The mass of the saints, and of our dads...

When I first started attending mass regularly at St. Francis de Sales in 2006 my father was very ill and was in the hospital quite a bit.  My husband would get home from work and I would go out the door to visit my dad to give my mom some relief.

I would tell him about my return to the Church and how much I loved the Latin Mass, even though it was still foreign to me.  He would reminisce about his days as an altar server and would commence regaling me with the responses!  I wish I had known as much then as I do now about the Extraordinary Form and I wish he could have gone to mass with me.  But, alas, he was too ill.

My dad scanned every photo from HIS parents and I came across this gem the other day:



It's baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

 That's my dad on the left when he was in 8th grade and I think the year was 1949.  I'm sure that is Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church in the background, long gone from St. Louis' north side.

Well, soon after my love for the Church returned, my dear father said good-bye...  We had his funeral mass at St. Francis de Sales with Canon Lenhardt presiding.

I took this photo the day of his funeral, as we were about to enter the church, and it is still one of my favorites. I have not photo-shopped it and you will recognize it from my side bar:

So, come on down to St. Francis de Sales Oratory - the Cathedral of South St. Louis.  You won't be disappointed by the liturgy, the architecture, the music, unless you happen to be allergic to beauty.  In which case, you had better bring some kleenex.