Saturday, April 11, 2009
FtW - 2nd annual visitation to seven churches
Hello www,
Happy Easter everyone! Heavenly Father, thank you for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We couldn't do half the things we do in our lives if it weren't for Him and You in our lives. Thank you for continually blessing each and everyone of us. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
When my mom moved in with me four years ago, I didn't realize how much of a blessing she is to me, and I don't know why I didn't want to fulfill more of her wishes until now. But then everything in God's time, right? I am in a place spiritually now where I appreciate my mom and her life. I get it.
Mom has off/on always mentioned the ritual of visiting seven churches on Good Friday. It's a Polish tradition and is supposed to be done on Tr evening, when adoration takes place, but since mom is older, and we have mass on Tr night until 9p, we decided to go on Fri.
This year we went to Ft. Worth. (Last year was Dallas.)
It was a nice day. I noticed more of mom's mannerisms on our drive too: she would flinch if she thought I was too close to a car, or if a car was too close to ours. Not to mention semis! Oh my! The scariest of all to be around, so I would whip around them as quickly as possible.
We prayed a rosary, then listened to Christian rock music (mom actually enjoys it as much as I do) as we traversed the city.
First stop: downtown Ft. Worth - St Pat's cathedral.
The wind was a bit chilly.
The Cathedral was gorgeous. Homey. We prayed a few prayers - as we would throughout the day at the various churches we were going to visit - and then go to the next church.
Second stop: St Andrew's. This church is close to TCU and the zoo. Mom and I were surprised to find it wasn't open. I waved down the custodians who were in the midst of cleaning, explained 'our mission,' and they let us in to the church.
Third stop: Furrs. I know, this isn't a church. :) Mom wanted to eat Furr's delish catfish. We took a little longer finding Furrs than I anticipated, but were soon on to our
Third stop: St. George. Mom and I hadn't ever heard of St. George. This was the only church we were to visit that had a tiny gate at the altar. Made mom and me wonder if communion was given to parishioner's kneeling at the gate. I liked this idea; the cathedral my mom got married in El Paso was like this one. Same kind of vibe here too: it was like coming home. Sometimes mom would pray as I snooped around the church. I found a bathroom, but more importantly, I found a wonderful CD by Fr. Corapi for a donation of $3. I left a check (for more than $3) knowing mom and I would listen to the CD when we got back to the car. We did and it is Fantastic! Fr. Corapi is speaking specifically about the Passion of our Lord, and what it means to suffer. Fr. Corapi's own story is fascinating: he was wealthy, then he became a drug addict, then was homeless, now to priest. Just amazing. He decided to be a priest at 39. "Late in life."
Fourth stop: St. Bart. This was a difficult church to find! Wow! This put us even further back on time than I expected. I wanted to be leaving FtW around 3p to avoid traffic, even for Good Friday I knew there would be a little, possibly a lot. Now I put us at leaving FtW closer to 4p...We did eventually find it, of course. But not before I stopped at a gas station and asked for some help with the directions I had obtained from mapquest.
When we arrived, a prayer service was going on, and mom settled in quickly to join them, and then say some prayers of her own. I stood at the back and waited for the prayers to be finished before joining my mom.
Fifth stop: Holy Name. This church was also closed, but was beautiful from the outside, which made not being able to enter somewhat bearable. It's set on a hill with a delightful view of FtW. Lots of trees, really green. There was a cave set up where two statues are enacting the scene in the bible where the angel is asking the Blessed Mother to be Jesus' mother. In the back of the church there was a sweet patio area: I imagined families gathering after mass to chat with friends. Maybe even wedding receptions, etc were held there. It was complete with bar-b-que grills.
Six stop: St Rita. We missed a prayer service as we pulled up. The church was closed shortly after. I took a photo of the outside. The parishioner's were kind and invited us back on Saturday for a prayer.
Seventh stop: a Vietnamese church. I had not planned on visiting this church, and didn't even know it was there had my mom not said excitedly, "Deb! There's another Catholic church! Let's stop." I thought it was closed as well, but mom's eagle eyes saw there were cars in the parking lot. After a brief U-turn, we pulled up to the church, and, sure enough, they were open. The parishioner's were so kind to us! They showed us around their wonderful premises. Mom and I stopped in to say some prayers and I took a photo of their statue of Fatima - who looked like she was going to speak to me at any moment. I also took a photo of the church on the outside.
As we were leaving FtW I thought, "It is nice to see how each church offers up it's building to honor God; they each have their own personality. How brilliant ALL sacred spaces are."
We ran into a bit of traffic leaving FtW, but once I was on 190 it was smooth sailing home! :)
God bless!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Stations
Hello www,
Heavenly Father bless, guide and help everyone in the world looking for work, for all marriages, for all engagements, for singles everywhere, for everyone I said I would pray for, and thanks for all the blessings you bestow upon each of us. In Jesus' name. Amen.
I can't possibly leave out mentioning the Stations of the Cross before Lent ends this coming Easter Sunday.
I've always thought the Stations are the most thought provoking, reflective prayer we have as Catholics, and for some reason this Lenten season they seemed even more so, and I can't really say why, other than I feel God opened my eyes to concentrate more on them AND to Digest what I'm praying...
For those of us who are Catholic but don't know much background history about the stations, I'm posting some info I found on http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15569a.htm and for those of my readers who aren't Catholic, my hope is to introduce you to this wonderful prayer.
*inhaling*Okay, here goes:
Way of the Cross
(Also called Stations of the Cross, Via Crucis, and Via Dolorosa). These names are used to signify either a series of pictures or tableaux representing certain scenes in the Passion of Christ, each corresponding to a particular incident, or the special form of devotion connected with such representations.
They are usually ranged at intervals around the walls of a church, though sometimes they are to be found in the open air, especially on roads leading to a church or shrine. In monasteries they are often placed in the cloisters. The erection and use of the Stations did not become at all general before the end of the seventeenth century, but they are now to be found in almost every church. Formerly their number varied considerably in different places but fourteen are now prescribed by authority. They are as follows:
1. Christ condemned to death;
2. the cross is laid upon him;
3. His first fall;
4. He meets His Blessed Mother;
5. Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross;
6. Christ's face is wiped by Veronica;
7. His second fall;
8. He meets the women of Jerusalem;
9. His third fall;
10. He is stripped of His garments;
11. His crucifixion;
12. His death on the cross; (a longer pause is given at this station, of course, and when you are meditating on the other stations and then come to this one and pause, it is Very Powerful)
13. His body is taken down from the cross; and
14. laid in the tomb.
The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make in spirit, as it were, a pilgrimage to the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death, and this has become one of the most popular of Catholic devotions. It is carried out by passing from Station to Station, with certain prayers at each and devout meditation on the various incidents in turn. It is very usual, when the devotion is performed publicly, to sing a stanza of the "Stabat Mater" while passing from one Station to the next.
The short phrases from Stabat Mater enhance the devotion. Everything about the stations comes together.
In another entry I will attach pictures of the Stations of the Cross. If you feel moved by the spirit, you can pray the stations right now at http://www.ourcatholicfaith.org/stations/menu.html.
(Interesting to note, at school the students are given 'stations' - work to do either at their desks or on the computer - so now when I say "Here are your stations," it will take on an added meaning.)
May God continue to be felt long after Lent has passed us, and may the lessons we've learned during Lent stay with us and be an inspiration for our behavior the rest of the year.
Gaaaahd bless us!
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