O O O O Ohio

"No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves." -Amelia Earhart

 Another weekend another road trip. This one did not get us a new state because technically we already visited Ohio but it didn't really feel like it should count since we had just stood on the corner of the state and not actually gone anywhere. I knew that I was going to visit St. Christopher in Vandalia, Ohio, so then I just had to find a few spots to fill in the hours. 

We left early on Friday June 26th while Venus, the morning jewel lit up the sky and started the drive north east through Kentucky and in to Ohio. We had to get to St. Christopher before 2pm when they close. And we did good, stayed on time, and got there at 1pm. Problem is it was Friday and as is common in a lot of places they closed early. Now the reason I had chosen St. Christopher's was because St. Christopher is the patron Saint of Travelers. And with the grand plan for road trips we have this year I think stopping to say a prayer to the patron Saint of Travelers seems like a good idea. Luckily for us a parishioner showed up to the office and went over to the Church to prepare bulletins for mass.  We asked her if we could come in and she allowed us to come in and say a prayer.

The statue above shows St. Christopher carrying a child. One story states St. Christopher helped travelers cross a dangerous river. One day a child asked to be carried across. As St. Christopher walked across the river the child became heavier and heavier. When he reached the other side the child identified himself as Christ.   

Next we drove to Greenville, Ohio, to see a statue of Annie Oakley, one of my all time favorite historical figures. For our birthday one year our parents bought us tickets to see Reba McEntire as Annie Oakley on Broadway in Annie Get Your Gun. So when I learned about "Little Sure Shots" connection to Ohio I knew we had to go.  

Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Mosey in western Ohio on August 13, 1860. She learned to hunt, shoot, and trap to help support her mother and siblings. In 1875 Frank Butler, another American sharpshooter, was on part of a show at a hotel in Cincinnati. He bet the hotel owner $100 he could not be beat. The owner called on then 15 year old Annie and she won. A few years later her and Frank married and eventually joined Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling show. Her and Frank Butler spent their money on many different charities and Annie fought for women's rights and is credited with training many women in self defense and how to shoot a fire arm. 

As a bonus right by Annie Oakley Park was this sign celebrating one of Greenville's own, Zachary Lansdowne. Actually we noticed this throughout Ohio in the small towns we visited light poles along the downtown area had pictures and info of young men and woman who had served in the military. 

 

We left Greenville and drove to Brock, OH, where Annie Oakley and Frank Butler were buried side by side in a small cemetery. They died 18 days apart from each other and were buried. People have left coins and rocks on the graves and I added a coin for each of them. 

We left the Brock Cemetery to drive to Kenton, Ohio, and the home of the Gene Autry Repeating Cap Pistol. Gene Autry (1907-1998) was called the Singing Cowboy. He appeared in over 90 films where he is credited with bringing country music to a wider population. Gene Autry came to stand for the honest straight shooting hero and his pearl handled six shooters were a trademark piece. In Kenton, Ohio, the Kenton Hardware Company was having a difficult time. They had to reduce employees and hours in order to try and keep the industry going. In 1937 Willard Bixler, then VP of Kenton Hardware, thought the creation of a replica Gene Autry Cap Gun could be the solution needed for them. They created the replica gun complete with gun metal finish and pearl handles and retailed it at .50 cents. The toy was credited with saving the town as the factory began day and night production to try and keep up with sales. August 8, 1938 became Gene Autry Day in Kenton. In 1994 the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce contacted Gene Autry to have a festival in June and in 2004 a mural and park where unveiled in Gene Autry's honor. 

From what I can find the Kenton Hardware Company ceased functioning in the 1950s however manufacturing is still listed as one of the largest industries in Kenton. 

Next we came to the awesome and inviting town of Bellefontaine, Ohio, pronounced bell fountain.  We parked right by the town square which was filled with people sitting and talking. Most were eating ice cream as tables and chairs were set up for outdoor eating.

In Bellefontaine a man named George Bartholomew was working on creating a new concrete that would be cheap to produce but still able to hold up to the horse and carriage traffic that was increasing. In 1887 he founded the Buckeye Portland Cement CO. In 1891 he asked the city to allow him to pave an 8ft wide section along Main Street promising it would hold up to the buggy traffic but still offer a $5000 bond for any repair needed in the first five years, making me think he was an optimist and a realist. Seeing the value in his new concrete the city had the other surrounding streets paved in 1893. George Bartholomew was awarded first prize in the category of engineering technology at the International Exposition of 1893. Court Avenue was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1976, which I didn't know was a thing. 

