St. Michael the Archangel

According to the Online Catholic Encyclopedia St. Micheal has four offices:

1. To fight against Satan.
   
2. To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death.
   
3. To be the champion of God's people, the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament; therefore he was the patron of the Church, and of the orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
   
4. To call away from earth and bring men's souls to judgment
   
   Picture taken at the Solid Rock Church in Monroe Ohio.
   
   

King of Kings

While on a business trip in Cincinnati I stopped by the Solid Rock Church in Monroe to get a picture of the King of Kings Statue.



The statue stands 62 foot tall and is reported to be the largest sculpture of Jesus Christ in the United States. The sculpture can be seen from Interstate 75.



It's easy to see how the statue has gotten two of it's nicknames, Touchdown Jesus and Big Butter Jesus. The comedian Heywood Banks made the statue even more famous when he wrote the song "Big Butter Jesus". The Big Butter reference comes from the statues resemblance to statues carved out of butter you see at the state fair.

The water was too choppy for me to get a good reflection shot. I bet this would make for a great night shot.

Stepping Up The Call

A Pilgrimage For Vocations
Tyler and I stopped off at St. John the Baptist in Maria Stein Saturday on our way back home so I could take a few pictures. We parked on the side of the church and as we came around to the front doors of the church we found this procession complete with police escort coming our way. I snapped a few pictures as they made their way toward and past us.

Once inside the church Tyler's curiosity led him to surf on his phone what just went by as I went about taking my pictures. He found The Catholic Times web paged that gave the following explanation:

Based on the ancient religious practice of prayer combined with walking as a spiritual discipline, the pilgrimage—held rain or shine-- aims to increase awareness that every person has a “vocation,” or call from God. Celebrating all vocations, including marriage and single life, “Stepping Up the Call” puts a special emphasis on the call to be a Catholic priest, deacon, sister or brother.

The weather was cool and windy but they all looked to be in good spirits as they passed us by. Lunch was their next stop at the Maria Stein Center. This is an annual event and one I was happy to stumble upon. One never knows what one will find when touring The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches.

The Steineman Chapel

In The Land of the Cross Tipped Churches there are two chapel's that I know of. One that I have already posted "The Chapel in the Woods" in Maria Stein and this one The Steineman Chapel located in St. Augustine Cemetery in Minster Ohio. Inside the chapel I found a lovely book that tells the story of a promise kept to God that made a lasting impression.

The following is quoted from the book.

While the family survived two deadly outbreaks of Cholera in town, it would not be spared from grave illness for it's matriarch, Katherina.



In the early-to-mid 1850's, John Henry's wife Katherina became very ill. Being a man of strong Catholic faith, John Henry prayed to God to spare his wife's life. John Henry promised to build something in God's honor should he answer his prayer. Shortly thereafter, Katherina recovered from her illness to the relief of John Henry.



A man of his word, John Henry began work on a small chapel in the town's cemetery. Using brick from his brick yard, he constructed a 12-foot by 18-foot building. For many years it was used for funerals during inclement weather.



This chapel as well as the other one I've blogged are worth a visit if your ever in the area. I thought it was interesting that both chapels featured an element with Purgatory. Both these chapels were built after the Cholera epidemic so that may have been an influencing factor. From a photo standpoint -- I was there at the wrong time of day. This is definitely a morning shoot. Inside it was very cramped with limited shooting angles. I had to work very hard to get the picture of Purgatory. I still ended up with some reflection.

The Chapel in the Woods

While surfing the net looking for other people's pictures of the Cross Tipped Churches, I stumbled upon a rather unusual one of a relief of Purgatory. And much to my surprise it was taken at a place I had already been many times, and not once I had I seen or heard anything about a chapel in the woods.



So I had to revisit the Maria Stein Center to find just where this was. When they told me you could of knocked me over with a feather. I had been by it many times in my walk a bouts but thought it was a playhouse for children because of its diminutive size and proximity to a play ground.



According to the sisters it had not always been a chapel. It was first used by the sisters to process maple sap and was called the Sugar House. What I found inside was this simple but amazing altar. I was touched to see the tokens of thanks and petitions for prayer. .



The chapel even had a complete set of The Stations of the Cross. These were hand carved wood reliefs with a hint of stain for color.



This relief of Purgatory looks even more distressed than it did in the photo I saw on the Internet. Being at ground level and open to the elements it has seen its share of abuse. The whole subject of Purgatory is a fascinating one and one I plan to explore further.



If I can ever find the time, I think I would like to see if I could restore the look of this in PhotoShop. Just what I need another project.

The 11th Commandment and Other Oddities

On my last trip out I completed the byway, but have not completed taking or posting pictures. On this trip I ran across a couple of things that I just had to share.

The Eleventh Commandment!

I will let you find the location of this sign on your own, but violators beware you will be persecuted. This sign also comes with a very inspiring view.

With gas prices flirting at the $4.00 mark this picture may make more sense than we would like. I just want to know how many miles to the bucket of oats do you get.


I would have missed these gourd bird houses, if I had not stumbled upon them in someone else’s blog on their own adventure. I did not find the ones they had pictured, but once I started looking I found these sprouting out of several residential lawns.

Anyone who knows the story behind these please E-Mail me or post a comment. I’d love to know their story. (See comments for more info)