Our Ambo is crafted as a table, the Table of God’s Word. Here the apostolic stories from sacred scripture are proclaimed to nourish and feed us. For we believe that Jesus comes to us as the Scriptures are proclaimed in our hearing. The four marble medallions set into the ambo symbolize the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Our altar is designed as both a table and an altar of sacrifice. It is a supper table, where the Lord’s Supper becomes present among us, celebrating the memorial meal of the New Covenant where we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. It is also an altar of sacrifice directly linking us to the sacrifice of Jesus - his suffering, death and resurrection on our behalf. The twelve marble medallions reflect the foundation of the church built on the twelve apostles.
Our primary relic, placed beneath the altar top (mensa) is of St. John Vianney (1786 – 1859), a parish priest noteworthy for his pastoral ministry and who is revered as patron of teachers, children, priests, confessors as well as of the sick, the poor and pilgrims. St. John was the son of a poor farmer in Dardilly, France. Beginning as a shepherd, he entered the seminary for education at 20 and had a difficult time in learning all that was required for ordination, which he was not able to receive until he was 30. St. John died August 4, 1859, and that is the date his feast is celebrated. St. John, also known as the Curé of Ars, was canonized in 1925.
We also have two additional relics from the altar we inherited from Our Lady of Loretto Convent and upon which we celebrated Mass for many years. Upon releasing the relics imbedded in this old altar stone, we discovered the relics of St. Fortunatus (6th century writer, poet, priest, bishop – “known for his love of food and friends and joy”) and St. Fidelis (16th century Capuchin who preached diligently and was martyred for his defense of the Catholic faith.)
The main entrance into our church is marked with large Ceremonial doors. Embellished with decorative glass, they clearly mark the threshold into a sacred place - a place where heaven and earth intersect.
"In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God." (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #8).
Our door was designed by Robert Nickola, and echoes the wheat design, the Eucharistic symbol of bread and spiritual nourishment, that is repeated in other areas of our church. The doors of the church are used for purposes beyond entering the holy space. Our sacraments of Baptism and Marriage, as well as Funeral Liturgies, make provisions for a ritual entrance or reception at the doors. We pray: May all who gather through these doors feel welcomed and embraced by the presence of the Lord!
The fountain of life, the water made holy by the suffering of Christ, washing all the world.
The entrance to our Worship Center, like that of many newer churches throughout the country, holds one large font of water, rather than several. Thus the water with which we sign ourselves at worship is contained in the same font used for baptizing. There is a reason for this: the very font of life used for baptisms is also used as a reminder of its meaning. As we sign ourselves with water, we recall that through baptism we are children of one Father, sisters and brothers of Christ Jesus, members of God’s family who have the right and the joy to worship together at the Table of God’s Word and Eucharist.
The baptistry or the place of the baptismal font is one of the most important places within the church. It is where we celebrate Baptism, the first Sacrament, and where we accept Christ as our Savior and become children of God. Through the Holy Spirit, we are anointed and become members of the Church.
Because Baptism is the beginning of our Christian life, it is appropriate that the baptismal font is located at the entrance of our church building. The font of Baptism, the foundation of our faith, has been built into the pillar of our first church, the foundation of this local faith community.
The font itself is made of a complementary marble to that of our altar and ambo (pulpit). The higher level we call the infant font, where the traditional pouring of the water over those to be baptized occurs. This would also allow for immersion of infants if that form of baptism is chosen. The larger pool-like area allows for an expressive pouring of substantial water over older children or adults as they would stand in the font.
After entering the front doors, you are in our Narthex (gathering space). This very space was used as our worship center for more than 20 years before building our new church.
This original area was the first of the buildings to be erected on the property and was used as a multi-purpose space - for worship, for meetings, for social events and even for our Religious Education Program. In 1987, we built our Parish Center so that our parish religious education programs (PREP), meetings and social functions could take place there.
The original worship space has been remodeled to include a day chapel, a vesting sacristy, a bride’s room, and a storage area for liturgy and hospitality. The entire middle of the building is now available to us for a gathering area.
Our original Stations of the Cross (designed by Ellsworth Cordesman and crafted by Tina Vaughn) remain in their original location on the upper walls for prayer and reflection for those who choose to use them. They were designed with the theme of “hands” which marked our earliest traditions here at SMV and expressed our role as being the living hands of Christ reaching out to others in his name today.
As you enter the Narthex, you will find some of the remembrances of our history on the walls and niches near the entryway. Our dedication plaque for the original building is surrounded by memorabilia dating back to earlier ground breaking, first Masses and special liturgies. There is a photo of the Hands Banners, which hung for many years on the interior walls of this original worship space. The banners were made up of small squares representing parishioner’s hands joining together to be this local Church. You will also find in these areas some of the documents signed by those who attended our initial liturgies.
As you walk through the Narthex and approach the Ceremonial Doors you are walking on the site of our previous sanctuary. The word sanctuary means holy place. So our former holy place is our entryway into the new.
The tabernacle is the place of reservation of the Eucharist, primarily for bringing communion to the sick, for preserving the Blessed Sacrament not consumed at our regular worship and for personal prayer outside of the Liturgy. Again you will see the wheat symbol of nourishment not only on the doors of the tabernacle, but also is the decorative glass which surrounds tabernacle. The panel of glass was designed to create a defined sacred space around the tabernacle area.