        

It is very clear the town is super proud of their historic street. We got out of the car and I stopped to take the picture above of the gate over Court Avenue. A man stopped me to ask if we knew that Bellefontaine was also the home of the shortest street in America? I answered we hadn't heard and he gave us directions to McKinley Street so we could stop by before leaving. He explained that in Europe there is another street that is slightly shorter and so they are only the shortest in the US instead of the world. 

We took a walk around the Court House looking at the architecture of the older buildings as well as plaques and multiple historical markers. Once we got around to the front of the court house again we noticed a couple of interesting details. First in an upper window of the court house was a blindfolded statue of justice and second that out front was an eternal flame in honor of those who had served and died for this country. 

Next we left and took the short trip to McKinley street, basically just one building stands on the block which is cut awkwardly by rail road tracks and sits between two other streets. 

 Next we travelled to Delaware, Ohio, to visit a BP gas station... no really we drove to Ohio to go to a gas station like that was the actual stop planned out on my road trip. We filled up the car and then went over to the historical marker that explained that years ago in this very spot stood a brick home and that on October 4th, 1822, Rutherford B Hayes, the 19th President of the United States, was born there. In 1921 the Standard Oil company purchased the property and offered to sell it back to the community for $8,000. However the amount couldn't be raised and the gas station was built instead. The Delaware City Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution placed a marker out front the station. We stayed in Delaware City to get something to eat for dinner. As we drove away from the bustling town center we saw a sign stating "no alcohol beyond this point," I guess you are allowed to walk around with drinks which I have seen a lot of towns doing in certain restaurant/public areas. We parked just at the end of it. There was a group of 20 somethings sitting on a stoop beside our parking spot. They said "hi" so we said "hi" and then they noticed I was wearing a NY Yankee shirt which had one of them exclaim a few expletives at the Yankees, for you non baseball fans the Yankees have a wonderful record of beating the Indians especially when it comes to playoff situations.  Though we all came to agreement that people are generally ok even if they root for differing teams. And we headed into the restaurant area. Restoration Brew Worx Pub. They had a very inviting outdoor seating area with four tables separated by large dividers in the name of social distancing. I went in to put my name for an outdoor table. Several groups had been there for a while nursing drinks but the hostess was unsure how long they would be since they had been sitting for sometime already. I left my name hoping they wouldn't be too much longer and we left to explore town for a bit and walk the dogs who needed to stretch their legs. 

We discovered a historical marker one block down the road that the building had been at one time a Templar Hall and on the third floor Frederick Douglass had spoken on June 6th, 1856. Admission was 25 cents with proceeds to support the Underground Railroad. We also found a marker with a picture on it of the 127th Ohio Volunteer Infantry/ 5th United States Colored Troops. They trained nearby and over the course of the Civil War four from that unit were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. We also found a statue of Rutherford B Hayes, commemorating the famous son of the town. 

Nearly an hour after I put my name down and close to the time where we were thinking about giving up one of the tables opened up on the patio. Now I hope the people who sat there nursing their drinks left the waitress a huge tip. Because she definitely lost out on tables. An hour later we were sitting down. Another group of people just left because they didn't want to wait. I try and keep things positive but if you have read this far in my blog just a note: if you are some place with table seating when you finish and pay your tab leave. The wait staff needs turnover to make tips. Unless you plan on leaving an appropriate tip for your meal and the one she/he misses because you have been sitting there then leave. If it is a place where you just seat yourself then by all means stay as long as you want but a restaurant with staff once you pay you should go. Ok rant over. 

The wait was worth it! First off being in our current times I appreciate the steps they are taking to keep customers safe. They have the dividers up between tables, signage about social distancing, staff were wearing masks to protect themselves as well as us, and they had sanitizing spray to clean tables- chairs- and menus. We ordered the pretzel bread with ale cheese and I had the Restoration Burger. We also built two flights to try several of their beers. 

As we finished eating I went back to get the car and the Cleveland Indian fans were still out front. I went to the car and told them to have a good night one called back "Why did it have to be NY, I love you but F-NY" which definitely made them endearing in my mind :-)  We stopped for the night in Columbus, Ohio. Because of the long wait for dinner it was later than we originally planned on stopping. The next morning we slept in and didn't leave the hotel until close to nine. We had looked up good coffee and donuts in Columbus and ended up settled on Coffee Mess. Inside was a lot of funny/sarcastic signs. they were playing Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space and the donuts looked delicious.  Spoiler alert: They were delicious as was the coffee if you are in Columbus or near Columbus check them out. 

