Sunday Sermon and Other Stuff

“You don’t go to church on Sunday inorder to receive blessings. You go to church to say thank you for the blessings you’ve already received.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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A frigid Sunday morning here in Chicago, but the sun was shining. Matt and I bundled up and he walked me about fifteen minutes to St. Mary of the Angels Church on Hermitage. I wanted to make it to 8 o’clock Mass because the 9:30 Mass was in Polish. “My Polish not so good.” Actually, non-existent.

When we arrived at the entrance, an impressive stone staircase led to welcoming wooden doors, guarded by gigantic Corinthian columns. In other words, “Wow!”

Today’s Gospel was about the Three Wisemen or the Magi coming to visit the baby Jesus. I know it’s sacrilege, but I call them “The Three Wise Guys.” Father told us about paying our respect and sharing gifts, as the Magi did. I like that. The more you share, the more blessings you receive.

It was hard to stay focused on the sermon while I was awestruck by the amazing architecture, statues, paintings, stained glass,  and artwork inside the church.

I stopped after Mass to light a candle and say a prayer next to the Blessed Virgen statue. I had a lot to be thankful for.

I love visiting different churches around the country,  but Chicago has some of the most magnificent neighborhood churches that I’ve ever seen.

Mass was followed by a very nice breakfast at a local coffee shop with Matt. Later, he and I took the Metra back to Elgin so he could visit with Grandma. We visited and ate cake and took pictures. Then, he went back to Chicago on the 4 o’clock train. A busy day for us both.

It was a good Sunday.