Behind the tabernacle is a small room with outside access for people to come to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. The tabernacle is visible on both sides of the glass wall.
The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for He has anointed me.
The Ambry is the repository or sacred place where the Holy Oils are kept. The oils are used for the celebration of two of the sacraments of initiation - Baptism and Confirmation - as well as for Holy Orders and the Anointing of the Sick. In the tradition of the church, these oils are reserved in a special and protected place.
Each year during Holy Week, our archbishop, presently Cardinal George, blesses the Oil of the Catechumens (signified by the Latin initials OS) and Oil of the Sick (Latin initials of OI) and consecrates the Sacred Chrism (oil mixed with perfume – balsam signified by the Latin initials SC) used in Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders and for the Dedication of a New Church. Each year we send a representative to participate in this Liturgy and receive our parish supply of these Holy Oils. With reverence, we properly dispose of the old oils and replace them with new. During our own Holy Thursday celebration, we place the new Holy Oils into the Ambry.
The tapestry of the Baptism of Christ is based on designs made by John Nava for the tapestries cycles of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA. Nava's tapestries have gained international acclaim for "expressing the humanity of godliness and the godliness of humanity." (Sr. Rose Pacatte, FSP)
This authentic tapestry was made by Flanders Tapestries in Belgium, who also produced the original tapestries. Nava's design is called an "artistic innovation" for the way that Nava integrated twenty-first century technology with centuries-old artistic tradition. Our Baptism of Christ Tapestry has been signed by John Nava.
In the ambulatory or walkway around the outside of the seating area, we find the traditional Stations of the Cross (designed by Wiktor Szostalo) for devotional prayer during Lent or any time of the year.
The corpus or Body of Jesus, designed by Wiktor Szostalo, is entitled “Into your hands I commend my Spirit” and captures the powerful moment, just before he died, when Jesus commends himself to his Father for our salvation – a moment of profound peace leading to the resurrection.
The wood cross, designed by Robert Nickola and executed by Gianfranco Tassara of Inspired Artisans, is designed to reflect the shape of the cross on the roof of our original church building.
The colored glass in the cross celebrates the cross as a sign of victory, the triumph of Jesus over sin and death. The wheat shaped pattern expresses the sacrifice of Jesus we celebrate in our Eucharist, the memorial of his passion, death and resurrection. The stained glass is made up of the traditional liturgical colors – white (gold), green, purple and red.
Artwork
To the east side of our sanctuary you will notice that, at long last, our beautiful artwork for our votive candles has arrived and was put in place by artisans this past Friday. At the center is an artistic rendering of the Risen Lord Jesus -- which stands by itself throughout the year as a portrayal of our central belief as Christians but also will be able to be used as the final or fifteenth station of the cross during Lent. The candle glasses, reflecting the colors from our stained glass, reach from the Risen Lord towards the Blessed Sacrament in repose in the tabernacle to one side and towards the statue of St. Mary of Vernon to the other side.
Some indication that the intention for a specific candle has been taken for a specific week is made on the designated line on the sign up sheet. There is no need to put down the intention since most frequently that would be between the individual lighting the candle and God. However, if people could indicate that the intention is taken by any of the following: by writing "special intention" or "intention taken"; by simply initialing the line either with their own initials or the initials of the person for whom they are praying; or by writing a simple word such as "healing" or "strength", followed by a first or last name or short full name.
Burning Candles
A Traditional and Ancient Custom A curious non-Catholic might ask why one might find candles burning in Catholic churches here or around the world. Votive and/or vigil lights are an ancient custom in both Catholic and Orthodox spirituality. We have been encouraged by Jesus to present our prayers and petitions before our God. We believe in the power of prayer. Burning candles symbolically represent the prayers of the faithful who wish their prayer intentions to be also remembered by others who come to pray.The term votive and/or vigil light designates the kinds of prayers offered. Votive designates the desire or informal vow (votum in Latin) of a person to keep that special intention before God in prayer. Vigil represents or expresses the desire that the prayer continues even while the person cannot remain physically present in church (vigilia in Latin means to wait and watch).
When the offering is received a simple check mark is put at the end of that line. We will set the current week’s listing of intentions either at the top of the sign-in book on the reception desk or, in due time when we get a suitable holder, a simple display at the table which holds the Book of Prayers on the west side of the narthex.
Mary is the patroness of our church. Our statue was designed by Ellsworth Cordesman, whose sketches of Mary were approved by our people as so very appropriate for us. Mary has the appearance of a Midwestern or prairie girl, as if she stepped out of our midst. The final statue was carved from these sketches by Italian artisans.
Our statue reminds us of the close ties of Mary to Christ and the Church. First of all she is the mother of our Lord, Jesus. She is also the image and model of the Church, and our example of how to live in service to God. Our statue of Mary in its place of honor, is a reminder of her example of holiness. We pray that our hearts, eyes, and ears be opened to follow her lead as disciples of her Son, Jesus.
In looking out of our beautiful sanctuary window across the field to the west you will notice a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother. This statue is a gift from a parish family and was designed by Gianfranco Tassara, who also designed our statue of St. Joseph and our statue if Jesus and the Children. Mary, Woman of Peace and Welcome evokes the image of a simple, peasant woman of our prairie plains. With her out stretched arms all people, young and old will be able to approach Mary on our walking trail or view her from our Church and Parish Center windows.