Saint Patrick

I am tired. That's your warning this may not be the best blog ever. For some reason I couldn't manage to get to bed until 5 this morning, and then I woke up at 8 to get ready for church. Instead of getting ready though, I rolled over and fell back asleep. Luckily my brother woke me up with enough time to still get ready. I can't tell if my inability to sleep is linked to stress or if my body is just getting adjusted to my work schedule (I currently work 3:30 to Midnight), but I'm definitely grumpy right now.

Today's stop was at Saint Patrick (508 Angus St.)
One of the things I noticed was the definite feel of lots of space.
Another unique feel was that a lot of light that came through the stained glass
Someone wanted to see this particular stained glass windows, so here that is. I did not notice that there was that kid in the picture too until just now.
And I thought the lighting around Jesus was pretty neat
We decided that we'd do something different and pose with Saint Patrick rather than the normal shot in front of the altar.

Left to right: Frank, Marcus, Teri, Brianne, Andy, Jennifer, Eric, and Joe

I'm still working on my photography skills for your and my enjoyment of this experience. If anyone can recommend any good books I'd be interested. I really enjoy taking pictures since I feel like part of sharing this experience is being able to capture my viewpoint. I'm definitely a person that likes to set the mood and make it as full an experience as possible.

Today's Gospel (John 17:20-26) as do all the readings for today (Acts 7:55-60, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20) talk about prayer. The thing that really strikes me is the way Jesus prays. It is such an awesome prayer that I'm just going to paste it in and add in my comments.

Holy Father, I pray not only for them,

but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

so that they may all be one,

as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

that they also may be in us,

that the world may believe that you sent me.

He not only thinks of the here and now, but the future too.

And I have given them the glory you gave me,

so that they may be one, as we are one,

I in them and you in me,

that they may be brought to perfection as one,

that the world may know that you sent me,

and that you loved them even as you loved me

And He goes even further to make the connections.

Father, they are your gift to me.

I wish that where I am they also may be with me,

that they may see my glory that you gave me,

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,

but I know you, and they know that you sent me.

I made known to them your name and I will make it known,

that the love with which you loved me

may be in them and I in them

And the best part? (as if the rest of this wasn't already good for us) Jesus felt like we were a gift to Him. The Father passed his love to Jesus who passes His love to us so that we can know them BOTH. That's the way I want to feel about everyone I meet...that my relationships are gifts given to me by the Father's love, so that we all may be together.

This upcoming week will be different for me, as I will be out of town this weekend. I will still be attending mass wherever the plan is to go, but I will likely be going in the middle of the week in the morning or afternoon. If you are available and would like to attend, send me a message. If you would like to the join the regular group, you can find out more information by e-mailing us or joining our facebook group and getting the updates there.

-Frank