Aspersorium (St. Augustine)

I took several shots of this from various angles. I still ended up having to Photoshop me and my camera out of the brass mortar.

Chase was nice enough to give me more information on what I thought was a Mortar and Pestle was actually a aspersorium. See his comment for the link. Thanks Chase.

Prayer Request

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.

Picture taken at Sidney YMCA.

Veronica's Veil (St. Peter Catholic Church)

Veronica's veil shown here is a common occurrence in the stained glass windows I find in the churches. Check out the below link for a 1999 story concerning a persons claim to finding the veil.

Veronica's Veil

Holiday Tribute to Mary

I found this holiday arrangement when I stopped at The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in McCartyville on my way home.

Joy To The World

Joy to the World Banner -- Picture taken at St. Augustine Church in Minster, Ohio.

Nativity (St. Augustine, Minster)

I got to go out for a little bit today before the family Christmas Eve festivities began. I stopped by St. Augustine in Minster and met some wonderful people and got some great pictures too. I thought I'd celebrate Christmas with this one of the Nativity.

Merry Christmas (Nativity Stain Glass Window)

Merry Christmas (Blue Christmas)

The Last Supper (St. Peter Catholic Church)

Quite a few of the altars have some type of Last Supper representation. Pictured here is the one I found in St. Peter Catholic church in St. Peter Ohio.

Our Lady of Victory (St. Peter Church)

The shadows and natural lighting caught my eye on this one.

Picture taken at the St. Peter Catholic church in St. Peter Ohio.

Jesus I Trust in You! (St. Peter Church)

I found The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy hanging on one wall of the church.



The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls.

This picture is a little grainy because I shot it hand-held at ISO 1600.

Chirst Crucifide (St. Peter)

With Christmas fast approaching I should probably be posting more pictures about the birth of Christ and not the Crucifixion. But having said that I found the Stations of the Cross at the St. Peter's Church unique in their style. Pictured here is Station 12 Jesus Dies on the Cross.



I also liked their Processional Crucifix.



Both pictures have been changed for artistic effect.

St. Jude (St. Peter Catholic Church)

Saint Jude, one of the Twelve Apostles is known as the patron of "Desperate Cases" or "Patron Saint of Lost Causes".) Pictures here is a statue of St. Jude that I found while visiting the St. Peter Catholic Church in St. Peter Ohio.



The statue holds an image of Jesus in one hand and a club (a symbol of his martyrdom) in the other. The Holy Spirit symbolized by a tongue of fire resting over his head represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.

Saint Peter (St. Peter, Ohio)

While I still haven't made it to St. Bernard, I did make it to St. Peter in St. Peter Ohio.



Here's a nice shot of the Cross Tipped Spire.



I liked this view/shot of the adjoining cemetery.



St. Peter with the Good Book and the Keys to the Kingdom greets each and every visitor.



The windows of the doors also sport the Keys to the Kingdom.



Look forward to seeing whats on the inside in upcoming post.

St. Joseph (Christ from birth to adulthood) Stained Glass

St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Joseph, Ohio like most of the Cross Tipped Churches has some amazing Stained Glass Windows. I noticed that there were a good number that featured Jesus in varying stages of his life and decided to highlight them here.

The Nativity the Birth of Jesus.



The Holy Family's Flight to Egypt.



The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.



Jesus Found in the Temple.



Jesus as a Young Man.



Jesus at his fathers Passing.

St. Joseph (Pulpit)

One of my unique finds in the Land of the Cross Tipped Churches is this historical pulpit in the St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Joseph, Ohio. The Infant Jesus of Prague greets the priest as he ascends the stairs.



The base of the pulpit is surrounded by statues of the Four Evangelists with their associated symbol.



From left to right we have, John (Eagle), Mark (Lion), Luke (Ox) and Matthew (Human/Angel)



Jesus adorns the top, holding a tablet with Alpha and Omega.

