Beautiful Sacrament/Beautiful Milwaukee Church

In January of 2013 I wrote a blog post on the Seven Most Beautiful Churches in Milwaukee.  I know I missed a few in that list and that there are many more beautiful churches that I have not yet seen and don't know about, but now I can add St. Michael's Church on 24th and Vliet to that list and make it at least eight beautiful churches, until I have the opportunity to visit others.  

Although we are parishioners at Old St. Mary Parish, my son Jack was the only teen being confirmed from our parish this year, and several other east and north side parishes had small numbers of confirmands as well, so the celebration was combined and held at St. Michael's Church where seventy-five youth were confirmed by Archbishop Listecki. 

The newly confirmed, Jack Thomas, (right) and his sponsor, Joe, pose with Archbishop Listecki

Conversation with Archbishop Listecki while our pastor, Fr. Tim Kitzke, looks on.

Before the Mass began we were given a brief overview of St. Michael's Church which was built by German immigrants and is now home to a multi-cultural community of Laotian, Hmong, Karen, and Spanish members, among others.  The church interior is stunningly magnificent with much of its original beauty left intact, although it did seem as though some modifications and modernizations were made in the sanctuary.

The church was packed with people and excitement.  The music was a mix of both traditional and contemporary which added a joyful atmosphere of prayer during the three-hour-long Mass and celebration of the Sacrament.  Archbishop Listecki likes to speak individually to each confirmand during the celebration and those conversations were not amplified so the singing kept the little ones (and adults) from becoming restless during the long process of Confirmation.  During Jack's conversation with the Archbishop, he shared that he chose to keep his baptismal name, Thomas, as his confirmation name because St. Thomas the Apostle, much like Jack, was strong in faith but short on words, saying only "My Lord and My God" upon coming to believe that Jesus was truly risen. 

Jack was well-prepared, excited and eager to receive the Sacrament. We hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will bless his life and guide his every move forever.  

(For a fun gift that we hope will help him to remember the anointing he received each time he applies it to his budding facial hair, we gave Jack  Barbatus Catholic Beard Balm in both Chrism and Holy Smokes scents.)

St. Michael's Church, Milwaukee

St. Michael's, interior

The First Station of the Cross-Jesus is Condemned to Death

The Marian Altar

soaring stained glass

Pieta

smiling brothers

Christed

Joe (holding the Bishop's staff), Bishop Sklba and John (Joe's sponsor)

"To be anointed is to be Christed, since the name Christ means "anointed."  ~Bishop Richard Sklba

My son Joe received the Sacrament of Confirmation on April 13th, conferred upon him by Bishop Richard Sklba.  Bishop Sklba is known to use a lot of Chrism when he Confirms teenagers.  When he Confirmed Joe, he rubbed it in his hair as if he were washing Joe's hair with the Chrism.  Then he rubbed some onto John's hand that was resting on Joe's right shoulder.  You can easily see the Chrism in Joe's hair in this picture, and even after he washed his hair the next morning, the heavenly fragrance of balsam continued to fill the air around Joe.

In his homily, Bishop Sklba offered an explanation as to why he has a reputation for being generous with the Chrism.  He said, "To be anointed is to be Christed, since the name Christ means "anointed."  The oil makes you beautiful because it causes you to shine.  I say "be sealed with the Holy Spirit", and the "seal" makes it official like a seal on a diploma.  You are anointed and sealed to become witnesses to how God works in the world."

"In your letters to me, some of you wrote that you wanted the Sacrament of Confirmation because you wanted to become adults in the faith.  But today's Gospel reading contradicts that.  We heard:  "And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." ~Matthew 18:2-4  Children are very honest and open.  You, too, are called to be honest and open about witnessing to Christ and to your Catholic faith."

He went on:  "When you are Confirmed in the faith, I use enough Chrism so that it gets in your hair and when you sleep it gets in your pillow so you can dream about what God can do with you and for you.  I use it on the sponsor's hand as a sign of the impulse of the Spirit.  The fragrance is to remind you of God's very real presence in your life."

Then, as Bishop Sklba stood right in front of Joe, he stressed the fact that no two people are alike, that everyone is unique, and he used Joe as an example, telling him that there is nobody in this world who is exactly like him.  And he said, "Now this Sacrament of Confirmation is not just for you alone; it's for everybody.  The Sacrament is for mission, it's to send forth.  On Monday you will all go back to your respective high schools and your schools will now be better places because of what we do today. The gift of the Spirit sends us forth to improve the world around us."

