There is no particular reason for posting these photos, I just thought they would go nicely for this week Friday Sky post during Lenten Season. Last September, as we were on our way to Rock Springs, Wyoming, we passed by the little church as we approached the town of Eden, Wyoming. I could not resist capturing the image of the rustic look of the building against the sunset. My husband was again very accomodating to my request to turn around so I could take a few photos.
I am sure there is a lot of interesting history about this Saint Christopher's Catholic Church. My personal reason was because Christopher is my baptismal name. (Yes, I know that Christopher is traditionally baptism name for boys. It is an acient tradition that babies at their baptism are given the name of a saint whom later they should come to know, to love and to venerate. As an adult who coverted to Catholicism, since there are no doctrines against selecting baptismal names according to genders, I got to choose my own baptismal name and that is Saint Christopher.)
Above sculpture of Saint Christopher in front of the church as he is usual depicted as a giant of a man with a Christ child on his shoulder and a staff in one hand. For people of Christian faith, we believe that Saint Christopher is patronage saint of travelers. Medallions with his image and prayers are kept in vehicles as we request protection when traveling. Do you have Saint Christopher's Church in your town?
February 22nd was Ash Wednesday. Receiving ashes on the first day of Lent is a practice that dates back to the 5th century and by the 11th century was a universal Christian practice. In ancient times, many people used ashes for religious, magical and medical purposes. In the Old Testament, ashes were sprinkled on the head or over the whole body as a sign of mourning and penance. During the Reformation, most Protestant Churches eliminated the use of ashes. In recent years, however, many of these Churches have resumed the practice. Pope Urban II (c.1035-1099) is credited with recommending that Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday.
As Catholics, the imposition of blessed ashes on our forehead on Ash Wednesday signifies the purification of our minds and hearts, which is the fruit of our Lenten observance of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I pretty much was at church the whole day starting with 8:00 a.m. Mass, went back in the afternoon to help get the Lenten Supper ready to be served at 2:45 p.m. This was our first year providing Fasting Supper that included 4 kinds of homemade soups (Disclaimer: I had nothing to do with making the soups. I just helped serving the food), grilled cheese sandwich, salad and drink (lemonade and water). We requested donation only. Ash Wednesday (and Good Friday) are days of fasting and abstinence from meat. My husband stopped by after work and we had supper. I selected the clam chowder and CP had his favorite brocolli cheese. I continued to help until 6:45 p.m., just in time to join my husband for 7:00 p.m. Mass.
I am skipping the regular "Tuesday Two" post this week and instead write about the Burning of the Palms. It was my first experience with how the burning was done. The day started out cloudy, in the upper 40s but the wind made it kind of chilly. Later in the afternoon the sun came out and it got up to the 50s. The school kids were gathered around in the parking lot in front of the church. Father explained the ritual of burning of the palms (parishioners brought back to church the palms they received from last year Palm Sunday), blessed and then burned the palms to create the ashes to be used at Ash Wednesday Masses.
The kids were all excited as they gathered around in a circle. The teachers had to tell them to quiet down to hear what Father was saying. When the burning got going with the smoke blowing around, the kids started coughing and they did not like the smoke flowing toward them. I loved watching the kids walked back to school in a very orderly manner because it reminded me of the school I went to in Viet Nam. We had to wear uniforms (white shirt, black/blue skirt for the girls, just high above the ankles, pants for the boys, white socks and black shoes). Both boys and girls wore ties. I had wonderful memory from those carefree years prior to the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
It started around midnight with only dusty snow continued throughout the morning. My husband took "Luc" (Chinese name for the Mazda 6) since we heard that there would be accumulation in the evening. Being front-wheel drive, Luc would be much better than the Mustang when going up hill. (The 1st snowfall in January, CP had to park his Pony at a church parking lot and walked to his office.) So far this was only the third snowfall in the St. Louis area during this year so-called winter. Actually, the 2nd snowfall last week had only a few flurries and did not last more than an hour or so. Not that I complained about the mild winter, just don't want a serious drought in the summer.
This is our 17th winter in St. Louis and I sure don't miss living in Michigan during the winter months. Even though I was well aware of the harsh winter in Grand Haven, nothing prepared me for the experience of actual driving on US-31 in white-out condition and ice covered roads. One time, the snow from an 18-wheeler completely covered my windshield when the truck passed me. For a moment there my wipers could not get the snow off quick enough, I was driving blind and my guardian angel took over. Also, let's not forget all the 3-hour drive trips to Detroit at Christmas time. To this day I still remember the time when a van spinned out of control on I-75, then I saw its headlights shinning directly thru the passenger side (that was my side), somehow my husband was able to swerve out of the way. How he did it on the snow covered icy road I never knew!
