aeternus

I was going to post a meditation of historical and spiritual value for Our Lady today as it is her most Holy Feast Day as Our Lady of the Rosary but, well, instead I am going to post a praise to her in answer to her help in my intercessory prayer.

I have been so very blessed lately to be visually documenting Catholic life in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and in His most generous graces Our Lord shows me so many beautiful things.  I take Him along with me on each assignment and rely on Him showing me what He wants me to photograph.  So far this trust has been without regret as He ALWAYS shows me something beautiful.  Today, I want to share something even more outstandingly beautiful than usual…

As Catholics we are familiar with devotions such as the Rosary, Stations of the Cross and Eucharistic Adoration.  We practice personal devotions such as Divine Mercy or First Fridays.  If we are feeling burnt out we might seek refuge in a Spiritual Retreat or Pilgrimage to a holy site in order to “charge our spiritual batteries”.  Our Church is quite wonderful in giving us such extra spiritual fruits which compliment our liturgical and Eucharistic life which is centered around formal sacramental worship and prayer.  How blessed it is to have such a wealth of treasuries to seek, explore and discover through prayer.  Amen!

Last week, I was privileged to discover yet another wonderful way to invigorate one’s soul in love of God and His Son and through the goodness of the Holy Spirit.  It was an event who’s spiritual brawn had such efficacy that it brought 3 Christian Churches (who normally pass over each other’s contributions to His Kingdom) together  in an effort to build bridges between them and their similar missions of social welfare for their inner city communities.  Together Catholics from St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist Church along with Washington Metropolitan AME Zion Church and Rhema Baptist Assembly celebrated three nights of prayerful praise and worship an ecumenical Revival.

The Revival was the first meeting in what the churches hope to become many more in an effort to learn about each other and to forge community relationships built around Jesus Christ.  The Churches recognize their similar missions to the poor, to the elderly and to building up society through acts of charity and love.  They want to explore how each of them practices these missions and see how they may help one another in them.

As for Ecumenism surrounding the three Church Revival Father Vomund, the Pastor of St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist Church perceives it being a way to take away roadblocks between the Christian Faiths. “It is such a structural way to remove roadblocks which are presuppositions and our prejudices and bigotry.  And nobody has cornered the market on those bigotries. I have my people even say that we’re not Baptists.  But I say I don’t know what that means?  “I don’t know what it means to not be Baptist but I know what it means to be in prayer.  I know what it means to be in worship.”  The Church Revival will physically remove those roadblocks of prejudices.  “The road is free.  You can go on in and hold hands together.  You can lift your arms together.  Its O.K.!”

For the Revival a choir was formed through the combination of each church’s singers and talented musicans.  While each church is blessed with gorgeous voices, together their song could not have been more strong or glorious than if they had sung alone.  I think that was the strongest testament to the unique productive prayer of the three nights of praise.  Together these churches showed how working together helps to make a difference in their shared communities.

I’d like to invite you to visit the multi-media presentation on the Revival which is now showing on the St. Louis Review newspaper on-line edition.  I would hope you might like to share it with whomever you think may enjoy it.  I am so thankful that this story was able to be told in such a format.  I love the media presentation because is great to see and hear at the same time.

I want to thank the generosity of these churches and especially those beautiful souls I was privileged to come to know through praise of His name!

Peace to you this day!