Confirmed!

My son Justin received the Sacrament of Confirmation on April 14th through the hands of Archbishop Listecki. It was a blessedly memorable occasion to witness my son, after three years of preparation, being sealed with the fragrant Chrism which forever after marks him as God's precious and chosen son through the love of the Holy Spirit dwelling within his soul. The church was electric with Easter joy and the love of God during the three hour Mass. The word "heavenly" would be an accurate description of the atmosphere.

I was blessed to serve as a lector for the Mass and as I was standing near the altar during the Gloria and the sprinkling rite, the Archbishop didn't wave the asperger in my direction to bless me, instead, he put a bit of holy water on his fingers and then blessed me by making the sign of the cross directly on my forehead with the holy water. It reminded me of the many times I had made the same action of blessing my children with holy water when they were small and I felt like a little child again receiving a special blessing from my spiritual father.

My son Jack and my daughter Mary had been asked to serve at the Mass. Jack had served at the confirmation Mass last year when my son John was confirmed by Bishop Sklba but Mary had just been trained to be server last fall and has only served at Mass a handful of times so this was such an honor to be asked to serve for the Archbishop at this extra special occasion and she was very nervous. She was all wide-eyed and beautiful as she reverently attended to her duties at the altar for this very solemn occasion. I was so proud of both of my little servers.

Archbishop Listecki's homily was both entertaining and uplifting. He began by speaking about the importance of choosing a Confirmation name wisely. He shared a story of how his mother had wanted to name him Harry, after his father, but at his baptism the priest discouraged such a pagan name and told her to name him Jerome after that wise and knowledgeable saint. He said that he chose the name Lawrence for his Confirmation name so had he been named Harry he would have been Harry Edward Lawrence Listecki with the initials spelling HELL...o! Thank goodness my mom named me Jerome, he said, so now my initials spell JELL-o, and there's always room for jello!

Then he said that he was going to question the confirmands about their faith and he took one young lady by the hand and brought her up to the altar to question her. He said that one of the goals that many of the young people mentioned in their letters to him was that they hoped to become closer to God through the Sacrament of Confirmation. He told the young lady that as he reached for her hand he saw her look to heaven and say "Dear God, not me!" And her sponsor looked to heaven and said "Dear God, not her!" And everyone else looked up to heaven and said "Thank God it wasn't me!" So already you are all a little closer to God! Then he simply asked her to name the first Sacrament that a person receives and she correctly answered "baptism" and he then escorted her back to her seat explaining that the real questioning comes when they make their profession of faith.

He then went on to speak about the saints that the confirmands chose to be their lifetime guides and special friends by choosing their names for Confirmation. He said that many of those saints have died for the faith. He asked the confirmands if they are willing to die for their faith. He hoped that they would be willing to do that but more than that he wanted to know if they are willing to live for their faith.

At the end of his homily he stressed the importance of the cross as the sign of unconditional love and said that he wants everyone to retain the knowledge that no matter what happens to them in their lives God will always love them unconditionally. Then he thanked the parents of the confirmands for instilling the gift of faith in their children and for being willing to fight with their children to make sure they attend Mass each week and follow the teachings of the Catholic faith. Finally he thanked the confirmands. He told them that with their "yes" to Jesus they have enriched the Catholic faith for everyone.

At this point my husband Paul noticed me scribbling furiously in my journal during the Archbishop's homily and he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Why don't you ever take notes when I talk to you?" :)

As each of the 66 confirmands approached the altar for the Sacrament, Archbishop Listecki took his time speaking individually to each of them asking them about the name that they have chosen for their confirmation and quizzing them with questions such as "Is St. Michael a male or a female?" The answer was neither since St. Michael is pure spirit without a gender. And for those who chose the name James he wanted to know if it was for St. James the Lesser or St. James the Greater. It was evident that he was enjoying the Confirmation process as he could be seen laughing all the while he was confirming the teens. The Archbishop did all he could to make sure that being confirmed in the faith would forever after be a life-changing and memorable Sacrament for those who received it.

And now my Justin is confirmed in the faith and he is so grateful to have received the Sacrament that has sealed him with the gift of the Holy Spirit. One more soul for the Lord! I rejoice and praise the Lord!

Fragrant Spirit

"For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Archbishop Listecki leaned over each jar of Chrism, sweetened with the earthy fragrance of balsam, breathed in deeply and then released his breath into the fragrant mixture of oil and perfume thereby calling the Holy Spirit to enter into the Chrism making it holy.

