10:30AM Sunday Mass
58.1 Miles
World Cup Finals Day dawned bright and early in Highlands Ranch, CO, a good 5,864 miles to the Estadio Do Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro and 5,082 miles to Knaackstrasse, Berlin where Kevin landed a few hours ago and is staying with Aimee for a few days. Game time 1PM MDT. Germany is the overwhelming favorites against the less that impressive Argentina squad. So, what does any of these have to do with Church #22?
After having gone Eastern Colorado for Church #21, it was time we went South ... and Colorado Springs seems to be chockful of Catholic Churches. A quick pull of Google Maps and the first church that caught my eyes was St Francis of Assisi. Hmmmm ... knowing that Pope Francis picked his Papal name for St Francis seemed like an omen that perhaps the World Cup Finals might be a lot more competitive than one might expect ... which it was ... but the better team won!
We got in our usual 10 minutes late and on our way in espied a picture of the Pastor ... who turned out to be Fr Ken, formerly of Pax Christi in Lone Tree - the Parish we went to for ~14 or so years. Fr Ken was reassigned several years ago, so it was a surprise to see him here, another church with a circular worship area just like Pax Christi is.
The Mass had another Priest assisting ...the guy had a little backpack with a small oxygen tank. I assumed/hoped that that meant a short Homily and it was to be! Another unmemorable Homily ... which is far better than a dogmatic one.
When Mass let out it was pouring outside .. which scuttled plans to walk around the grounds which had what looked like a cemetery of sorts for whom I'd assumed were Franciscans. There were also directions to a retreat area. The entire area looked like a great place to come for quiet meditation and reflection.
From the Church website - http://stfranciscs.org/#/about-us
A Narrative about St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Colorado
Springs -
When one enters the grounds of Mt. St. Francis, they realize
that they are in a special place, peaceful and beautiful. The area, home to the
Province of St. Joseph of the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, is
also the location of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. After a group of families
from the area started to attend Mass in the Sister's chapel that was built in
1963, Bishop Hanifen, the first bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, gave
mission status to what is now called St. Francis of Assisi Parish. It was made
a parish in 1987. In 1989 the Diocese of Colorado Springs and the Sisters
signed a fifty year agreement that allows St. Francis of Assisi parish to
remain in this special place with the Sisters.
St. Francis continued to grow and, with the permission of
the Sisters, renovated the church to accommodate more people and also built an
addition to provide meeting/classroom facilities and a parish hall. The
community continues to use and enjoy the facilities.
Having been blessed by God and our association with the
Sisters, the community goes forth from the mountain to all parts of the
Colorado Springs community and the world. The parish believes and acts upon the
call of the Spirit to love as Jesus loves by supporting the diocese and the local
community through various activities. For example, the church family serves at
the Marian House, the Catholic Charities soup kitchen, once a month. A
partnership with local churches allowed the parish to build several Habitat for
Humanity houses. Many other service oriented activities are part of the core of
St. Francis of Assisi Parish.
St. Francis of Assisi continues to strive to be a
Eucharistic community, blessed by God, called by the Spirit, and sent to love
as Jesus loves.
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