Our church is laid out kind of, um...poorly. It was, of course, never supposed to be the final church. We recently renovated it, and it is so much more beautiful than before, but there are structural issues that simply could not be fixed by a face-lift.
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| Before I know. Right? |
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| After AHH! Much better! |
SEE?
To allow the parish to grow into a larger church, the worship space was built in the basement of the school, adjoining the school cafeteria so that, if we had a big crowd, we could open the folding door and allow for overflow seating. But, this means that the kitchen is right next to the church. So, if the kitchen is in use, you can hear every banged pot and every shout in the church.
This past weekend was our annual fundraiser for our house of Sisters of the Missionary Servants of the Word. We have three missionary sisters who serve our parish (and the entire diocese) by bringing the Word of God, personally, to people's doors. In order to continue the mission, we need to house, and care for the sisters. This fundraiser provides the most of the means to do so each year. (Click here to see a video about the mission's first year. It's even bigger now.)
Instead of hiring a caterer, the parishioners always prepare the food from scratch and volunteers do all the set up, serving, tear down, planning, hosting...everything. It is a huge project. This year, it required the use of the kitchen for three days to prepare the food. One of those days was First Friday. It's pretty hard to cook quietly, so there was concern that adorers would be disturbed by those preparing for the dinner. We thought about cancelling or postponing adoration, but realizing that prayer is what drives the mission, that was rejected as a solution. We certainly needed the prayers more than ever when preparing to spread God's Word. Finally, someone suggested moving it to another location. So it was decided that we would create an ad-hoc Adoration Chapel in the trailer that we use for coffee and donuts each Sunday.
You know, there's really only so much one can do to spruce up a trailer - well, at least this trailer. Everything in it is gray (or colors that are trying hard not to be gray). But Father moved a portable altar into the trailer and set up the candelabras and folding chairs, nonetheless, and told us that's where we would have Exposition, Adoration and Benediction. I was skeptical. I mean, how much majesty can be brought to a double wide? It seemed like putting Jesus in the broom closet.
When I arrived in the makeshift chapel after mass, my skepticism was not assuaged. It was freezing in the trailer. The chairs were ice cold and the fluorescent lights did nothing to alleviate the chill. We left the door open, just for the warmth. The altar was prepared, but very simple. In spite of having to move over to the trailer from the church, many of the daily mass attendees stayed. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the trailer was comfortably full. We lit the candles and sat down to wait for Father to bring the Body of Christ for Exposition.
As soon as Father entered, carrying the pyx, we all knelt on the floor and the entire room was silent. We could hear the birds singing in the woods near the church grounds and the fresh, spring breeze rustling the leaves. Blue Jays, Robins and Cardinals were calling out to one another and the sun shone brightly in through the door. Once Father had put the Blessed Sacrament into the monstrance, the entire room was transformed. There was a warmth and nobility that had not been there before. As Father incensed the Blessed Sacrament, we sang "O Salutaris Hostia" - no one had thought to bring books, so some people were left to hum it. Then, we knelt in complete silence for several minutes. The majesty of the presence of God in our midst was unmistakable. No one wanted to move. We were spell-bound. With the birds singing, the sun shining and Our Lord near to us, we praised God.
My heart was singing. It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut as I thought about the Canticle of the Three Holy Children from The book of Daniel, Chapter 3.
62 Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
69 Frost and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
80 All you birds of the air, bless the Lord;As I knelt there, I realized that if we let Him in, God will sanctify all the dingy, dark places in our lives - all the "trailers" where we hide our sins and weaknesses, our failings, and the pieces of ourselves that "we'll handle on our own, thanks". All we have to do is invite him to come in, and He will fill our souls with His Majesty and His Peace, just like he filled that trailer on First Friday.
praise and exalt him above all forever.
81 All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
HT to Fr. Thomas Buffer for the photos of the church, before and after. You can find his blog, "Parish Diary", over here.
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The Canticle of The Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:52-90)
52 “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our ancestors,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
53 Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
54 Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
55 Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
56 Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever.
57 Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
58 Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
59 You heavens, bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
60 All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
61 All you powers, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
62 Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
63 Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
64 Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
65 All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
66 Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
67 Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
68 Dew and rain, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
69 Frost and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
70 Hoarfrost and snow, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
71 Nights and days, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
72 Light and darkness, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
73 Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
74 Let the earth bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
75 Mountains and hills, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
76 Everything growing on earth, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
77 You springs, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
78 Seas and rivers, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
79 You sea monsters and all water creatures, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
80 All you birds of the air, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
81 All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
82 All you mortals, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
83 O Israel, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
84 Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
85 Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
86 Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
87 Holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
88 Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
For he has delivered us from Sheol,
and saved us from the power of death;
He has freed us from the raging flame
and delivered us from the fire.
89 Give thanks to the Lord, who is good,
whose mercy endures forever.
90 Bless the God of gods, all you who fear the Lord;
praise and give thanks,
for his mercy endures forever.
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