FROM OUR PASTOR.....

Dear Parishioners:

This Monday November 9th the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the parish church of the popes, considered the mother church of Catholicism. The basilica's history began around 318 C.E. and was alternately destroyed and rebuilt until 1724. 

Although this is a major celebration in Rome, many of the faithful, especially in the Americas and Asia, might ask, "So what?" Rather than think of a cathedral that many of us will never enter, we might consider the meaning of our own experience of places of worship and what we experience as sacred space.

Not every space on Earth is the same, not for human beings. Our experiences and preferences lead us to favor certain places and avoid others. Places — with their smells, sounds, lighting and atmosphere — bring back memories, both joyful and not so. In some places we feel like strangers, in others, we're deeply at home and peaceful. Entering some spaces gives people a sense of the holy — just ask pilgrims who have been to Lourdes or to the Holy Land.

People of the Middle Ages built cathedrals to proclaim the greatness of Christianity's God. With towers pointing to heaven, their immense windows portrayed saints and sacred stories in brilliant light. The space inside tamed both city and forest into breathtaking order. The "smells and bells" transported people into a sense of transcendence. Mere humans could enter these places and feel both their insignificance and an awesome awareness of participating in something immeasurable. Temples, be they Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris or the centuries-old log church across the river from St Louis in Cahokia, Illinois, provide the faithful with religious experiences that engage all the senses, put them in touch with the past and remind them of where all is going. It happens for those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hands to be touched and blessed. 

When I was young, the church was a building, a destination, a venue. It was in this space that I was baptized, made First Communion, Confirmed, was forgiven and nourished in the body and blood of Jesus, listen to God’s Word and prayed and sang with family and fellow parishioners. We celebrated milestones in the social hall, daydreamed in pews, and rocked babies in the nursery. My faith was simple then, a tiny seed in fertile soil. 

Our parish Church of the Annunziata was built in 1951 (75) years old this year in the French Neo Gothic design.   The Church is constructed in a traditional design with a cruciform layout, with amazing stain glass windows, which depict salvation history from creation to Christ’s resurrection.  There is a wonderful walking tour of the Church that helps to highlight many of the architectural and design elements of the Church.  Our Church is where we have gathered to celebrate important events in our lives from Baptisms to Funeral celebrations.  Daily our community gathers here to be nourished in the Lord, partake of the Sacramental life of the Church and to share life with each other.

Now I recognize that church is far more than a building. It is a people who have weathered life together, who have navigated disagreements and disappointments, who have held onto the promises of God, who still stand to sing a hymn, and who continue to  extend God’s grace to one another.  As we celebrate this Feast Day on Monday let us pause and give thanks to our parish Church, our faith family.

                                                                        God Bless!

                                                          Msgr John Shamleffer