Life is a Prayer.com

Video on YouTube of a lightning strike @ 9,000 frames per second - it's amazing how many 'little strikes' and sparks make up one single visible lightning strike!

From the St. Louis Review's story, Archbishop Carlson makes an offer to the parishioners of St. Stanislaus:

In order to help get the parish re-established, I have committed that the archdiocese would provide the pastor for the first year of the reestablished parish without cost to the parish and would contribute up to $10,000 to pay the cost of the consultant for a fund drive to secure the finances of the parish corporation and the St. Stanislaus Corporation for the future.

This proposal has my full support and I will do everything in my power to make St. Stanislaus succeed as a personal parish for Catholics of Polish heritage.

I ask that you please join me in praying that reconciliation can be brought about and, with the help of God, healing will take place.

Just as with Archbishop Burke before, Archbishop Carlson seems to be willing to go to very great lengths to ensure the Catholicity of this once great parish—let us pray that this situation gets resolved sooner rather than later!

Some of my earlier postings on this situation:

• St. Stanislaus... Bozek... Still a Sad Situation
• An Appeal that Will Never Make the News - from St. Stanislaus Parishoners
• St. Louis "Post Disgrace" (Part II: More anti-Catholicism...)

I recently visited the Church of the Most Sacred Heart in Eureka, MO, and took many photos of the interior (view a full gallery of the pictures I took). The standout photos of the bunch were of the stained glass windows. Below are the three patronal saints of the Archdiocese of St. Louis (depicted on the left side of the Church, when sitting in the main body of the pews).

(from left to right: St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, St. Louis IX, King of France, St. Vincent de Paul)

Even though this Church was recently renovated, it has a very strong style of 'noble simplicity' - the Church is of a traditional cruciform layout, but the stained glass is very well made, and most of the liturgical instruments (candle stands, the altar, the tabernacle, etc.) are beautifully restored or newly crafted. The Church even features a beautiful (and functional) pipe organ in the rear choir loft!

Related: Gallery of Photos from Most Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Eureka, MO

Click the image above for more details on the Flickr page. Self-portrait taken in the main room of my condo, with a neat little cross of Natalie's hanging on the wall behind us. Isn't she beautiful?