St. Joseph (Crucifixion the Three Mary's)

I've posted a picture of this before, but I thought I'd try it again with a little more light (I brought a strobe). This is not an easy shot as it is located at the very top of the altar.



The Gospel of John places three women (The Three Marys), at the Cross. It states that Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. John. 19:25

Picture taken at St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Joseph, Ohio.
There are various depictions of the Crucifixion, in this one Christ is nailed to the cross with 4 nails.

St. Joseph (Keys to the Kingdom) Stained Glass

The crossed keys are a symbol of the Papacy. This is because Christ said to St. Peter that he would give him the 'keys of the kingdom' and that whatever he bound on earth, would be bound in heaven, and whatever he loosed on earth, would be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16,19). St. Peter was the first Pope and those who have followed share this power of the keys to bind and loose.



The stained glass windows of St. Joseph are just marvelous. They are so eye catching that I almost missed the medallions at the top. This one caught my eye because of the added symbolism in the keys themselves. If anyone can shed some light on the subject please leave a comment.

Picture taken St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Joseph, Ohio.

St. Henry (Lord Jesus, crucified, Have mercy on us!)

As mentioned previously everything in this church is modern. A stark contrast to its architecture. Pictured here is a modern rendition of Station XI, (Jesus Nailed to the Cross).



I find it interesting that the feet are bound and not nailed and that the nails pierce the wrist and not the hands. The little basket to the right contains the implements used in the Crucifixion. It doesn't show up very well here. I guess I should have taken a close-up of it

St. Henry (Holy Family) St. Henry

Everything in this church is modern including this altar with the Holy Family I found off to the side.



Those familure with the church will note that the colors do not quite match. There was not much contrast between the wall and the carved figures in original so I took a little artistic license with the image.

St. Joseph (Altar Stained Glass Windows) St. Joseph

There are two stained glass windows to the left and right of the altar of the St. Joseph church located in St. Joseph. The one on the left (pictured above) is Jesus breaking bread. I am not sure on the one on the right (pictured below).



These windows are fairly high up on the wall. I could not truly appreciate the texture and detail until I looked at the pictures I had took.

St. Henry (Resurected Christ Main Altar)

A while back I posted a picture of the main altar of the Saint Henry Church. I was not very happy with the picture and vowed to make a return trip someday. Well I got to make the trip this Holiday Weekend.



It was an added bonus to find the altar decked out with a Fall theme.

Jesus on the Cross (vignette)

My Photography Teacher suggested I try this variation of the vignette of Jesus on the Cross.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus (Bits and Pieces)

This is another one of those that I took a little liberty with. This is also the last post from this photo session.

This is one of the few stained glass windows that I found.



I took a shot of these bells as I was composing my earlier shot of the wooden carved statue of Mary.



This banner and its message caught my eye on my way out.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus (Holy Oils)

How the churches keep and display the Holy Oils can be vastly different from church to church. The Sacred Heart of Jesus displays them openly and eloquently.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus (The Resurrected Lamb)

This seal of the Resurrected Lamb can be found in the marble altar of the chapel. I took a little artistic license with the color.

Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cemetery Views)

The Celtic Cross atop the steeple is unique. I have not found another church in the area with one other than this church. I am always looking for different angles for my shots. I thought this one made for a good shot.



This is one of my favorite subjects to photograph. I've taken several pictures of this one and thought I'd give it a twist in Photoshop.



Yet still more pictures to come. To see the pictures I have taken of this church in the past check out the Category drop down box located in the right hand margin.

Sacred Heart of Jesus (Crucifix)

While on this visit I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with a few of the members. One, a fellow amateur photographer warned me of an orange cast the church interior cast on pictures. I tend to shoot in RAW which was good because she was right about the orange cast.



This next one is one my favorite pictures from the shoot. I tried to capture the view one would have staring up at Jesus from the foot of the Cross.



For me this is the most dramatic view, one I don't think may members have seen.