The guidebook states that the above image is the most photographed and a favorite for visitors and wedding photos while couples exchanging vows. The altar of the Chapel of the Transfiguration with the large window framing the majestic Teton Mountain Range makes an almost perfect view. The rustic log Chapel was built in 1925 and has been functioning as an Episcopal church.
The Chapel is accessible all year around but religious services and weddings are conducted only during the summer months from May to September. It was nice to see there were many people just quietly sat in the small chapel. You could tell that they were visitors passing thru while on vacation but recognized that they should slow down and took the time to simply meditate. We said prayers for our country, our Armed Forces, our family and ourselves.
I thought of these images when we sang "How Great Thou Art" at Mass this morning. The winter has been unseasonably mild. The temperature has been in the upper 60s since Monday. So far we only had one sort-of winter snow without much accumulation. Looking up at the blue sky while walking back to my car, I thought of the wonderful memories of our recent road trip to the Northwest (Wyoming and Montana). 
"O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder. Consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee ; How great thou art, how great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee; How great thou art, how great thou art!"
Believe in yourself even when no one does.
Peace and Joy or Joy and Peace, from whichever side you are reading (left to right or right to left), I do wish you will have both, not just for the New Year but all the coming years.
It has been our tradition, the last 7 years or so, to attend Midnight Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (on Lindell in Central West End). We usually arrived around 10:45 p.m. to find "good seats". The Choral Program starts at 11:00 p.m. followed by Midnight Mass. The church was almost full but we were able to find two available seats. There was an old man who kept walking around looking for a family member. We chuckled when we heard the man whispering, calling out for "Mary, Mary". The usher finally approached the man and helped me find his "Mary". 
The above and below images are part of the cakes I ordered for my husband's 53rd birthday. I ordered two cakes, one was delivered to his office the week before Christmas and the 2nd cake was picked up on the 24th, just in time for his birthday on Christmas Day :)
Both cakes had Happy Birthday, Christmas tree and decorations from the photos of my husband's pride and joy - the T-bird from our Route 66 adventure and the Mustang from our recent Lincoln Highway roadtrip.
A Christmas card from my former neighbor in Michigan arrived today. Becky wrote that she has ended her marriage to Jeff. They got married the year before we moved to St. Louis, so that was 18 years ago. Becky did not provide the details and I am not sure if I would ask or wish to know. She wrote it was sad, painful but necessary. I plan to call her after the holidays since Becky went to visit her daughter in upstate New York. Just to get away, she said. Becky was born in Syracuse, New York. She moved to Michigan with her first husband and decided to stay after the divorce. I started this post a long time ago. After I posted these images, I could not find a good story to fit these signs, Road Ends, Road Closed, Road Closed Ahead. I often wonder it would have been nice if there were signs like these to let us know so we could turn around before running into dead end in our marriage, employment or relationships. We could avoid the heart breaks if we could see down the road that the marriage will not last or to avoid the potholes on the uneven paving when making major decisions. It would have been nice to know that a new supervisor from hell would be taking over the department after we accepted what we thought was an ideal job. Looking back, we all encountered these "road closed" signs. We have no choice but to turn around and find another open road. And that was good because at least there was an option. The end of 2011 is almost here, and another year is ahead. So if you face these road ends, road closed, in your life, just turn around and consider the new year as the open road for new adventure and opportunities.
Taking advantage of the sunny, warmer than expected weather, my husband worked on the Nativity display. After Ma passed away in 2006 (Pa passed away in 2000), the family went thru items in the house and getting it ready to sell, we mentioned that we would like to have the Nativity. We have been carrying on the tradition of displaying the Nativity in front of our house since then, just like the way Ma and Pa used to do during Christmas season. 
For football fans, Thanksgiving is also a special time since we could eat and be merry watching the games all day. Traditionally, the Detroit Lions and now the Dallas Cowboys would schedule gameday on Thanksgiving. Nothing against Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay but I thought it would be funny if the Lions won the game and broke the Packers' winning streak. (Only serious football fans would understand why I thought it would be funny if that ever happened.)
My husband once again did a great job with cooking the turkey. He also made pumpkin and apple pies and my favorite side dish, green bean casserole. I reminded my husband of our "insider" funny story what happened in 2009 after we found the wishbone in the turkey. We silently made our wishes - my husband got the larger piece of the wishbone and I got the shorter part. CP then told me that his wish was that the exact model of the 2010 Mustang he ordered would be delivered sooner than scheduled. Well, he did get the Pony a few months earlier. What was my wish? I wish for peace in the world and for God's blessings for America. Talk about priority - if only I got the larger piece of the wishbone, the world would have been a peaceful place! (This year, we both wished for peace. Hopefully our wishes will come true!)
