Parish Mission

This year we once again welcome Fr. Ron Camarda as our mission presenter. The theme of this year's mission is 'The Stewardship of Love: Helping Your Family Bear Fruit'. The mission will be held on Sunday and Monday, Feb. 3-4 from 2:00-4:00 on Sunday and 7:00-9:00 pm on Monday at St. Mary. All are welcome to come! For more information & updates refer to our website. Http://www.stmarynorwalk.org

Fr. Ron is just an amazing guy. If you're wondering, he's the guy in my profile picture.

If You Want to SEE....

....why abortion's days are numbered, just watch this.

Hat tip to A Second Chance.

Something to Remember

Blogs, when taken in perspective, can be fun, and they can be a useful source of information. There's one thing they are not. Blogs, including this one, have no authority in the Church. A blog may say this, that, or the other thing is the teaching of the Church. Most likely it is, but you don't know that without confirmation from an authoritative source. It's your responsibility to find out, rather than taking the word of someone you don't know. How can you do that? Ask your pastor. If you're still not sure, ask your bishop. No one ever said priests, or even bishops are infallible, but you're a lot safer taking their word than the word of someone with an opinion and a keyboard. You also have the catechism and the official documents of the Church. You'll find some useful links to them in the sidebar at the right of this page. Opinions and discussion can be a good thing, but you have the responsibility of finding out for yourself if they're valid.

Holy Trinity, Bucyrus

Portiuncula Chapel, Lourdes College

(Photo Credit)

Chacun a son Gout

There are two videos, at Adam's Ale that are radically different, yet they both get their point across, in fine form. The last thing we need is a horde of Stepford Catholics, on either end of the spectrum, telling us that one size should fit all.

The Other Toledo ( I Couldn't Resist )

Here are a few pictures of Antonio, Cardinal Canizares Llovera, Archbishop of Toledo, for the benefit of those young priests, seminarians, and future priests who, like me, don't see why a prince of the Church shouldn't look the part. Now, in general, I don't think clergy should dress ostentatiously, except at Mass. However, there are certain occasions when a priest should look impressive, for the honor of the One he serves. On looking at the following pictures, all I can say is.............................

YOU GO, EMINENCE!

FYI, that's what's known as a cappa magna, and it's making a comeback.

Lourdes College, Sylvania

(Photo Credit)

St. Stephen, East Toledo

Mosaics by Fr. Peter Prokop, added in 1964. In the background of each are scenes of Toledo, including St. Stephen's.

The painting is the Irish Madonna of Gyor. I posted the story HERE.

A Different, but Accurate, View...

.....of youth ministry, at St. Mary Magdalen, Brighton .

St. Peter, Mansfield

(Photo Credit)

St. Peter, Mansfield

I like the lighting on the altar.

(Photo Credit)

A Nod to Wittenberg

I've been posting pictures of St. Lucas' Lutheran Church, in the Old South End, at Back to Damerosehay.

NB: It just occurred to me that some people might not know that Wittenberg was the town where Martin Luther lived.

Quite a Find

Kevin Hammer managed to find an online book that's well worth reading, "Nineteenth Century German-American Church Artists", by Ammemarie Springer. HERE'S the link. There's a chapter on Ohio, but do yourself a favor and read the whole thing. The whole field of 19th century religious art needs to be better studied and documented and this book is a very welcome addition to the subject.

The Toledo Diocese is represented by St. John, in Glandorf, including the picture at the top, by Johann Schmitt, and the pulpit, by F. & H. Schroeder and Company, of Cincinnati, which was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

St. Joseph, Galion

There's a series of pictures of the Back to Heartland youth gathering at St. Joseph, Galion, at the Mansfield News-Journal

It's good to see such a crowd.

The windows look particularly good and I wouldn't mind getting a better look at that Holy Family altar, at the left. I won't comment on the footprint stole, however.

St. Joseph, Fremont

Kevin Hammer e-mailed a link to this article at the News-Messenger. It seems the tower of St. Joseph's is not being lit at night.

Immaculate Conception, Old South End

Common Sense from Tolkien

A letter to his son Michael, at Ward Wide Web. Read it all, it'll do you good.

