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Click here to Watch NET NY News about St. Mary's and Pope St. John Paul II Altar  St. Mary's Altar on which Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass at Aqueduct Race Track, on October 6, 1995
Celebration of the Canonization on the Pope's Altar at
St. Mary's which Pope John Paul II on celebrated Mass, October 6, 1995, Aqueduct Race Track.
                Blessings on Eileen's new Journey  It's Springtime!
Holy Week 2014
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have a happy thanksgiving everybody
ReplyDeleteREACTIONS OF A VISITOR
ReplyDeleteI visited Saint Mary’s Church recently. And eight aspects of the church moved me. I would like to share they with you. Maybe you also will be touched.
1. THE FREE STANDING ALTAR:::. That free standing block of marble. The altar of sacrifice. The place where the holy sacrifice will be offered. You get a feeling that you are offering the sacrifice. You get a feeling that you are being offered on that altar.
2. THE AMPLE SPACE:::. The broad space around the altar. It gives you the sense of the presence of God. The amplitude. The magnitude. The expanse. All those special attributes of God, exemplified in this architectural edifice.
3. THE POINTED ARCHES:::. You get the feeling that you are being wafted into heaven. Oh yes. Architects will say that the pointed arch points to heaven. They also say that pointed arch makes for the ability to have higher ceilings. That may very well be but the initial reaction on the part of a visitor is that of being lifted up.
4. THE BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL:::. The bronze railing between the main altar area and the tabernacle area creates the perception of a Blessed Sacrament Chapel. This expression should be carefully employed. One needs to know where to assign totalities. There are multiple totalities here. There is the Altar of Sacrifice and there is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. We do not say: the tabernacle has been pushed over to the side.
5. THE CRUCIFIX AND THE PIETA:::. Probably no better decision was made at the time of the renovation of the church when it came to deciding which elements of “the old” were to be retained, than to keep the life size crucifix and the Pieta. And yes. People have been escorted before that image of Mary to invoke her comfort and consolation after undergoing a personal crisis.
6. THE WINDOW STATIONS:::. Oh. We are familiar with “making the stations” by following the fourteen steps of Jesus before he died. But Saint Mary’s offers an alternate set of stations, the Windows, with their lessons and symbols. Yes the sufferings of Jesus are included. But we also find Eucharistic and Trinitarian symbols
7. THE STATIONS OF THE SAINTS:::. And you can also find comfort and walking reflectively and meditatively past the images of the Saints, both in statue and painting.
8. THE VIEW FROM THE LOFT:::. Oh. And what a view from the choir loft. Like looking down from heaven. Like being part of God’s total creation.
True. During the day around 3 pm the bright sunlight shining through the stain glass looks beautiful.
DeleteI really like those photographs. I know that anyone would be happy to be a member of Saint Mary's parish community.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteI really like those photographs. I know that anyone would be happy to be a member of Saint Mary's parish community.
ReplyDelete