You are here
News
27th Annual Icon Festival
Exhibit: October 31-November 21
The Festival opens with a procession of Icons during the 9:30am and 11:30am Masses on Sunday, October 31. Icons dating from the 17th century to contemporary time will be displayed in the sanctuary.
-
Our Lady, Untier of Knots: This Icon finds its origins in a meditation of St. Irenaeus. He wrote about how Adam and Eve tied the knot of human disgrace for the human race by disobeying God, while Mary undid it by saying yes to God and becoming Mother of Jesus. We all have knots in our lives; knots of alienation, addiction, discord, hurt, fears, a lack of respect, or the absence of peace or harmony. We hope to invite people to invoke the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin as we seek her assistance in untying those knots that hold us bound and keep us moving forward in our relationship with God. -
Saint Mary of Magdala: Saint Mary was the first to see the Risen Lord, and the first to announce to Caesar the Resurrection of Christ. -
Theotokos Supplicating (Deisis): See how Mary stretches forth her arms in petition, connecting to her son through prayer. She tells those who pray with this Icon that she is entrusting not only her own cares and needs to her Son, but embraces those who pray with her for God’s life and true joy. -
The Merciful Jesus/Divine Mercy: Christ appears in white representing the Resurrection. His white robes are created with shades of blue and shades of red denoting the nature of His humanity and His Divinity. The rays are rendered in light blue and light red signifying John 19:34: “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.” Water represents baptism and blood represent communion. -
Saint Joseph: Guardian of the Holy Family, for centuries Saint Joseph has been one of the most beloved saints of the Church. The saint holds a flowering staff which was the miraculous testimony that signaled God's choice of Saint Joseph as the betrothed of the Blessed Virgin. -
Saint Dymphna: Patron Saint of those with mental illness. -
Saint Josephine Bakhita: Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of 7, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate. After being resold several times she was declared free by a judge in Italy in 1885. Josephine entered the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession. Assisting her religious community in Schio she soon became well loved by the children attending the sisters’ school and the local citizens. She once said, “Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!”
Message from Fr. Bauer: Welcoming you back to The Basilica
Greetings once again from The Basilica of Saint Mary. I hope this message finds you and your family continuing to stay well during these still challenging times.
I’d like to begin today by thanking all those who have made or increased their commitment of financial support to our Basilica Fund. Your commitment of financial support, no matter how small, or how large, enables us to continue to do those things that fulfill our vision here at The Basilica.
However, as I mentioned when I spoke at the Masses a couple of weeks ago, if you are not able to make an ongoing commitment of financial support for our parish, I ask you to give what you can, when you can. I thank you in advance for whatever financial support you can commit to. Please know whatever you are able to give will be appreciated.
If you are not able to make a financial commitment or to contribute even occasionally, I ask you to pray for our parish and for your fellow parishioners. Please know your prayers both needed and are deeply appreciated.
And, if for some reason, you are experiencing some financial difficulties, please contact our St. Vincent de Paul Ministry. We may be able to help you or refer you to someone who can.
As your pastor, I thank you in advance for whatever financial support you can offer our parish.
On another topic, while it is heartening for me to see so many people back at The Basilica after many months, I want to make sure we are continuing to make The Basilica a safe place for them to be. For this reason, I want to strongly encourage people to wear a facemask when you are on The Basilica campus for a liturgy other activity.
As I have mentioned previously, in welcoming people back to worship, one of the challenges we face is resuming, renewing, and in some cases rebuilding, our liturgical ministry teams. If you have been involved in our liturgical ministry and not been contacted yet, or if you are interested in becoming involved please contact us.
As always, if you are not able, or don’t feel comfortable joining us in-person for any of our liturgies, we invite you join them via livestream. We will continue to livestream the 9:30am Mass and our Noon Mass, Monday through Friday. We are also looking for volunteers to help with this, so if you are interested in volunteering, please contact Mae Desaire.
During the coming weeks, we will be looking at bringing back on line more of our ministries. I will keep you informed as this happens. In closing, please know that as we move forward, our primary concern, as always, will be the safety and security of those who come to our campus.
I will continue to keep you informed as we move forward. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns about these changes I invite you to contact me at the parish office. My contact information is available on our parish website.
Let me close today in prayer.
Dear God –
For this day, help me to keep my heart open.
Help me to observe the beauty around me; to appreciate all that I see.
Help me to notice the blessings in my life, and to ignore those things that do not measure up to my expectations.
Guide me dear God to be of service to others, and to go through this day with humor and grace, and no regrets.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord we pray. Amen.
News and Resources
Weekly Newsletter
Livestream
Make a Gift
