The last time I was unemployed, in 2002, it was unplanned (by me at least), and so I had seven weeks between jobs. In those kind of situations, it's easy to get down, and my method of dealing with being down is to sleep. So I was quite thankful for two things that got me out of bed every morning. My dog and going to daily Mass. I love daily communion. Holy days are called obligations, but to me, they aren't, they are welcome opportunities to break up my week and spend time with my Lord and Savior.
In other news, Frank's blog entry from Our Lady of Lourdes has the phrase that will work it's way onto the Mass Chaos t-shirts "In case you hadn't noticed, Jesus is awesome." I am so thankful to have Frank, Brianne, and Joe on this project with me.
Here we are, me, Brianne, Marcus, Ben, and Joe. Not pictured are Frank and Mandi who went to the noon Mass, the rest of us were at 7:00pm.
Location and History:
Saint Vincent de Paul, 14330 Eagle Run Drive, Omaha. Saint Vincent de Paul is a newer parish located on West Maple in the high growth area between Omaha and Elkhorn. I like to joke that area of town is closer to Fremont than to where I live, it might be true.
Architecture:
The ten to twenty minutes that I have to look at any church, or any building, is not really adequate form a good opinion. Since this Mass was in the evening, the waning light didn't lend itself to good photography. Architecture is art and subject to interpretation, and church architecture is interpreting our relationship with God in the form of a building and design, I find it immensely fascinating, this coupled with my general predisposition to look for the best in anything has helped to make these few weeks quite the adventure from a design aspect.
This church is unconventional in it's design. Father Dan was very generous with his time explaining the church and the design to me. There is a pamphlet that the parish has prepared explaining the church design, I did not find it online, but it is teal in color and located on the left hand side of the entrance to the Lady Chapel to the right of the main entrance. I thought originally this church reminded me of the Madonna della Strada Chapel on the campus of Loyola University of Chicago, but when I found the pictures on the link above it was clear that my memory is incorrect.
The altar is in the center of the sanctuary, so one might be inclined to say it is the focus of the building, however it really wasn't the focus of the building, what was the focus of the building was something that isn't really there, or more to the point, something that is there, but not immediately apparent. The focus of the design is the majesty of God.
Really, this is no small feat. with bold shapes and colors, the large organ, the modern stained glass, and dark wood, one could imagine the ease at which one could get drawn into distraction of one design element over another. However, no one thing dominates the design, the altar and crucifix are at the center but not the attention getters you might have at another church, they almost seem small, the priest seemed small, I felt small ... but the majesty of the Father loomed very large indeed. I'm not certain how I would like it for everyday worship space, but as a spot to connect with the Father, I'd recommend a visit.
Ascension / Gospel:
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Luke 24:51
The Bible tells us that Jesus was taken bodily to heaven. To the Apostles the sight of Jesus 'rising' to the heavens must have been powerful indeed. Nowadays, the concept of heaven being above the earth has lost it's amazement. Heck, I have myself ascended to the heavens, yes in an airplane, but high enough above the earth that an individual could not be seen.
Clearly science and understanding make it difficult to believe that heaven is just sitting above the earth, the universe is immense, and although Jesus is probably not limited to the speed of light, the edge is awfully far away, and frankly Jesus is frequently very close by. So where did Jesus go?
It's a mystery!
I believe I am more equipped than most to live with a mystery, by genes or environment I can accept that certain things just won't be known. It's not a lack of curiosity, it's just the way it is. It seems to me that many people put great effort into proving or disproving things like the Ascension, or even the existence of God or the lack thereof. This seems wrongheaded to me, the belief in God is an act of faith, not one that can be confirmed with a experiment. The facts of God are not revealed through proper analysis of a data set, but by taking a step into the unknown an admitting there is something to existence that cannot be quantified by human endeavors. Why did God make it this way? That, like the question of where Jesus went, is a mystery. Instead of frustrating us, it is one that we, like the Apostles who witnessed His ascension, joyfully contemplate.
Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
My friend C., who had surgery today.
My friend M., who is struggling with herself lately.
Heidi as she prepares for a mission trip to Haiti in July.
Peace, Eric
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