Written by: Denise Serafini on Saturday, May 27, 2017
On Friday, May 19, the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle hosted “Call from the Crucified Heart.” This church shares space with its school gymnasium. It seems they take down the altar and reposition the chairs for each transition between Holy Mass and school-related events. The Knights of Columbus members have and will continue to take on this responsibility until a formal church can be built. What an overwhelming commitment they make to assure that the space can be shared. As a matter of fact, we waited patiently in the hallways for the completion of the graduation ceremony in the same space just before our presentation. True to their reputation across all of Utah, the knights helped us get our equipment in place in short order so we could still begin on time. We had the participation of Deacon Duane Padilla and two translators for the Spanish version of the meditations. They each executed on their roles perfectly. We had a full choir with keyboard and violin to round out the overall presentation. Both Jean and I were amazed at the number of families with children in attendance. This was a very engaged congregation and as it turns out we even had representation from the Mormon Tabernacle (Utah is, after all, Mormon country). The bishop was asking lots of questions as he passed through the veneration line. We welcomed him with open arms and joined with their Catholic friend to help explain the circumstances relative to each of the artifacts in our collection. There must have been a communication that went out or perhaps it was simply word of mouth that prompted so many people to bring bundles of sacramental items to touch to the relics. People had bags full of pictures, crucifixes, medals, statues, etc. to touch to the relics and they seemed to have a true excitement in presenting them.Read More