John and I, seated in the front of the church, were finally able to see the actions at the Chrism Mass for the first time after many years of only finding seats in the back of the crowded Cathedral. We were so close that I could actually smell the sweet perfume. Every sense in my body was intensely aware of the holiness of the moment, and I fondly recalled the year that I had the great honor of carrying the Chrism home from the Cathedral for my parish. I couldn't sleep that whole night because the scent of the oil in the box on my dresser kept me awake with excitement over the awesome thought of having those holy oils in my own house until the morning when I must reluctantly deliver them to the director of liturgy at my parish.

I looked at my son sitting next to me, my son who will be receiving that consecrated Chrism smeared firmly onto his forehead by Bishop Sklba at his Confirmation this Saturday. It will be rubbed so thoroughly and deeply into his skin that it will penetrate through his pores and soak into his soul, forever penetrating his very essence with the Holy Spirit breathed into that oil by Archbishop Listecki. In that moment I saw, not a fine young man on the cusp of full and joyful acceptance into the Catholic faith, but instead, a little baby dressed in a white baptismal garment, nestled in my arms as I breathed deeply and was overcome with that fragrant scent with which he was covered for the first time, that aroma that lingered on his sweet brow for days. How quickly that time has passed from the moment when Paul and I brought our innocent first babe to church for the Sacrament of Baptism and professed our willingness to bring him up in the faith, until now, the moment when John will profess his own desire to remain in the faith and live his entire life in the Spirit of the One and Only loving God.

And how fitting it is that my son, born on October 16th, the date that Pope John Paul II was elected Pope, and christened "John Paul" will now be Confirmed into the faith on the eve of that same Pope's beatification. John has declined to choose a new name for himself as he is confirmed and has chosen instead to reaffirm the name chosen for him in honor of that good and holy man for whom he was named.

I pray that on April 30th, when the Holy Spirit descends through the crowded church and penetrates the foreheads of each of the youth being confirmed in their faith, that all will be moved to embrace an active Catholicism-one of faith, hope and love-through both prayer and action , for the remainder of their lives.

And might I just send a nod John's way and invite you to pay a visit to his own blog, Writings of a Boy Discerning God's Call, for his own take on the excitement he feels over his upcoming Confirmation and his experiences during the Triduum just past?

Faith-Filled Weekend

Whew! This past weekend flew by like a 747! But it's all good, because God was definitely in every minute of that flight.

I had the chance to spend the day with my four sons and a few friends on Saturday. It was the annual "Fire on the Hill St. John Bosco Youth Day" rally at Holy Hill Basilica in Hubertus, WI. This faith-filled day of music and speakers for teens set our hearts on fire, blazing like the bonfire that warmed us up in the 40 degree weather. But nothing could warm us like time spent confessing our sins and spending an hour in Eucharistic Adoration followed by Mass with Fr. Stan Fortuna.

In his homily, Fr. Stan was explaining how we can better understand what God's will is for us in this world. He said that the only way that we can hope to understand how God is working in our lives is to "turn it around." Instead of hoping to UNDERSTAND, we should be trying to STAND UNDER. Then he lifted the crucifix from the altar and held it over his head to show us that we are to stand under the cross, like Mary, and it is there where we will find God and realize how we are called to serve Him in this world.

Sunday afternoon, my family and I stood along a busy highway holding "Abortion Kills Children" signs for our local Life Chain in honor of Respect Life Sunday. Nine-year-old Mary kept us entertained by making up pro-life songs with lyrics like "You can stop abortion, yes you can!"

As the weather continues to be chilly in my part of the world, I was glad to sit down for a cup of coffee after that with a young girl who is preparing for her Confirmation this Spring and who has asked me to be her Sponsor. What a joy and an honor it is to be considered worthy to form the faith of someone who is serious about her relationship with the Lord!


Finally, St. Augustine parish is within walking distance of my home and they held a Transitus Service last night in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. I had never heard of Transitus before, so I was intrigued to learn more. My daughter, Mary, and I walked over and were pleased to take part in a solemn service in honor of this great saint! Mary noticed that the service began a lot like the Easter Vigil, in darkness. After Archbishop Listecki gave his homily, the pastor of the parish read the story of the passing of St. Francis from this life to the next while the altar candles were extinguished, one by one, leaving only one flame burning to represent the light of Christ that St. Francis reflected in this world. Then, from that one candle, every candle in church was lit. It was both beautiful and joyous!

And now, I am glad to land again on a normal Monday at work so that I can catch my breath from all of last weekend's excitement!