Alan
and Em talk about the Dorkness-related events of their summer vacation, including an actual pilgrimage to an actual shrine of an actual Catholic saint. They also talk about their experiences with Catholicism, The Saint Cast, and the game Balder's Gate.
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Link #1: St Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site
Link #2: St Kateri Conservation Center
Link #3: The novel "A Man At Arms"
Link #4: The novel "The Lyra & the Cross"
Link #5: The podcast The SaintCastLink #6: St Kateri piece by Paper Cut Prayers
You can follow the network on twitter @DorknessToLight or Alan @ProfessorAlan
I'm missing seeing the picture of the Catholic chapel sign, juxtaposed with the Dunkin' Donuts sign, in the upscale mall in Boston. An "operational" Catholic chapel inside a mall is outside of my personal experience, but it doesn't astonish me. The Catholic Church has never been shy about entering into unexpected places. The nearness of the Dunkin' Donuts makes perfect sense to me. It's always been a Catholic tradition to go for breakfast after Mass.
ReplyDeleteIn your feedback section, you said that there were only two places in Columbus, OH, to which people would make a pilgrimage: The Book Loft, or an Ohio State University football game. You missed a couple: Schmidt's Sausage Haus, in German Village, not far from The Book Loft, and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, on the campus of THE (as opposed to AN) Ohio State University.
I'm glad you had an overall good trip during the summer, and I enjoyed hearing about your time visiting the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in NY state. I first heard of St. (at the time, "Venerable") Kateri when I was in Catholic grammar school in the 1960s. The nuns who taught there were quite taken with her and her story. At the time she was Beatified (declared "Blessed") I had already graduated from college and had just finished my second year of teaching, and, at the time she was canonized (declared a Saint), I had been retired from teaching for 6 year. Holy Mother Church moves slowly, which is unsurprising for Her being over 2,000 years old, but she eventually gets to the right place, often enough.
Alan, the next time you find yourself in a shrine to a saint, don't be shy about stepping inside and maybe even lighting a candle, if the Spirit moves you. You're unlikely to offend any nearby Catholics (although they probably will sense that you're not "one of us"), and I doubt your really going to set the place on fire. I'm sure you realize we're more welcoming than our reputation, among some folks, would lead one to believe.
Finally, thanks for the book mentions ("A Man at Arms" and "The Lyra and the Cross"). I'll add them to my "To Be Read" list.