Ripe for Harvest

Cornstalks, in the Chesterfield Valley of Saint Louis County. Autumn has come upon us quite suddenly.

Shrine of Our Lady of the Way

FACING INTERSTATE 70, in the town of Saint Peters, in Saint Charles County, Missouri, is a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title Our Lady of the Way.



I was driving eastbound on the highway, and this little shrine caught my eye, I did not know of its existence beforehand. The grounds are nicely maintained, with many flowers in bloom, planted in beds around the shrine. The shrine is a few blocks from All Saints Church.



Our Lady of the Way, or Our Lady of the Road, or Madonna Della Strada, is patroness of the Society of Jesus. The original icon bearing this name resides in the Society's church in Rome, the Gesù. Click here for a description and photos, in Italian.

Our Lady of the Way is patroness to pilgrims and travelers. But morally, Mary is patroness to our way of life — do we follow the Commandments and live a virtuous life? And also consider our final destination: where are we ultimately headed?



The shrine was originally located about a mile or so to the west of here. Both its old and new locations are near what is now Interstate 70, which follows in part the route of the old Boone's Lick Road — for 40 years the major overland road leading to the great American West. Fittingly, the Interstate Highway system was started a few miles from here, where Boone's road also started.

Saint Francis de Sales Oratory, at night. This shows new lighting on the tower.

Saint Louis, in the chapel of CBC High School, in Town and Country, Missouri.

Feast of Saint Louis

Statue of Saint Louis, at the Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, popularly known as the Old Cathedral, in downtown Saint Louis, Missouri.

Humility in leadership does not mean ineffective leadership as this sainted king proves.

Fecundity

Wine grapes, in New Haven, Missouri  The harvest starts tomorrow.

Water Lilies

WATER LILIES, at the Jewel Box, in Forest Park.















These pictures were taken at dusk.

"Thursday Night Pizza" by Father Dominic

SORRY I HAVEN'T posted much here, since I've been writing some books that will be published in the next few months. But these are technical manuals, so I doubt that very many of you would be interested.

However, in mid-October you will be able to buy the much more interesting book Thursday Night Pizza, from Reedy Press.



The book is by Father Dominic Garramone, O.S.B., who is well-known from his popular PBS television series Breaking Bread with Father Dominic.

I took the photographs for this book, brilliantly assisted by Snup from View from the Back Pew. From the back cover:

After twenty years of testing recipes on his fellow monks, Father Dominic of public television's Breaking Bread offers a surprising variety of pizza recipes sure to please every palate.

With his customary detailed and easy-to-follow directions, Father Dom shows you how to make the perfect crust (the real key to first-rate pizza), flavorful homemade sauces, and savory toppings.  You will discover how to tell when a “Big Ol’ Batch o’ Pizza Sauce” is thick enough, the way to avoid soggy crusts, and a “magic trick” to have warm, crusty bread waiting for your breakfast the morning after pizza night.

Recipes include three different doughs, nine sauces, and dozens of pizzas like the Pesto and Prosciutto Appetizer Pizza, Muffaletta Pizza, the Denver Diner Pizza, Pizza Diavolo, and the Fig and Papaya Dessert Pizza.

Here is a recipe from the book:

Four Cheese Tomato-Top Pizza
A blend of Italian cheeses mixed with herbs and topped with garden tomatoes— simple, beautiful, delicious.

Recommended crust: 14-oz. American style
6 oz. shredded mozzarella
4 oz. ricotta
2 oz. shredded provolone
2 oz. grated Romano
1 egg
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ cup fresh snipped chives or garlic chives
16 to 24 slices of plum tomato

Drain tomato slices on paper towels for about 15 minutes. Roll dough out to 12"–14" with a thicker raised edge and place on a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal. In a medium-size bowl, combine cheeses with egg, nutmeg, and chives. Mix with hands until thoroughly blended. Spread cheese mixture evenly over pizza crust and arrange tomato slices on top. Bake in a preheated 500 ̊ F oven for 10–15 minutes, or until cheese starts to brown lightly. Salt and pepper lightly if desired.