Then we found ourselves at the Ohio State University Campus in Newark, Ohio where they have a series of statues that allow you to sit on the bench next to great historical figures, called "The Great Contributors."  I had no idea how many figures there were. I just knew about Amelia Earhart's statue which is why her quote started this blog. It is a quote I have been thinking about since I first put it up there. I think it's true. I know that a kind act performed by someone else to me makes me feel better and more positive it stays in my mind and makes me want to give someone else that same feeling, hence the popular thought of sharing it forward. 

On her bench the sculptor carved another quote: "Everyone has oceans to fly if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?"- Amelia Earhart. Amazing.

Other greats in the series included Mother Teresa, the Wright Brothers, Abraham Lincoln, William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Joan of Arc. The sculptor Gary Lee Price explained his thoughts:

"Throughout the ages there have always been those who have been willing to go beyond the norms and reach for that unknown and distant star. All mankind becomes the beneficiary of those 'leaps of faith', and oftimes we marvel and stand in awe at those 'great ones' and their contributions to humanity. Sir Isaac Newton said that his contributions were great because he was able to stand on the shoulders of his predecessors. I believe we all desire to help make the world a better place and role models helps us raise our own sights and set loftier standards. My hope is that as we sit down next to these leaders and rub shoulders with them, we will come to appreciate even more their role as givers and realize that they also were real human beings, just as each of us, and yet extraordinary. Who is to say what contributions WE will make?" -Gary Lee Price

 Our next location was one that I have wanted to go for a long time since seeing it mentioned on the CBS Sunday morning show. It is the Longaberger Company Headquarters. The company is gone but the unique building remains.

Our next stop was a totem pole in Newark that marks the high water mark from the January 21st, 1959, flood. Between January 21 and 24 3-6inches of rain fell on the frozen grounds of Ohio causing all rivers to reach flood stage. The ground was frozen and covered with snow so not only did the new rain waters have no where to soak into but the snow melted. 49,000 people had homes damaged or had to seek alternate shelters and 16 people were killed. On June 1, 1962, the Rising River Association erected the Totem Pole to prevent a recurrence of the great flood. The lowest figure is blue and his elbow marks the height of the water levels. 

We still stayed in Newark for one more stop. At their Veterans Park is a statue honoring John L. Clem. John ran away from home at just short of ten years old to join the Union Army. He served as a Drummer Boy for the 22nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry and was nicknamed The Drummer Boy of Chickamauga, which is on his monument in Arlington. He retired in 1915 having reached the rank of Major General and was the last Civil War Veteran on active duty. The sculpture was made by Mike Major, Ohio's first artist in residence. 

Next we traveled to Zanesville, Ohio in Muskingum County to see a statue erected in honor of their bicentennial (1797-1997). The figures chosen for the statue covers most of the 200 years with each figure being born roughly 50 years after the other. 

From left to right:

Figure 1: John McIntire. 

He was a cobbler who was hired by Colonel Ebeneezer Zane to repair the shoes for the family while they lived in Wheeling. That is how he meet Sarah Zane and they married in 1789. Colonel Zane was eventually commissioned by Congress to travel from Wheeling to Marysville, KY. The trail was finished in 1797 and Zane was partly paid with land. He then sold some of the land to John McIntire. Once John picked a spot for his own home that he could also use as a travelers rest he began urging others to help clear space and attract new settlers. His work paid off and Zanesville was made the county seat. In 1809 John and others built a brick building that they offered to the Ohio Legislature as a Capitol Building. The Ohio Legislature accepted the offer and made the building their temporary capitol and met there from October 1,1810- May 1, 1812. John also organized the Zanesville Canal and Manufacturing Company. John passed away in 1815 but the Canal Company and town stand as a testament to his legacy.

Figure 2: Noah Norris.

Noah Norris was born sometime in 1844. At 19 he enlisted to the Union Army and was assigned to Company C, Fifth US Colored Infantry on June 22, 1863. I wonder if he was in the photo I had seen on the historical marker the night before in Delaware. Noah fought in several battles in Virginia and North Carolina including: City Point, Petersburg, Black Swamp, Bottom's Bridge, Fair Oaks, Deep Bottom, Fort Gilmore, Fort Harrison, Dutch Gap, and Chapin's Fram. He died July 20th, 1942 and was the last Civil War veteran in Zanesville. He stands in this sculpture for all Veteran's of Zanesville.

