This is the church itself. We were (obviously) getting our roof repaired at the time.
That's the other parish buildings - community center and off to the left you can see the building where they have ccd classes.
This is our narthex. The bowl shaped like a shell is the Holy Water. There's also, toward the doors on the right, another container of Holy Water - people can fill up bottles from that to take home.
The nave, with the altar at the far end. There's a statue of Mary to the left (the Crucifixes right) and Joseph to the right (Crucifixes left). Our chapel is located on the other side of the altar wall and there is seating to each side - the church is basically laid out like a cross, inside.
This is the Chapel. To the right of the altar is the Tabernacle, where the Blessed Sacrament is reposed. The red light stays lit all the time, a sign of the True Presence of Christ in the Sacrament.
And this is the Baptismal Font. It can actually be moved (but it's very heavy). They typically perform Baptism's in the Chapel.
And this is the Baptismal Font. It can actually be moved (but it's very heavy). They typically perform Baptism's in the Chapel.
It's nice! I was actually at church just last Sunday for a baptism. My gosh though, I don't even know why my cousin got her baby baptized at all seeing how little care she put into it at all. She was dressed like she was going to the beach (HUGE boob crack with her halter top) and didn't have a speech prepared like all the other parents (there wre 5 baptisms happening). She even seemed impatient for the ceremony to just end and when it did, she was the first one out. I wasn't even sure if it was finished so I asked her and she rolled her eyes and said yes. In an "Thank goodness, I could not have stayed another moment!" type of way.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad at least some othe others seemed a bit more dedicated. But it was such a short ceremony. I thought it was normally part of a mass and everything, but it was not, and only took about a half hour after the priest started talking for all to be signed and people to be leaving! Makes me miss the beauty of the church. I haven't been able to get any message out of church in a long time. I rarely go (only for occaisions) but it seems they never talk about anything real or interesting in our churches here... The priests are discouraged at how little people care and I can understand them!
Thanks. I'm afraid the pictures don't do it justice. It was an old camera and because of the roof work the windows were covered to protect them, so the lighting wasn't that hot. But I think it's a very nice church. :)
ReplyDeleteFrom what you said, if this was taking place in my parish, it wouldn't have happened. Our priest would have refused to baptise the baby until & unless the parents were properly respectful and, to his mind, *prepared* to live up to the promises they were making.
Unfortunately a lot of parent just get their kids baptised because *their* parents expect it.
I don't know about it normally being a part of a Mass. At my church it can and has been, but for the most part it's a small ceremony for the families and is done after a Mass.
You're right about the discouragement and lack of care from so many people. I know quite a few people who blame it on a misinterpretation of Vatican II and the Church trying to 'keep up with the times'. But I don't know...it's still sad.
Very nice pictures. I enjoyed seeing your church.
ReplyDeleteI am a former DRE at a Catholic parish and have seen parents come to the Baptismal catechesis classes from the 'serious faith' side and the 'just doing it for the grandma' side of things. It saddened me at times, but I had to believe that the Holy Spirit would do his 'work' in either case!
ReplyDeleteI like your pics of your church!
Susanne,
ReplyDeleteThanks. :)
Mamajuliana,
ReplyDeleteOur priest is very hard on this angle. He has refused to baptise children if he doesn't feel the parents are doing it for the right reasons. But yes, sometimes you just have to pray that the Holy Spirit will take care of it all. :)
Just gorgeous Amber! And knowing your state, it is so fitting, such a nice architectural find.
ReplyDeleteThe sanctuary is so so pretty. And I loved seeing the baptismal font, it's eloquent compared to ours! Love you endlessly.
I wouldn't have let them baptize that baby either until they actually knew what they were doing. I don't even think that my cousin's boyfriend actually wanted to baptize his daughter, but did it because my cousin felt the need to follow that tradition. She was baptized and got her first daughter baptized and so should do it with this one.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, she didn't take the first baptism very seriously. I was chosen as godmother and I told her where I stood on religion at the time, which was that I was not believing in the church and could even be considered an atheist, and she didn't mind. She lied to the priest and told him I was 16 (which is the minimum age) and I wasn't. And she told him I had my confirmation when she didn't have a clue if I had (luckily, I had).
Back to this baptism, she actually arrived 5 minutes later than the time it was supposed to start at! The priest came to get them after she came though, thank goodness, or it would have been embarassing, seriously!
About it being part of mass, maybe you're right... But I like to think people who care enough to get their child baptized care enough about mass to actually attend once in a while. And the one right before the baptism might be a good one to be at! It bothered me, the whole thing. Even if I'm not Catholic, I still don't like to see this. I almost feel as though even the priests have given up, baptizing and doing the other rituals just like that, whether or not the people doing them actually seem to really care. But like mamajuliana mentioned, maybe they do believe it's enough and that the holy sprit will accept this.
Yasemin,
ReplyDeleteI like our church's interior. But I'm a big fan of earth and wood tones in design.
Candice,
ReplyDeleteOne of the many things I love about our priest is his hard nosed stance on such matters. (Among others is the fact that we have an Irish priest named Patrick...)
An action taken without any understanding or intent to follow through with the spirit of the tradition is useless.
There're classes that are required for both the parents and the godparents before baptism. And the priest should have known whether or not you (or any godparent) was a practicing Catholic. If you weren't, or were practicing but in another denomination, he should have made her choose someone else. I think part of the problem is that many priests were (from what I have been told by people more knowledgeable than myself) were themselves taught improperly. 'Progressive' thought and what many label heresy got into the seminary. It's being corrected, to steal a phrase from Fr. Z, 'brick by brick', but it's a long process.
Well, the people who are getting their child baptised for the right reasons, with correct understanding are going to be at Mass every Sunday anyway, as it's an obligation. Those who aren't, putting the baptism in the Mass isn't going to change their ways. That has to come first.
I like to think that, even in the cases where the infant is being baptised for the wrong reasons (on the parents' side), that even then they're being taken into the Covenant and so God will work to correct the errors that we make.
True, you're right that the people doing it for the right reasons would be at that mass anyway, even if it wasn't part of the ceremony. I went to church once for a regular mass in the past couple years and there were no more than 5 people there. It was weird because it's a huge church... Most churches in our city have been sold. The ones I know have good attendance are the protestant and Jehovah's Witness ones.
ReplyDeleteQuebeckers are still upset with the Catholic church and it shows...
Candice,
ReplyDeleteHuh. Is there a particular issue with the Catholic Church & Quebec? Or is it the sex abuse issue?