I knelt on the left side, closest to the vestibule.
Fr. Francis Roach was my confessor.
I made my First Confession and First Communion in the Church of St. John on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota. That was when it was Catholic - today it is being transformed into a mosque. The confessional is shown above. The photo below is where the confessional ended up.
Confessional in a dumpster.
Church decor and furnishings were added over the years, often funded by donors as memorials - in perpetuity - for the deceased. Fund raisers were held, as were fund drives and second collections, to furnish and maintain the church. Catholics have always been particularly generous to the Church and Her pastors. After Vatican II, many pastors and priest-liturgical-consultants ripped out beautiful altars and communion rails, white-washed polychromed interiors, removed paintings and statues, virtually destroying Catholic sanctuaries. The Protestant reformers did the exact same things. Later the Soviets destroyed churches and icons. Today Islamic radicals burn Catholic churches and slaughter Christians.
The Archdiocese dismantled St. John's and sold it to Muslims - to be used as a mosque.
Watch your donations.
So sad...and so true, Terry. I donate to the Catholic agencies that help the poor and the refugees. I am sorry as to what happened to the beloved parish of your boyhood.
ReplyDeleteI agree, our brothers and sister being slaughtered in the Middle East, in Africa, in Pakistan, India. In China, the faithful protested the bulldozing of their church not sure they succeeded though.
I would rather see a church like this given to the SSPX or some nascent religious order/community - even another Christian denomination - anything but what has happened.
ReplyDeleteSelling it to Muslims is not being very sensitive. And what of the people who live around there? I wouldn't want to wake up one day and find myself living across from a mosque.
ReplyDeleteDuring my recent spell in hospital I found myself waking up every day alongside Muslims, Sikhs, Hindu’s, and Christians. I’m assuming it will be the same in heaven.
DeleteOf course in heaven they won't be Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Protestants... You have to distinguish between the person as a beloved child of God and their faith--which in the above faiths were founded not by God but by the sin of man and devils. God uses what is good in those faiths to his purposes, but as scripture tells us, "there is only one name under heaven by which men may be saved", and "all the gods of the gentiles are demons".
DeleteWhere you stand on religious questions have infinite importance. It matters. To be neither hot nor cold isn't a good option. (Rev. 3:16)
DeleteHave you ever read Chesterton's "The Flying Inn"? He knew where things were heading. He also had a keen insight into the people who allow it to happen. I know it's been going on in Europe for some time, but in Minneapolis!? I've tried to imagine that happening to my childhood Parish. I'd feel like it was the end of the world as I know it. Terrible! How do you pray about this? For the conversion of those Muslims who have taken over the Church?
ReplyDeleteI try to pray for enlightenment, the gift of an open heart and my own conversion first and foremost.
Delete+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteMy heart breaks for you, Terry.
This is really sad Terry. I understand why churches need to be closed sometimes. But I don;t know why they can't be lovingly dismantled, their treasures donated to other parishes. Using it as a mosque seems so ... insensitive eon the part of the bishops. And yes, that's the nicest word I can use. What do they have to say about this?
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