You are here
News
In our weekly video series "Art That Surrounds Us," Johan van Parys, Ph.D., our Director of Liturgy and Sacred Arts, shares information about a piece from The Basilica of Saint Mary's art collection.
We are starting a sub-series called "Saints That Surround Us." Given that May is the month dedicated to Mary, we will dedicate several editions to Mary, the mother of Jesus. In this episode Johan discusses the scriptural and ancient roots of the devotion to Mary.
Basilica Community,
I hope this message finds you and your family continuing to stay well during these challenging times.
Today I have four things I would like to mention. First and foremost, I want to thank everyone for your ongoing financial support for The Basilica. Your financial support enables us to continue to offer the many ministries, services and programs that are at the heart of our Basilica community. As your pastor, I want to thank you for your ongoing generosity. Please know it is greatly appreciated.
Second, I want to let you know about a couple of capital improvement projects that will be taking place this summer at The Basilica. The first is that we will once again be tuck pointing the western exterior walls of The Basilica. This will probably be an on-going project for the next few years, as we remove the old mortar from between the stones and replace it with new mortar. The new mortar will help keep water from penetrating into the interior of The Basilica.
The second major project will be the water proofing of the basement rooms in our school building. Water penetration has been an issue in the school basement for several years. We hope our work this summer will finally solve this problem. Both of these projects are being funded by The Basilica Landmark.
Third, as I’m recording this greeting, there are news reports that Governor Walz will announce the relaxation of some of the current restrictions for public activities. We will certainly review any revisions to the guidelines for public activities. At this time, however, we anticipate maintaining our check-in protocols for the foreseeable future.
If you are planning to attend any liturgies at The Basilica in the next few weeks, we ask you to pre-register via our website, and enter through the doors on the ground level on the western side of The Basilica. Pre-registration makes the check-in process much faster. Additionally, in the unlikely event that someone who attended one of our liturgies, is diagnosed with the Covid virus, we will be able to contact people and inform you of this. 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 our livestream.
Finally, I invite you to join us for Zoom Coffee and Conversation next Wednesday at 9:00am. Michael Reinhardt, one of our parishioners will join us. Michael will be ordained a priest for our Archdiocese on Saturday May 29 and will say his first Mass here at The Basilica on Sunday May 33. He will share his faith journey with us from becoming a Catholic to his decision to enter the seminary. You can find the link for this Zoom conversation on our website.
Let me close today in prayer.
Loving God we ask you:
Help us: That we might be grateful for what we have, and not focus on what we don’t have or have lost.
Strengthen us: That we might not feel discouraged or overwhelmed.
Embrace us: That we might know your loving presence within us, around us and among us.
Walk with us: That we might bring your love and carry your light into our world.
Stay with us: That we might know your peace and consolation.
Complete us: That we might come to know the fullness of your love in eternal life.
We ask all of this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
News and Resources
In our weekly video series "Art That Surrounds Us," Johan van Parys, Ph.D., our Director of Liturgy and Sacred Arts, shares information about a piece from The Basilica of Saint Mary's art collection.
On February 1, 1926, Pope Pius XI bestowed the title of Minor Basilica on what was then known as the Pro-Cathedral of Saint Mary. The symbol of a half-opened umbrella, known as an ombrellino or umbraculum, is a symbol for a basilica with historical roots. This week, Johan shares more about these roots and our newly commissioned ombrellino, which was blessed by Archbishop Bernard Hebda on Easter.
In our weekly video series "Art That Surrounds Us," Johan van Parys, Ph.D., our Director of Liturgy and Sacred Arts, shares information about a piece from The Basilica of Saint Mary's art collection.
In this episode Johan discusses Pity of War, a new bronze sculpture gifted to The Basilica last year by British artist and sculptor Peter Walker. It is intended to honor the millions of nameless and voiceless and forgotten victims of war and human atrocities whose lives were upended against their will. Pity of War depicts the head of a young child whose eyes are strikingly bound and whose mouth is shockingly silenced.
Though it was conceived to commemorate victims of war, Johan was struck that it also spoke about what is happening in our cities, state and country. He thought of additional titles to the statue, incuding Pity of Violence, Pity of Abuse, Pity of Intolerance, Pity of Bigotry, Pity of White Supremacy, Pity of Racism.
Basilica Community,
I hope this message finds you and your family continuing to stay well during these challenging times.
Today I have four things I would like to mention. First, as I’ve mentioned before, while some of the restrictions for public worship have been relaxed, the mask mandate and social distancing guideline of six feet are still in place. Given this, we anticipate maintaining our check-in protocols for the foreseeable future.
If you are planning to attend any liturgies at The Basilica in the next few weeks, we ask you to pre-register via our website. Pre-registration helps us anticipate the number of attendees and makes the check-in process much faster. If you are not able, or don’t feel comfortable joining us in-person for any of our liturgies, we invite you join via our livestream.
The second thing I want to mention is that I am happy to report that in addition to the Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization units which have been installed in the Church, and the Saint Cecilia room, we will be installing additional units in the meeting rooms of the Rectory and Cowley Center. These units purify the air of viruses including COVID-19, as well as allergens and mold. This technology is already being used at places like the Mayo Clinic, local schools, and museums. It will be a tremendous help in ensuring the safety and well being of all those who come to The Basilica.
Third, on a very happy note, I want to let you know that one of our parishioners, Michael Reinhardt, will be ordained a priest of our Archdiocese on Saturday, May 29th at the Cathedral in St. Paul. He will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at the 9:30am Mass at The Basilica on Sunday, May 30th. I ask your prayers for Michael and the other men who will be ordained that day.
If you have questions or concerns about anything that is happening at the Basilica, please contact me at the parish office or send me an email. My contact information is available on our parish website.
Let me close today in prayer.
God of all,
we cry out to you for help.
In your mercy, hear our prayer.
Protect us, Lord, and be with us
especially those of us most vulnerable
at this time.
Move us to reach out in love
to our neighbors near and far.
May that the humble may be exalted,
the hungry filled with good things.
Grant us the courage
not to rush back to our old ways,
but to rebuild our world together,
creating foundations of justice,
with equality and peace for all.
Amen.
News and Resources
The verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer now convicted on all counts as a result of his role in the death of George Floyd last spring, is a sobering moment for our community. The decision by a jury of peers punctuates the grief that has gripped the Twin Cities in these last months and underscores the soul-searching that has taken place in homes, parishes, and workplaces across the country as we together confront the chasm that exists between the brokenness of our world and the harmony and fraternity that our Creator intends for all his children.
We hold up once again the image of the Crucified Christ, whose resurrection gives witness to the healing power of forgiveness, compassion, reconciliation, and peace. It is our shared brotherhood with Jesus that calls us to a deeper respect for all human life. We ask him to bring healing into our communities, comfort to the family of George Floyd and all who mourn, and satisfaction to those who thirst for justice. May the many reminders of the Lord’s loving closeness even in challenging times inspire us to treat each other with unfailing respect, to work non-violently for the common good and to be instruments of reconciliation.
https://www.archspm.org/statement-regarding-guilty-verdict-in-derek-chauvin-trial/