperfections.  We hope the new year is pleasing to the Almighty.  What is really important is our relationship with God.  The Church, in the reading today, remembers the time in the world without Christ.  What was life like back then without Him?  (short.  hard.  icky.)  There was no mercy and no compassion.  You were judged solely on content of character.  Isaiah cries out to God to DO IT!  Fulfill the Promise!  Advent is about time.  The wreath is a glorified clock.  Our lives are burning up like the candles.  Death is a passage.  We will be judged.  For the older generation, that was terrifying.  The same Christ that judges us gives us hope.  Christ will tell us "Not Bad" and "Good Job" (uhm.  That's very affirming of Him...).  During this time, the Church reminds us to STAY AWAKE!  Everyday is an opportunity.  Don't sleep through it.

Pictures:

St. Jude 

Anniversary Chalice and incense

 

St. Jude Shrine and Relic

View From the Back Pew

Tabernacle

 

Advent Wreath

Station VIII

Uhm. Flowers!

River?

Measles?

A Rose!

Must be for Mary!

It's a plant.

I have seen a pagan symbol just like this....

Farming on the Sun

Think I have a quilt pattern just like this

Jacob's Ladder?

Jesus and the Beanstalk

Thorns?

Plates of Oranges?

Mary and Jesus

Link:
Information from St. Louis Archdiocese