Quote of the Day

"When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its corner-stone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob, a coward--in a word, a man. And upon this rock He built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link."
~ G.K. Chesterton, "Heretics"

St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center

St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center

The Heritage Hall is a very good idea, and one of the best presented historical exhibits I've seen outside a museum.

It has everything. The photographs cover every possible aspect of the hospital.

The arrangement is excellent.

The artifacts are well chosen and add interest.

St. Martin de Porres

Yes, the day was just as cold as it looks. My joints still haven't recovered.

St. John School, Lima

BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!

THIS is what it's all about. Congratulations to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, in Toledo.

A Young Priest's Tragic Death, 1868

In February 1868, parishioners at St. Peter in Upper Sandusky were stunned by the tragic death of their young pastor, Rev. Joseph Reinhardt. Father Reinhardt, 26 years old and a native of Bavaria, had served at the parish for only 9 months, having previously served 2 years as pastor at New Bavaria (then called Poplar Ridge).

On Feb. 22, he was to attend confirmation services with Bishop Rappe at Bucyrus, which was then a mission of Upper Sandusky. Planning to take the early morning train from Upper Sandusky at 2:06 a.m., he arrived at the depot 10 minutes late. He tried his next option, waiting for a freight train and asking the conductor and brakeman if he could pay his way to Bucyrus. They refused, and the freight train left at 3:40 a.m.

Between 4 and 5 a.m., the night watchman found the lifeless body of Fr. Reinhardt lying on the tracks. Rumors soon followed that Father had been thrown off the train, but a Coroner’s jury ruled that the priest “met death by attempting to board the freight train in motion.”

Initially Fr. Reinhardt was buried in the sanctuary in front of the high altar of the church, but was later moved to the parish cemetery when a new church was built

(Photo & information from a parish history of St. Peter, Upper Sandusky)

Immaculate Conception, Old South End

St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center

The cross being hoisted to its position on top of the building.
Photo: Toledo-Lucas County Public Library

St. Mary, Leipsic

The second St. Mary's church in Leipsic, Ohio, built in 1891. Photo from Atlas of Putnam County, 1895.

Immaculate Conception, Old South End

Immaculate Conception, Old South End

I never thought it would happen, but I managed to be in exactly the right spot, with exactly the right lighting, to get pictures of the bosses in the sanctuary vaulting. This one's the dove of the Holy Spirit.

The ox of St. Luke.

The eagle of St. John.

Tridentine Latin Mass at Immaculate Conception, Old South End

Yesterday's Tridentine Latin Mass at Immaculate Conception went very well. I had expected a good turn out, but considering the low temperature, I wasn't sure how good. The fact that seventy-five people braved the cold surprised everyone. In order to hear better, I sat in the front row, where I wasn't able to check the crowd. My first indication of how things were progressing was the expression on Fr. Paul's face when he came out to welcome everyone. It was memorable, to say the least. Even without a large contingent from St. Joseph's, we'd have had at least three times the dozen or so everyone was hoping for.
Everyone involved deserves thanks. Fr. Paul already works more in his retirement than most of the workforce. It would have been completely understandable if he's said it was just too much extra work. He didn't, though. He took on the extra burden without complaint. Don't forget all the extra prayers the priest has to say in the Tridentine, not to mention the usual excellent homily. Add the fact that he hasn't done it in decades and you'll see it's not to be taken lightly. He did very well and seemed to be enjoying himself.
Kevin Foose, organist and choir director, outdid himself. Even brought in his mother to do a wonderful solo of the Pie Jesu.
Don't ever doubt how much extra work is involved in preparing the altar. It takes four strong men to move the people's altar to the side, and those candlesticks are heavier than you'd imagine. I know. I moved one. As usual, at Old Darby, parishioners were there to help.
I'd particularly like to thank Trevor Fernandes and the parishioners of St. Joseph's. They offered every possible assistance and brought a group of experience servers. I was very impressed by their generosity.
The next Tridentine Mass at Immaculate Conception will be at noon, on February 17. Everyone's welcome.

Immaculate Conception, Old South End

My parish celebrated its first Tridentine Latin Mass in almost four decades today. I'll post on it in the morning.

Immaculate Conception, Old South End

St. Martin de Porres