Notes

—This is one of my favorite pizzas, especially when we have fresh tomatoes.The plum tomatoes are best, because they have more flesh and less juice, but other tomatoes work fine if you drain the slices on paper towels for at least 30 minutes before use. You can, of course, make this pizza without tomatoes, if you want a classic Quattro Formaggi pie—use an Italian-style crust.

—Try to get a strongly flavored, well-aged provolone, and don’t be afraid to ask the deli worker for samples. You can also experiment with other cheeses (parmesan, asiago, fontina, gorgonzola, etc.) or vary proportions. I make this pizza differently every time, depending upon what’s in the fridge and/or in the garden, and I’m never disappointed.

—If I make this pie for Thursday night haustus, I always make it last, in the hopes that leftovers will return to the kitchen, because this pizza is just about the best cold breakfast I have ever had.

Here is my photo of this pizza:



These pizzas were delicious and well-made, definitely in the Catholic tradition of fine food, being both tasty and a delight to the eye. I took several pizzas home with me, and had pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next three days.

UPDATE: The book is now available for purchase:

Summer at the Oratory - August 22

FROM Saint Francis de Sales Oratory:

In honor of King Saint Louis IX, patron saint of the city of St. Louis, the annual Summer at the Oratory celebration will take place on Sunday, August 22, from 12:00 noon to 7:00 pm.

Come – one and all, and invite all your friends and family for a festive afternoon! 

In addition to being a fun event for the whole family – with music, games, a quilt raffle, country market, and great food and drinks, there will be terrific auction items available to benefit the restoration effort at St. Francis de Sales Oratory. For more information, contact the Oratory at (314) 771-3100.

Click here for the original article.

Barat Academy

Barat Academy, a Catholic high school in Dardenne Prairie, Saint Charles County, Missouri.

The school is named after Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, who sent Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne to the Saint Louis area.

Maria Assumpta Est

Stained glass window of the Assumption of Mary, at Saint Francis Borgia Church, in Washington, Missouri.

An Act of Abandonment

Act of Abandonment

by Saint Jane Francis de Chantal

O sovereign goodness of the sovereign Providence of my God! I abandon myself forever to Your arms. Whether gentle or severe, lead me henceforth wherever You will; I will not regard the way through which You will have me pass, but keep my eyes fixed upon you, my God, who guides me. My soul finds no rest without the arms and the bosom of this heavenly Providence, my true Mother, my strength and my defense.

Therefore I resolve with Your divine assistance, O my Savior, to follow Your desires and Your laws, without regarding or examining why You do this rather than that; but I will blindly follow You according to Your divine will, without seeking my own inclinations.

Hence I am determined to leave all to You, taking no part therein save by keeping myself in peace in Your arms, desiring nothing except as You make me to desire, to will, to wish. I offer You this desire, O my God, beseeching You to bless it; I undertake all it includes, relying on Your goodness, liberality, and mercy, with entire confidence in You, distrust of myself, and knowledge of my infinite misery and infirmity.

Prayers, please, for the consolation of a friend of mine.

Saint Louis University at Dawn

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Louis University, taken the other day at dawn. This is a Jesuit school, located in midtown Saint Louis, Missouri.



Pope Pius XII Library.

This is a wonderful time of day, especially during this brutally hot summer. The lighting is interesting, and the temperature was bearable.



SLU Museum of Art.



DuBourg Hall.



Another view of the Library.



Griesedieck Tower.



Cupples House, now a museum.



The clock tower.



Cook Hall.



Saint Francis Xavier Church. The interior is here.

Immaculate Conception - Dardenne Prairie

The new church.



The old church.

Forest Park at Night

A stream in Forest Park, Saint Louis, at night.  A soccer field is illumined by nearby streetlights.

But for some truly remarkable nighttime photos, see Cambridge in Colour, a website that I greatly admire and has been a great inspiration to me.

Photos of Saint Andrew Church, in Lemay, Missouri

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Andrew Church, located just south of the Saint Louis city limits in Lemay, and about 9 road miles southwest of downtown.



