Mass Chaos Week 5 - Brianne

Sunday, May 9th (Mother's Day) - Our Lady of Lourdes

I saw no temple in the city

for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.

The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,

for the glory of God gave it light,

and its lamp was the Lamb.

~Revelation 21:22-23

I've always had a fascination with the book of Revelations - its metaphors and vivid imagery. The second reading this week came from Revelations and after the reading was over, I played the above line in my head, and it made me wonder "where do I get my light from?" I looked at my husband, Andy, and my friends and realized some of my light comes from them. I thought of my parents (especially mom on this Mother's Day) - more light. And then I looked at the cross... wow. How lucky we are to be able to draw on Christ's light, and the light of Christ in our friends and family.

I particularly enjoyed this week's mass - Fr. Bill L'Heureux was extremely receptive to talking with us after mass (and serenading us with the guitar... sort of), the parishioners were friendly, and we had some more new additions to our crew (Anna, Terri, Andy, and Marcus). The one trend I'm starting to notice as we move through parishes is that the music often seems to reflect the architecture of the church - the more traditional the space, the more traditional the music. I'm still waiting on a parish to prove me wrong...

Thursday, May 13th (Ascension) - St. Vincent de Paul

I, who made the stars of night,

I will make their darkness bright.

Who will bear my light to them?

Whom shall I send?

~Here I am, Lord

Continuing the theme of light on this feast of the Lord's Ascension is one of my favorite hymns, "Here I am, Lord." This song always moves me... I looked at Eric and saw that it affected him, too. I yearn to let Christ's light shine through me to others - and I hope this journey we're on together will do just that. I hope that Ben (another new addition for Ascension mass) sees the love of God we have in our hearts and is open to accepting that love - because the light it fills me with is meant to share. Here I am, Lord.

St. Vincent de Paul is a beautiful building - so unique! It has been many years since I've been in the church (probably since it was built... I'll give a plug to my father here, who built most of the church furniture, tabernacle, and other wooden items in the church). Fr. Dan Kampschneider gave us a brief tour of the church and explained some of the symbolism in the design - a great history and architecture lesson (which I'm hoping Eric delves into, since this really isn't my specialty). I appreciate the sun and moon on the ceiling - it reflected the theme of light that seems to be recurring this week...

I'm excited to read the comments that have been accumulating on this page - and from all over the country! Though I know our idea isn't unique (it seems quite a few have made this same pilgrimage through the Omaha Archdiocese), I'm glad we have the chance to share it with others!

Christ, be our Light.