St Augustine, Christmas Crib

Some late Christmas Decoration pictures, St Augustine, Minster. Nice Crib, fitting for so large a church, they still have their rail only because the marble floor would cost a fortune to patch or replace

nice use of poinsettias, since Christ has been shunted off to a side altar the flowers highlight the "presiders chair" funny how the Presider is now elevated higher that Jesus, and front and center too boot

A seldom seen view from the rear of St Augustine, from the parking lot, just left a funeral, which is when I got the pictures

The Twin Spires are a landmark, they look impressive as they are lit at night. Local pilots look for them as a landmark as they approach either Lake field, Mercer county airport, Celina or Neil Armstrong , Auglaize county airport, New Knoxville. St Augustine is the "mother church" that most of the churches in southern Auglaize and Mercer C0unty's can trace their heritage from

Real Confessional

now this is a confessional, from my youth, at St Joesph, Egypt

view from outside, added after the original church was built

Man was it ever cold in there in the winter ;-)
unfortunately even they fell to the reconciliation fever and changed the baptistery in the rear of the little church to a reconciliation-crier room, now the baptismal font is in the sanctuary, Oh Well, some day it will all be restored

Face to Face is a turn off

With all due credit to the Catholic Cartoon Blog,
may I add Face to Face confession, most times I just don't wish to be in a counseling session, I want CONFESSION. I just cannot sit and talk to my parish priest, I want some privacy, give me an old fashioned confessional, not a reconciliation room
The Egyptian




The Curt Jester had a post on New Year's Day about which Holy Day of Obligation is the most neglected, which led to some interesting discussions in the ComBox.
http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/archives/2009/01/feast-with-the.php

This cartoon was sparked recently when I heard a priest lament that only 37 people showed up for the Advent Penance Service. On a regular Sunday, I think we get upwards of 1000-1500 people for our 2 masses. I may be overshooting it a bit. So the 37 number was pretty sorry.

But in my 10 years back, I can count on one hand when I've heard a priest specifically mention something being a sin. And I think I can further count on this one hand while one finger is stuck in my ear. Abortion? Once. Birth Control? Once. Homosexuality? Once. The Big Three in our culture today, and I've heard them specifically mentioned probably just once each. And that's misleading, because the abortion and birth control issues were raised in one homily - by a transitional deacon, no less. (As a side note, I ran into this deacon the following week and told him that he hit a home run with his homily - he actually had tears in his eyes. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that he was probably upbraided for being so bold.)

If, in today's Church, practically NOTHING is a sin, then what exactly would need to be confessed? God loves everyone, He's never mad about what we do, and everything "bad" we do can be reasoned away with buckets full of Oprah & Dr. Phil psychological babble.