From the Parish's history:

Following the World's Fair in St. Louis there was a rapid growth in the St. Louis area. This was reflected in many new Catholic parishes established at that time. One was St. Andrew. Archbishop John Glennon appointed Father Albert Mayer to be the first Pastor of a parish between the River Des Peres and Jefferson Barracks on December 24, 1904. Neighboring parishes were St. Boniface and Our Lady of the Assumption. The first Mass for the people was said February 5, 1905. There were 200 families at that time. Theodore Roosevelt was the President, and there were two Governors of Missouri that year, Alexander Dockery and Joseph Folk. The Pope was Pius X, the last Pope so far to be given the title of Saint.

This church dates from 1930.

Deus in loco sancto suo: Deus qui inhabitare fecit unanimes in domo
God in His holy place; God who maketh men of one mind to dwell in a house

This is a beautiful church; I ought to have visited years ago, considering how close I live to it. Many thanks to the parish staff and Deacon who let me take pictures here.

According to the 2010 Archdiocesan Status Animarum, or ecclesiastical census, this parish has approximately 800 Catholics. Much of the low-lying residential area to the northeast of the church, near the confluence of the River des Peres and Mississippi River, was inundated during the Great Flood of 1993; this great tragedy for the families living there led to depopulation of this parish.

From a history of Lemay:

The French were the first European inhabitants in what is present day Lemay. In 1700, the French Jesuits established a mission and small settlement near the mouth of the River Des Peres. The settlement was short lived and after three years the mission was transferred to Kaskaskia, Illinois. Development in the area did not resume until the second half of the 18th Century as a result of the growth of Carondelet.

Carondelet was a French settlement founded in 1767 by Clement Delor. The Lemay portion of Carondelet was located south of the River Des Peres and used primarily for agricultural purposes, known formally as Carondelet Commons. While vital to Carondelet's development in present-day St. Louis, use of the commons hampered development in Lemay. Land titles for the area were often disputed well into the 19th Century because of its status as a municipal common ground.

Lemay's identity as a separate community began to materialize between the Civil War and the Great Depression. Settlement was advanced by the resolution of the land disputes and from a surge of immigrants from St. Louis, mostly Germans. The immigrants led to the establishment of small communities in the area south of the River Des Peres such as Luxemberg, Ivory, Bismark Heights, and Bobringville. While many of these communities retained their identity, the area was most popularly referred to as Luxemberg. The area's identity as Lemay didn't take shape until the 1930s. The name Lemay is derived from the operator of the ferry service across the Meramec River, Francois Lemai.

By the turn of the 20th Century, various industries and businesses began to serve the local population and community services were established to transform the Lemay area into a functional, modern settlement.

Much of the design of this church is line with the old Liturgical Movement of the early 20^th century, including the canopy over the altar, prominent tabernacle, large crucifix, and explicitly Christological symbolism on and around the altar.

The Church is named after Saint Andrew, the first-called Apostle and brother of Peter. Andrew was a fisherman and disciple of John the Baptist. After the Ascension, Andrew preached in Scythia and Asia Minor, and travelled to Volga, Kiev, and Byzantium.

Legend states that Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross, and so this is a symbol of his patronage, as is found on the flags of Russia and Scotland. His feast day is November 30^th.

Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuæ, et locum habitationis gloriæ tuæ.
I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of your house; and the place where your glory dwells.

Mary's altar.



Saint Joseph, and the baptismal font.



Saint Anne with the child Mary, and the Infant Jesus of Prague.



Saint Thérèse of Lisieux showers down roses from Heaven.



XI^th Station: Jesus is nailed to the Cross. O God, who by the passion of thy blessed Son hast made the instrument of shameful death to be unto us the means of life and peace: Grant us so to glory in the Cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss; for the sake of the same thy Son our Lord.



Confessional.



Stained glass window of the Crucifixion. Window details include the Arma Christi, or the arms of Christ, which are the instruments of his Passion, including the hammer and nails.



On a painted medallion is the Barque, or Ship of Peter. The Church is like a ship at sea, tossed by storms. Although always seeming to be in danger of capsizing, she remains seaworthy; while those outside of the ship are almost certain to perish.



A view of the ceiling.



Nicely decorated brackets hold up the ceiling beams.



Pipe organ and choir loft.



The former baptistery.



Click here for my photos of this church from 2006.

Address:
309 Hoffmeister Avenue
Saint Louis, Missouri  63125