March 9, 2010

"Help me for I am lost."

Sayeth the spiral notebook...

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... on the altar....

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... of the chapel...

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... where I may have said a prayer 5 years ago.

22 comments:

TS said...

Even though they are written in the church for all to see, I feel as if you have violated the privacy of those who have written by putting it on your blog. Just my opinion.

Chennaul said...

So....

that last part extremely interesting. Love it.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Looks like Obama penned the first line.

KCFleming said...

Very sweet.


I say a little prayer
Dionne Warwick.

LordSomber said...

Lovely. Reminds me of the Sallie Howard Memorial Chapel in NE Alabama. Even the view.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49915686@N00/69420500/

KCFleming said...

My Mom used to listen to her Dionne Warwick cassette over and over again during the day, smoking one cigarette after another, walking quickly room to room, upstairs and down, working like hell to keep the house in order for all 17 of us.

At the end of the day she would sit alone at the Formica kitchen table and listen to Dionne again, drink in hand, smoke obscuring the little alcove where she sat looking out the window, beautiful and tired.

Only a small boy, it never occurred to me she might be praying for something, much as I do now.

Henry said...

Nice time traveling.

corsair the rational pirate said...

Yeah, thanks for shaking Haiti around. Now can you go in and set it back up?

What is to be thankful for, again?

Palladian said...

I'm thankful that I'm not a miserable cynical atheist.

Anonymous said...

It's sad that many churches aren't left open during the day anymore. Then again, my church building looks like a high school auditorium, so I usually don't feel inspired to pray there.

kjbe said...

What a great spot for a chapel. It looks like it's being put to good use.

Unknown said...

Every once in a while, a little of the more vulnerable, introspective Ann comes out. I know you must retain your privacy, but a woman showing a bit of heart on her sleeve is a very endearing thing.

corsair the rational pirate said...

Yeah, thanks for shaking Haiti around. Now can you go in and set it back up?

What is to be thankful for, again?


Cute little Alinskyite slant. we are thankful for life and the world, with all its possibilities, He gives us.

Ever think He may be giving the Haitians a chance to change things? Change, after all, only seems to occur after great upheavals. All that intellect and free will stuff.

Mary Martha said...

One of my favorite things to do when I visit family in Madison. The walk to the chapel is lovely.

I disagree that putting a picture of the prayers in the notebook is a violation of privacy. I say that as someone who has written dozens of times in the notebooks that are there. In thanks, in sorrow and (as we see here) in a state of 'lostness'.

When one writes in a public notebook like this in a chapel in a state park you know others will read it. In fact - one hopes others will read it... perhaps they will pray for you (as I will pray for this 'lost' person today) and perhaps just so they realize that they are not alone in seeking *something* in this chapel on the hill.

Of course, I am Catholic and I may have a very different perspective on things than those of other churches may have.

chickelit said...

Been there as a kid.

Thanks for the memory!

chickelit said...
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David said...

Thanks. I had not known about this one and hope to visit it some day.

There are many such chapels still being maintained in southern Door County near Brussels. The Belgian settlers built them in the early days, in part because there were times they could not get to church. My daughter wrote a nice article about them in a magazine about a year ago. There are also similar chapels in Low Country South Carolina, called "Chapels of Ease."

Michael said...

I have been driving in the deep American South this week and have been struck by the number of churches. I have been on the state roads and many unpaved country tracts and every few miles there are churches. Too many for the cynical "rational" corsairs to overcome, too much love and faith and surrender to be impacted by the sneers of the most flamboyant of corsairs. I would guess that the smallest, most sad of these structures has raised money for Haiti and the sacrifice of the giving elevates us all above, way above, the emptiness of the so very smart corsairs.

Paddy O said...

T, I get what you're saying. But, at the same time, there's a tradition of public prayer and confession in the church. This is not voyeuristic. In sharing the prayer, we can join the prayer.

We can pray for the one to be found, for the other to be healed. We can pray one finds wholeness in their identity.

We can also join in those notes of thanksgiving, praising God. The church is a community, and in our sharing we open ourselves up to others to join with us, in our struggles and in our hopes and in our joy.

I think that's something good.

Even on a blog. Maybe, given the pensive undertone of this post, especially on this blog.

Chip Ahoy said...

Oh great, now I'm going to hell again.

The chicken scratched "Please help my arm. It is broken." Put me in stitches.

⚡⚡⚡ I know, I broke it. ⚡⚡⚡

kentuckyliz said...

Lost? The star of the sea guides the tempest tossed.

I love tthe old Marian hymns and prayers, including in Latin, and the cultural expressions of Marian ideas from around the world.

But for a particular prayer station, only one Marian image should be displayed and Christ should be more prominent. She always points us to her son and says "do whatever he tells you."

For me, tonight, it's time off in purgatory for putting up with the hellish heat in this hotel room. rrrr

howzerdo said...

Lovely. Thank you.

Banshee said...

It's fairly clear that whoever put this chapel together did not do it with huge amounts of money. If people only donate certain pictures and statues, that's the ones you've got. If you don't like it, feel free to donate.

Re: broken arm
Yup, I sympathize too. Last winter was icy, too.

Re: intentions book
Yes, it's okay to look or even take photos. Looking is what an intention book is for, among other things. Of course, praying is the most important thing....

For the intentions written, for those who couldn't think of anything nice to write, and for all those private intentions kept in our hearts, we pray. In Christ our Lord, Amen.

Our Lady, St Mary of the Oaks, pray for us.