Blog

Last night, a 5-alarm fire destroyed the inside of the Rock Catholic Church in St. Louis. The Church was over 100 years old, and is known for its limestone exterior. I've driven by it on Grand Ave. many times, and remember seeing some beautiful interior pictures of the Chuch. It is a sad day for the St. Louis Archdiocese; please pray for the parishoners at this very old but vibrant parish, which ministers specially to the area's African-American community. Here's an article describing the fire from FOX News.

This week, I'm spending a few days in the Rocky Mountains near the Rocky Mountain National Park, and I already have a few pictures from the Garden of the Gods outside Colorado Springs. I'll be posting some more pictures as time allows—basically, if I ever feel energetic enough after one of my high-altitude hikes to spend a few minutes posting pictures.

As I write this on my MacBook Pro, I'm sitting on a bus returning from a very enriching and inspiring pilgrimage to Conception, MO, Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO. The pilgrimage began with an overnight stay and day of recollection led by Archbishop Raymond Burke at the beautiful grounds of Conception Abbey (a Benedictine monastery) in a rural area of northwest Missouri. The picture below is from their main church, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception:

(The picture above was taken with my D40 on the ledge of the holy water font in the back of the Basilica Church, thus the watery reflections).

I found this little gem online, and I think it speaks for itself:

Today I finally had the privilege of visiting the newly-dedicated shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (New Cathedral), and after praying the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart (copied below), I snapped a few pictures (one is above) of the shrine. It is a beautiful mosaic image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and I hope you get a chance to see it if you are in or around St. Louis.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

As all great Catholic events begin, this year's Steubenville St. Louis Mid-America conference began with the Eucharist. Jesus was carried amongst all the teenagers (about 2,000!) in a Eucharistic procession at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. I posted pictures from this night's events here, and I'll be posting the rest of the pictures as time allows this weekend.

The above picture is from the Eucharistic procession, with Fr. Stan Fortuna carrying the monstrance and leading adoration and benediction.