Figure 3: Zane Grey.

Zane is the Great Grandson of Colonel Ebeneezer Zane for whom the town was named. He loved the outdoors and baseball and became a writer. He wrote 64 novels: 12 non-fiction outdoor books, 2 novel length baseball stories, and over 250 shorter works.

Figure 4:  John Glenn

John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth February 20, 1962. He briefly attended Muskingum College before leaving to join the Marine Corp and serve as a pilot in WWII. in the Pacific Theater. He flew 59 mission. In the Korean War Glenn flew 90 combat missions. He earned five Distinguished Flying Crosses and 19 Air Medals. He became a test pilot and in 1957 set a transcontinental speed record flying from LA to New York City in 3 hours and 23 minutes. In 1959 he joined the Mercury program and his contributions to Space exploration are plentiful. He also served  as a Senator from Ohio earning his spot on this statue for multiple reasons. 

Then we started home with one last stop in Mason, Ohio, for dinner at Sonder Brewing. We went because of the name. Sonder is defined by John Koenig in his Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. It is a noun that he defines as "the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own". That is an amazing thought and realization. I think it is definitely an expression that needs a word. I have always loved people watching from being in NY on subway trains or just walking around the city, to being in TN and noticing differences in mannerism and from based on where people have lived, to even as simple as going on these road trips and knowing each person I interact with has a wealth of thoughts and experiences I know nothing about.  

The brewery was large and welcoming. One guy from a table near us came over because he saw the dogs and had to pet them. The brewery and restaurant are technically two businesses sharing the same space. I ordered beer while Meg ordered food. While the brewery is newer it is clear that the owners have a lot of experience in brewing and crafting unique styles.

And then we drove home knowing that we had the next weekend off from road trips because it was July 4th and my neighbors put on an amazing firework show. But we are getting closer and closer to the big trips that will really get us a lot of states and make this dream of driving all 48 contiguous states feel more  real.

7 Churches in 7 States Year 2 Part 1

Church One: Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine in Florida.

This is one of the furthest Churches we were going to. I went here first because I have wanted to go for a long time and finally had the reason and motivation to go. Way back in college I did an extended study on the works of St. Augustine's philosophical writings. I realized while I was at the Church that I knew a lot about St. Augustine's early life due to his work The Confessions and his writings on the Church and how they pertained to philosophy but I knew very little about any miracles attributed to him or his process of Beatification and Sainthood.

It was at the end of sophomore year when we declared our majors; the school, Thomas More College, was a very small Liberal Arts school in New Hampshire. I remember talking to other classmates and especially my sister trying to figure out what major I wanted to choose. There were four options Political Science, Literature, Philosophy, and Biology. I had always been terrible at science so that was easily disqualified. I was very much interested in humanity and human experience. As I was coming to a decision I began narrowing the disciplines by reasoning that Political Science would tell me what humans had done throughout history, literature showed the possibilities of what humans could do and experience, but philosophy was, in my mind, where I could learn why humans acted as they did. I decided on philosophy because I wanted to understand why people acted as they did. Now months later I was trying to choose who I would study so in depth that this person's work would stay with me throughout the rest of my academic life. Again I discussed this with my academic advisor and other classmates. What did I want to get out of this? What questions did I want to try and answer for myself? And I had one question that had interested me my entire life but in the last few years it dominated my thinking. How or why are humans capable of acting so horribly to each other, namely the question of human evil? I found an affinity to St. Augustine and the way he was always searching for answers to the questions of his time and he also had tackled the question of evil. So I read about his writings on free will, evil, and the mind body connection plus writings on many other subjects. I read his writings against the Manichaeans who he had been a member of and his later writings against the Pelagians. I read his works that have influenced Catholic and other forms of Christian doctrines. I studied his early life and the path of learning and questioning that brought him to Catholicism along with the dedication and unwavering love of St. Monica, Augustine's mother, who never gave up on her son and prayed for him to find his path to God.

