Today was a 1st at both the Catholic Church parishes I hold dear. Both of these parishes, for the first time ever, had St. Joseph Day Altars. Both were stunning and surely did not disappoint. I only wish that I would have taken a few pictures today.
Most Holy Trinity, the parish I am currently assigned to as their Permanent Deacon, is a young parish; only about six years old. We are still awaiting the go ahead to break ground on our permanent church building. We still utilize a converted retail space for our worship space, as well as our offices and classrooms. Space is an immediate issue with the St. Jospeh Altar itself having to be erected in our largest classroom. So overall size was an issue, presentation, beauty and holding fast to all the traditions was not. All the volunteers did a great job and all the essentials were there. I managed to take a ride over to Most Holy Trinity at lunch time, right about the time lunch was being served. The amount of food being prepared in our kitchen, not to mention all the great fig cookies and other delights, was overwhelming. And delicious! Of course everyone received, in addition to the food, a fave bean(see my prior article) and a St. Joseph prayer card.
This evening I drove north to Abita Springs to visit the St. Joseph Altar at my home parish, and my first assignment as a Permanent Deacon, at St. Jane de Chantal Church. Again, at least for the past 16 years, this would be the first altar at St. Jane's. I was overwhelmed as these volunteers put on a spectacular tribute to St. Joseph. The display was amazing, far larger than I anticipated with all the essentials in place. What made this display unique was the two miniature replicas of St. Joseph Altars handcrafted. Simply beautiful! I visited with a bunch of my MHT parish as I sat down for dinner as they all came to St. Jane's after MHT's altar was disassembled. And as always, while in Abita, so good to visit with old friends and parishioners!
So this Monday, far from being routine, I celebrated our faith and our traditions, by spending time at two St. Joseph Day Altars at my two favorite parishes. It was a blessed day!
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