Unique St. Patrick

Very beautiful window from the Catholic Church in Ballygarrett, Co Wexford (near Gorey) Ireland

(photo credit)

St. Therese of Lisieux meets Pope Leo XIII

(photo credit)

"St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy FaceWhen Therese of Lisieux was 14, she desperately wanted to become a Carmelite nun, but the superior at the local monastery wouldn't allow it since Therese was so young. So Therese traveled to Rome with her father to directly ask Pope Leo XIII if she could join the monastery. Leo said "Well, my child, do what the superiors decide." Shortly after this, she was allowed to join the monastery by her bishop. This is part of a larger window dedicated to Therese of Lisieux in St. Thomas More Catholic Church in St. Paul, MN. "

St Agnes

"January 21 is the memorial of St. Agnes of Rome in the Catholic Liturgical Calendar. Saint Agnes was 12 or 13 when she refused to marry the son of a Roman prefect. She was then condemned to death by that prefect, but Roman law didn't allow virgins to be executed, so they brought her to a brothel, where she refused to take part in the activities there. Later, a Roman officer killed her with a sword. "Agnes" means "pure" in Greek and "lamb" in Latin, , so Agnes's most common symbol is a lamb. The palm branch symbolizes martyrdom. This window is in St. Joseph Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD. "

St. Agnes is my oldest daughter's Confirmation saint and so I have also become devoted to this beautiful and holy child of God.

St. Agnes - ora pro nobis!

(photo credit)

Yellow Peoples of the World Adore Christ

"The rose window above the choir loft in St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD depicts Christ the King surrounded by representations of the four races of the world. This photo is of the upper right circle showing the "yellow" race. This Christ the King window is the most expensive of the windows in the cathedral."

(photo credit)

White Peoples Adoring Christ - Detail

"The rose window above the choir loft in St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD depicts Christ the King surrounded by representations of the four races of the world. This photo is of the upper left circle showing the "white" race"

(photo credit)

Red Peoples Adoring Christ - Detail

Again - detail of above Cathedral window in Sioux Falls, SD of the "red peoples" adoring Christ.

(photo credit)

Brown Peoples Adoring Christ

"The rose window above the choir loft in St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD depicts Christ the King surrounded by representations of the four races of the world. This photo is of the lower right circle showing the "brown" race."

(photo credit)

Jesus and People of the World

"The rose window above the choir loft in St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD depicts Christ the King surrounded by representations of the four races of the world. "

(photo credit)

Jesus in the boat with the apostles

"Who is this that the wind and the sea hear and obey him?"

Holy Family

St. Joseph, our Blessed Mother and baby Jesus - appears to be the flight into Egypt.

Pope Leo XIII with Cardinal Gibbons

(photo credit)

" The encyclical TESTEM BENEVOLENTIAE NOSTRAE from January 22, 1899 was addressed to Cardinal Gibbons. It concerned the heresy sometimes called Americanism to ensure that the Church in the United States did not allow the model of civil liberties to undermine the doctrine of the Church.Window in the Cathedral of St. Helena in Helena, MT."

Pope St. Pius X

Pius IV

Pope Pius IV presided over the end of the Council of Trent, which was one of the Church's most important councils. This window is in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians at Holy Hill, WI

(photo credit)

Pope Honorius III

(photo credit)

On December 22, 1216, Pope Honorius III gave his official sanction of the creation of the Order of Preachers, aka the Dominicans.This window is in The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill, Wisconsin, about 30 miles northwest of Milwaukee

Pope Pius XII

(photo credit)

"Pope Pius XII was the pope during World War II. Some criticize him for not doing enough to help Jews during the war, but others disagree:"We share the grief of the world over the death of His Holiness Pius XII. . . . During the ten years of Nazi terror, when our people passed through the horrors of martyrdom, the Pope raised his voice to condemn the persecutors and to commiserate with their victims" (Golda Meir, Israeli representative to the U.N. and future prime minister of Israel). "With special gratitude we remember all he has done for the persecuted Jews during one of the darkest periods in their entire history” (Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress). "More than anyone else, we have had the opportunity to appreciate the great kindness, filled with compassion and magnanimity, that the Pope displayed during the terrible years of persecution and terror" Source: Elio Toaff, Chief Rabbi of Rome, following Rabbi Zolli’s conversion

Pope Pius XI

(photo credit)

"Pope Pius XI was pope from 1922-1939 and he wrote several encyclicals, including "Quadragesimo Anno", which dealt with problems arising from unrestrained capitalism and totalitarian communism. This window is in St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD."

Assumption of Mary

Mary was assumed into Heaven, body and soul and is there still with her glorified body. I look forward to seeing here there someday.

Angel with Incense

If have never done so, I strongly encourage everyone to obtain some incense, francinsence or myrrh preferably, have it blessed by a priest and burn it in your home, especially while you pray. Our family has taken up this practice of burning blessed candles and incense during the rosary. Prayer is strengthened via use of the senses in this manner and is an ancient practice and pleasing to the Lord, as in the Old Testament when the burning of incense was directly enjoined upon the Jews.

Mournful

St Walter of Pontoise

St. Walter of Pontoise, Abbot (Feast - April 8) Walter Gautier was born in Picardy, France, in the eleventh century. A well-educated individual, he became a professor of philosophy and rhetoric. Later, he entered the Benedictine abbey of Rebais-en-Brie. When King Philip I appointed Walter as the first abbot of a new monastery at Pontoise, Walter reminded Philip that God was the one who conferred such honors, not the king. Seeking solitude, he fled Pontoise on two occasions, but both times he was forced to return. Walter then went to Rome to ask Pope Gregory VII for release from his position so that he could follow a life of solitude. However, the Pope told Walter to use the talents God had given him, and thus Walter resigned himself to staying at Pontoise. When he spoke out against simony and the evil lives of the secular clergy, this caused great outrage, and on one occasion he was beaten and thrown into prison. After his release, Walter continued to live a life of mortification, spending entire nights in prayer. After establishing the foundation of a convent in honor of Mary at Bertaucourt, Walter died on Good Friday in the year 1095.

Kneeling at the feet of Mary

I oneday hope to be right there, kneeling at our Blessed Mother's feet

Angels

Angels were created by God before "our" current creation, before God created matter, before He laid down the laws of physics, the periodic table, the atom...before all things we now know -they were created and over all these ages they have never sinned, not once.

Those who followed Michael and did not choose to fall with the evil one have had not one impure thought, not for one moment have they served themselves or any other thing - in all things, always have they served the Lord our God.

We all owe our Angel Guardians our heartfelt thanks for not falling - for choosing God.

Last Supper of Our Lord

His last act prior to going out to the Garden of Gethsemane