Seasons of Grace

I worked in downtown Detroit many years ago, and one of my pleasant discoveries as I wandered the streets during my lunch hour was the unique and vibrant liturgy at St. Aloysius Catholic Church.

St. Aloysius is located on Washington Boulevard, pressed into the space between the historic Book Cadillac Hotel and the Chancery offices. Modeled after the great Duomo in Milan with its lower-level crypt chapel, St. Al’s was the only church I’d seen with both an upper and lower church. On one visit, I found that two masses were proceeding concurrently at its upper and lower altars.

St. Al’s—always beloved by the people of Detroit for its message of welcome and its missionary spirit—has been thrust into the news recently with at least three compelling stories:

• St. Al’s Community Center, located across the street from the church, was located in a decaying building which cost more than $200,000 annually for utilities and maintenance. The Archdiocese of Detroit sold the building to a private firm which now owns the entire side of the street. At this point, the Archdiocese has been unable to locate new space for the center; the new owner has boarded up the building, and it remains to be seen whether it will be demolished.
• Franciscan Brother Al Mascia, one of the brothers who operated the Canticle Café in St. Al’s Community Center, has made the best of the situation. He continues to serve the poor and homeless with an innovative tricycle vendor cart—pedaling to the outdoor waiting area of the Rosa Parks Transit Center to deliver free hot drinks, sandwiches and fruit to the poor, the elderly and the disenfranchised in the neighborhood three days each week.
• And now, music minister Aaron Kaleniecki—who serves at both St. Aloysius and St. Patrick parishes in downtown Detroit—has composed a new score for the new Roman Missal. Called the “Mass for the Motor City,” Kaleniecki’s composition includes the Gloria, Sanctus, Amen, and Lamb of God, as well as the Memorial Acclamation for Years A, B and C.

The parish website offers a historical perspective, including a photo tour of the beautiful upper and lower church. Here are just a few photos from that collection.

Check out the St. Aloysius website for additional photos and history.

Each summer, St. Al’s hosts a Block Party for their downtown Detroit neighborhood. The parish has become known as “Everybody’s Church”—and you can see why! Listen to the soulful strains of St. Al’s choir while enjoying scenes from the 2011 Block Party.

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Have you ever heard of the Milk Grotto?
Well, I sure hadn’t, until now. The Milk Grotto (officially Magharet Sitti Mariam, “Grotto of the Lady Mary”) is a peaceful grotto located just a few minutes away from Bethlehem’s Manger Square.

According to tradition, the Holy Family took refuge in the Milk Grotto during Herod’s Slaughter of the Innocents, before their flight into Egypt. There in the grotto, Mary nursed the newborn Jesus; and while she was nursing, a drop of milk fell to the ground—immediately turning the rock white.

The grotto has been a holy site for both Christians and Muslims, who believe that scrapings from the soft white stones in the grotto can boost the quantity of a mother’s milk and enhance fertility. The custom is for nursing mothers to mix the shavings into their drinking water. Expectant mothers place the rock shavings under their mattress.

During the fifth century, a church was built on the site of the Milk Grotto; and mosaic fragments from that period depicting geometrical motifs and crosses can still be seen today. More recently, the Franciscans have built a chapel over the Milk Grotto.

From November 28 through the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6), the Franciscans broadcast Mass from the Milk Grotto live each day at this website. Catch the Mass live at 8:30 Rome time. (Ugh! I think that’s 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time, here in the U.S.)

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If there’s one thing you see a lot of in Rome, it’s churches. Turn the corner on any street, and within a block you’re likely to see the façade of an ancient Catholic church. You hear a lot about the more famous ones (the major basilicas, the Gesu, the Santa Maria sopra Minerva)—but there are over 900 churches in the city, most of them Catholic.

Today—on the feast of St. Bibiana, virgin and martyr—I thought I’d share a picture of St. Bibiana’s, a small church located near the Termini train station. Initially built by Pope Simplicius in 467, it was restored by Pope Honorius III in 1224 A.D. Pope Urban VIII commissioned the artist Bernini, who also designed the great colonnade at St. Peter’s Basilica as well as the baldacchino above the great altar in St. Peter’s, to design the present facade. Bernini also sculpted a statue of St. Bibiana which stands inside the church.

It is believed that Apronianus, governor of Rome, ordered the execution of Bibiana. She was tied to a pillar, then scourged with whips tipped with lead until she was dead. The pillar to which she was tied stands just inside the church.

St. Bibiana, her sister Demetria and her mother Dafrosa are all buried under the major altar.

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Oh, no.

I was chuckling about the article that’s gone viral these past few days, featuring the “27 Worst Nativity Sets.” Yep, they’re pretty bad- I admit!

But then I saw our White House. The People’s House. And this year, the Obama family has decorated the White House with (choose one):

(a) Nativity sets from around the world
(b) Flags of the nations
(c) Ornaments representing each of the 57, er, 50 states.

Nope. This year, the White House is decorated completely with

(d) ”Bo’s.”

That’s “Bo” as in, the First Family’s dog. There are Bo’s made of buttons, Bo’s made of licorice, Bo’s made of felt. Bo’s made of trash bags. And they’re proud of them. And they’re showing them on YouTube.

All the Obamas need now is to replace that stuffy old art in the dining room with some dogs playing poker.

Oh, no. That is all.

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This year for Advent, I was given a beautiful little book of reflections from the Sisters, Immaculate Heart of Mary from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Called “Reach Out,” the book is a compilation of poignant and thought-provoking meditations for each day of the Advent and Christmas season.

From time to time during the next few weeks, I plan to share a few of their stories. If you’d like to read the rest, may I suggest that you consider purchasing “Reach Out” as an e-book during this season of anticipation? Order here.

You cannot read the call of the first Apostles without being struck by their total openness to the unknown. Seemingly without a clue as to what they were being called to, they dropped boats, nets, fishing, and family to Jesus’ “Come, follow me.” Why, we wonder? Was their perception of Jesus stunted by their limited exposure? Had they already heard rumors of his uniqueness? Was it reckless abandon to just ditch the usual routine for the unknown?

My dad and brothers often went fishing and crabbing, off at four in the morning with drinks, snacks, and cans of pork and beans to eat cold while on the boat. It was all good. Most often they came home with dinner but not always. It did not seem to matter too much, because they were as drawn to the deep bonds of boat life as much as the fish was drawn to the guppy on the hook.

I like to think that it was years of tending nets, catching and not catching fish, succeeding and failing, day in and day out, dependent on what they could only guess and hope was swimming their way that prepared the Apostles to see in Jesus a new possibility. It was the embodiment of good news itself—so good that they themselves were willing to be caught.

Like any obstinate fish, they could have refused the bait, twisting away from the hook in the final moment. Instead, they took the lure of invitation and found themselves swallowed wholly by mystery and love greater than any they could ever comprehend.

Now see? Didn’t I tell you this was great?

Readings for the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle:
Romans 10:9-18; Psalms 19:2-5; Matthew 4:18-22

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