St. Augustine Florida was so named by Don Pedro de Menéndez de Avilés when he and his exploration company saw land on August 28th 1565. The city changed hands several times which effected the Catholic population in  the town. When the English took control a lot of the Catholic Spanish population left for the Caribbean and other areas. In the 1770s a group of Mediterranean laborers predominantly Italian and Greek called the Minorcans arrived in the area and revitalized Catholicism. In 1784 Britain ceded the colony back to Spain and Spanish Catholicism returned mixing with the Minorcans. The cornerstone of the Church was laid in 1793 and on March 11, 1870 the Diocese was formed.

We had driven by the Basilica the night before and could see the beautiful stained glass windows illuminated by interior lights these windows show the life of St. Augustine and were installed in 1909 from Mayer and Co of Munich Germany.

We walked in through a side door of the Church and walked around to get a view of the full Church.

Above the main entrance are five images of the history of St. Augustine including the first mass, Menéndez kissing the cross when he reached land, and the arrival of the Minorcans. The Baptismal Font is a replica of the Baptismal Font where Ponce dé Leon was baptized in 1474 in his home town of Santervás de Campo. 

Behind the alter are the pipes for the Organ which is a Casavant Opus 3821 and on either side of the Sanctuary are murals created by Hugo Ohlms; one side shows the history of Catholicism in Florida and the other shows a history of the Church.

On either side of the body of the Church are small shrines. One is dedicated to St. Joseph the adopted father of Jesus Christ and patron of the Sisters of St. Joseph who have a convent and affiliation with the Basilica. The statue and tiles were made in Florida and the tiles show four important moments in the life of St. Joseph.  The other is dedicated to St. Patrick and the hundreds of Irish priests, brothers, and nuns who have helped spread the faith of Catholicism in Florida.

The east side of the Basilica is dedicated to Mary featuring her Ascension on the ceiling which was beautiful and immediately captivated me. Such a large area of the Church dedicated to Mary made sense since Augustine's own mother was so influential and important to his story and eventual dedication to the Church. Also featured in a glass case is a 2013 gift from the Bishop of Santa Clara Cuba,  Arturo González Amador. It is a statue of of Nuestra Sénora De La Caridad (Our Lady of Charity) a common depiction of Mary and the Patroness of Cuba. Our Lady of Charity dates back to 1612 and Spanish Sea Captains who would carry the image with them to protect them and their ships during travel.

There was also a sculpture given to the Church in 1959 by a sculptor named G. William Ellis in 1959. It hangs near the Papal declaration by Pope Paul VI December 4, 1976 elevating the Cathedral to a Minor Basilica.

As I walked around the Church I noticed above the Confessional was the quote 

"There is no misery that could be a match for my mercy." Jesus to St. Faustina. 

St. Faustina was born Helena Kowalska and lived from 1905-1938. Her life was dedicated to the Divine Mercy of Christ. In a vision she saw Christ in a white robe with a white and red light emanating from his heart. This image would become the image of Divine Mercy. Interestingly her feast day is October 5th, my birthday. She was beatified and canonized by Pope John Paul II who said of her 

"The message she brought is the appropriate and incisive answer that God wanted to offer to the questions and expectations of human beings in our time, marked by terrible tragedies. Jesus said to Sr Faustina one day: 'Humanity will never find peace until it turns with trust to the Divine Mercy.'"

The first Sunday after Easter was designated Divine Mercy Sunday by Pope John Paul II in accord with passages from St Faustina's journal.  Pope John Paul understood Jesus's Divine Mercy particular in the context of the Easter Sacrifice in his Divine Mercy Homily from April 22, 2001  

"Divine Mercy! This is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity."

It is amazing how many times I have travelled to Churches and found a connection to St John Paul II. Not only was it John Paul II who celebrated and elevated St. Faustina and  her image of Divine Mercy but John Paul passed away on the vigil of Divine Mercy in 2005. Like a lot of Catholics my age I was feeling very lost by John Paul's illness. He had been the only Pope I had ever known. I had been to Rome during my sophomore year of college and had gone to several masses and Sunday Angelus that he had performed. I remember very clearly being in my car driving and listening to 1010 Wins radio when during a news section about John Paul's illness the reporter said that John Paul was reported to have said "I have looked for you. Now you have come to me." And as I started this blog post I was thinking about that because when I heard that report I drove to my childhood church, St. Ignatius Loyola in Hicksville to stop and say a prayer. I imagine in that moment I felt a lot like St. Augustine did when he was in the garden and heard a child's voice say "tolle et lege (take up and read)." 

