growing up, i went to church every weekend with my family, typically meeting up with my grandparents in 'our' pew. waking up for early (7:30 or 8) mass was rewarded with a big stack of french toast or pancakes - that nana would cut for us even into our teens. being part of our family meant being part of the catholic family and i'm so thankful for that connection. some of my strongest memories revolve around times spent in church, singing hymns and opening our souls to something greater.
going to mass was our most consistent family ritual and it's something i carried with me when i went off to Villanova. my husband and i met during my first year of college; he was a junior and i had just left the nest of my family, friends and everything familiar. i found comfort in the sunday night student masses that kept me close to my family traditions, even when we were 250 miles away. michael had officially joined the catholic church, as part of the Villanova RCIA program and together we made sure to integrate our faith into our relationship and weekly routines.
then we got busy with life. we graduated, found jobs, got married a few years later, moved to a tiny town with lots of churches, but ancient parishioners, and homilies that i could barely sit through. we tried going back to student masses a few times, but we didn't quite fit in there (no matter how amazing the choir is!) and our connection to the church was, sadly, frayed for a little while. and ya know what? the rest of our life felt the strain.
in the past year, we decided enough was enough and did some church shopping in order to find the perfect parish. we found a beauty in St. Helena's of Blue Bell and i truly feel that being an active church-goer again has reinvigorated my spirit. just having dedicated time each week to shut off our phone, calm our brains from the distractions of life, and be together in the presence of God makes me feel like i can take on all of the garbage that's been coming our way lately. it helps that our parish is incredibly community oriented and we are blessed with priests who really hit home with their delivery of the word.
this weekend we had five RCIA candidates receive their first communion and they were confirmed into the church. it was great to have so many people praying and cheering them on as they took this big leap. i volunteered to take pictures and i hope that i created some images that remind the candidates of this joyous experience.
i felt fairly awkward snapping photos during such a holy time, but the deacon read an emily dickinson poem that started with:
"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
and i thought, hmm, 'perch', like 'perch sisters'...he must be giving me the okay to snap away! ;-)
just a couple of the church and the Monsignor since the people pics haven't been released yet. the flowers were gorgeous and just as vibrant as the smiles of the RCIA candidates.
most of the pieces in the church have been reclaimed from churches around the world that were closing their doors...pretty impressive, huh?
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