As I continued around the Church I stopped in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament where a reliquary, gifted to the Cathedral by the children of Margaret Bassing Bailey, of St. Augustine is kept that has at its center relic of St. Augustine's bone. 

The windows, as I said earlier, showed important moments in the life of St. Augustine. My favorite windows also featured St. Monica. One showed St. Augustine as a young man sitting with his mother looking up towards the sky, another showed St. Augustine being Baptized by St. Ambrose with Monica at his side, and the last is the death of St. Monica with St. Augustine at her side.

Having thoroughly explored the interior of the Church we went outside where on either side of the Church there was a garden and a statue.  On one side was a statue dedicated to the memory of Father Pedro Camps, the spiritual leader of the Minorcan colony who kept the Catholic faith alive during the time that the city was in the hands of Britain. It was sculpted by Josef Viladomat of Spain and donated by descendants of the original laborers. 

On the other side is a statue of Padre Felix Varela. He was born in Havana Cuba on November 20 1788 and died in St. Augustine on February 25 1853. A blue seal nearby had his name and "Great Floridians 2000" written on it. 

I then crossed the street to get a shot of the impressive exterior of the Cathedral Basilica. The original Church facade was constructed in 1793. A fire damaged the interior of the Church in 1887. The clock tower was added when the Church was repaired from the fire damage thanks to a donation by Henry Flagler. The facade bells are dedicated to the Spanish royal family in thanks for their role in supporting the dioceses. The oldest of the bells are dated back to 1689 and were recently refurbished along with the tower thanks to many contributions from parishioners and many others. 

Link to the rest of the ST. Augustine trip blog.

Church Two: St. Cecilia in Jasper, Alabama.

Originally Church 2 was going to be St. Dominick's in Louisiana however I was being hit hard by allergies and my Mom had an event that would make the long drive time very hard. So I decided to find a closer Church and I settled on St. Cecilia in Jasper, Alabama which we had passed on an earlier road trip. 

St. Cecilia was much closer, only a little over three hours. We were able to leave on Saturday with a goal to be at the Church some time in the four o'clock hour so we could visit before mass. However we got a late start and ended up arriving after mass had begun. 

I waited for mass to end in the main entrance which was closed off from the rest of the Church but the mass could still be heard due to a speaker system. This is really nice for families with young children. They can go out there and let a child play or cry while the parents are still able to hear the mass. In fact while we were there a family with a young child was in the area. The little boy was able to get out his energy while his parents attended mass. 

In the entrance way were two posters one of Christ and one of Mary. The pictures were mosaics made by using other photos of people. I'm not sure yet if these were stock photos or actual parishioners. 

St. Cecilia's feast day is November 22nd and she is the patron Saint of musicians often pictured with an instrument. In the Church I saw a picture of her at an organ. According to the Church she was the daughter of a Roman noble family and was promised to a soldier named Valerian. During her wedding she sang to God. After the wedding she told Valerian that an angel of the Lord was watching her and she asked him to honor her virginity. When he asked to see the angel she told him to go to the Via Appia to be baptized by Pope Urban I and then he would see the angel. He went and after being baptized was able to see the angel. A church was built in her honor in Trastevere Rome where it was said her house had once stood and her body was moved to the Church. In 1599 during renovations on the Church her body was discovered to be incorrupt. 

When I was in college I spent my sophomore year second semester in Rome and visited St. Cecilia in Trastevere. It was apparently our fifth day in Rome January 31st, 2002. I know this because part of our writing workshop class was to keep a journal and I wrote the date and day number on the top of each page. I described the mosaic in the apse of the church paying particular attention to the inclusion of a phoenix, a symbol of the resurrection. Holding the phoenix is Pope Paschal I who had the church built also appears in the mosaic with a square halo, signifying he is still alive. In the center of the mosaic is Jesus Christ and on the right of the apse is St. Cecilia and St. Valerian. 

I had a polaroid camera with me in Rome and occasionally on tours I would take photos and add them to my journal. In this picture is a statue of Giuseppe Belli, the people's poet of Rome, in the Piazza Belli which we visited at night on the 31st.  

Once mass was over I went in to the Church body to look around. The lights had already been turned off as the parishioners had immediately begun cleaning and closing up the Church after mass. It is a very small and simple Church. A single stained glass window poured light in from behind the alter. To the side of it was a statue of St. Cecilia with a harp.

I walked around to the back of the Church as I was leaving and approached a table with a small statue of St. Cecilia on it and two candle sticks. Above it was something framed with a piece of paper under it.  The piece of paper is written in Latin and is basically a certificate of authenticity that above is a true relic of St. Cecilia and it describes the reliquary. The letter is dated October 11, 1951. I am not sure how this Church of St. Cecilia, built in 1999 got ownership of it.

Relics can be pieces of the Saint's body, a personal item closely associated with a Saint, or something the St. had come in contact with like dirt from a grave or oil. While getting lost down the rabbit hole of reading about relics I discovered the story of St. Cessianus, an eight year old boy martyred by Diocletion in 303. I also discovered that he is buried in St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque, Iowa so I'll save that for a future trip.

Link to the rest of the Jasper trip blog.

Church 3: St. John the Evangelist in St. John, Indiana

As we followed the GPS directions to the Church I began to have my doubts about where we were going because we turned into a nice looking subdivision. But then sure enough there it was and it was impressive!

The Church is relatively new having been built in 2008. Out front was a statue of John the Evangelist which is probably somehow a fountain or gazing pool but being so close to winter it wasn't filled yet.  At the base of the statue is an eagle, John's symbol.  St. John was one of the 12 Apostles and is often depicted in art as a young man possibly a teenager. He is credited with writing the fourth Gospel, three letters, and Revelations. John's Gospel is the most philosophical of the Gospels and my favorite. The opening to his Gospel is beautiful, in my opinion.  

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of mankind."

In Greek word=logos which translates as word/ reason/ logic. It is a weighted word for the ancient Greeks it was the reason and order that permeated the world. With that in mind it made sense  that Logos would come to mean God as the Prime Mover who ordered/created the universe. St Augustine  built further on the understanding of God ordering the universe by talking about the rationes seminales, seeds of reason, that in each thing God created it with potential for what it would become. Like a seed becomes a tree so can other things change and evolve as God planned. This is a good way to explain how evolution is possible because in the very beginning when God created he created knowing that what he made had the potential to grow. 

There was also a statue of Mary. Now there are many representations of Mary and I think this one is specifically Our Lady of Guadalupe. This representation is based on a 1531 visitation by Mary to Juan Diego.

I went inside and quietly entered the Church because they were having Stations of the Cross. The body of the Church was circular with the altar at the straight in front of me. A statue of Christ hung from the ceiling above the altar and created a very stunning view with the organ behind it. 

Around the sides were stained glass windows of different Saints including St Augustine and St Monica!

On opposite sides of the circle were statues of Mary and Joseph. I stopped at both to say a prayer while the parishioners moved around the Church from station to station reading a section of the Gospel, prayer for each station, and then a short paragraph relating the moment in Christ's journey to modern times. 

Originally I wasn't going to stay for the Stations because Meg was out in the car with the dogs. However I was very interested in the different ways they tied the Stations to modern times. When Veronica wiped Jesus' face with a cloth they talked about caring for the sick. When Jesus fell under the cross they talked about the burden's that people carry. One topic that came up over and over was the subject of abortion which really got my attention because I have been thinking about it a lot. Personally I am against abortion except in cases where the mother's life is in danger, rape, and incest. The reason I have been wrestling with abortion though is because of the upcoming election. When I look at the different parties I consider my self financially a Conservative but socially a Liberal. Except for abortion. And when I look at the different platforms and I am trying to decide which way to vote I feel like I have to vote with the Liberal Democrat now because I think some of the programs they promise will create a word where abortion will decrease. I think with the medical coverage, living wage, education programs, and protections for the poor and needy that they currently support abortions would decrease because people who seek abortions because they believe they can not care for a child would have more support.  I don't think abortion will ever stop. Roe v. Wade will never be overturned so to me the next best thing would be taking away the reason for abortion. 

A few blocks away was the Shrine of Christ's Passion. We were there after hours so I couldn't walk it but everything I have seen of it says it is a beautiful walk and I plan to go back sometime during day light to view it. Out front was a statue and monument in honor of the innocent lives lost to abortion.

Link to the rest of the St. John trip blog.

The rest of the Churches unfortunately will have to be visited later. With the pandemic of Covid-19 spreading across the country many Churches are closing to comply with the "safer at home." So I won't be able to visit the Churches during Lent but once travel restrictions and "safer at home" measures are lifted I will finish the trips.