On our feast day: The Holy Trinity by Ribera

The Holy Trinity by José de Ribera (1591 – 1652).
Oil on canvas, 1635
226 × 118 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

Detail. Click for complete image

Click the links below to visit other images of the Holy Trinity on this site:

• Botticelli – The Holy Trinity
• Dolci – The Holy Trinity & Holy Family
• Dürer – The Holy Trinity
• El Greco – The Holy Trinity
• El Greco – Coronation of the Virgin
• Masaccio – The Holy Trinity
• Master of the Gerona Martyrology – The Holy Trinity
• Master of Sankt Lambrecht – Holy Trinity
• Murillo – The Holy Trinity
• Rossetti da Orta – The Holy Trinity
• Smith – The Holy Trinity
• Tiepolo – The Holy Trinity
• van Aelst – Holy Trinity
• van Balen – The Holy Trinity
• Vatopedi Monastery – The Holy Trinity

A Glimpse of the New Sanctuary

Click for a larger image

Compare to the before version:

A “Thank You” from Father Hilton

In today’s bulletin, Father Hilton writes:

MY SINCERE THANKS TO ALL WHO MADE LAST WEEKEND’S CELEBRATION SO SPECIAL!

The celebration for the opening of our new church last weekend was an event that I will never forget. The smiles on your faces, the sound of our voices ringing out in song and the wonder in the eyes of the children made all the hard work worthwhile. And it was hard work! Three days before opening, the marble workers were still installing the altar, the church was completely covered in marble dust and none of the statues had been set into place. On Wednesday, John and Marcia Sand brought in a crew and all of them worked like crazy to clean the church. I am so grateful to them! I am grateful to Diana Thurber and all who assisted her in preparing and serving the wonderful receptions in the Fr. Puhl Center; the food was delicious and the decorations beautiful. Thank you. I extend my thanks to Jackie Bell, Sarah Haywood and their choirs for the splendid music during the Holy Masses.

It is absolutely necessary that I close by giving thanks to the wonderful staff that serves us at Holy Trinity. They have worked far beyond the call of duty and their countless hours spent in preparing for our church opening have been a remarkable labor of love. I am particularly grateful to Denise Walton, our Business Manager, and Mark Von Tilius and Jay Martinez, our heads of the maintenance staff – without their dedication to this parish, the new church would never have been ready on time or have turned out as well as it did. Thank You!

For Pentecost

For Pentecost, is it worth remembering that the burden of the Holy Spirit is an honor and a danger. Every one of the Apostles except St. John the Evangelist died a martyr’s death.

1. Peter was crucified upside down
2. James the Great (Son of Zebedee) was beheaded
3. James the Younger was cast off the Southeast pinnacle of the Temple. When the 100 foot drop did not fully kill him, he was beaten to death with clubs.
4. Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross after being scourged. He preached to his tormentors to his last breath.
5. Bartholomew had his skin flayed off
6. Jude Thaddeus was shot through with arrows
7. Simon the Zealot was crucified
8. Phillip was beheaded
9. Thomas was stabbed to death with a spear
10. Matthias was stoned then beheaded.
11. Matthew was killed with a sword
12. John the Evangelist was thrown into a vat of boiling oil. When he miraculously survived he was sent to prison on the Isle of Patmos where he died years later.
13. Mark was dragged to death by horses.
14. Luke was hanged to death
15. Paul was beheaded

The blog for the Archdiocese of Washington is the source for this list, and the following meditation:

What will you suffer for handing on the faith? The martyrs went to death to proclaim Christ but some us cannot bear if some one merely raises an eyebrow at us or scoffs. Merely being less popular or excluded from  the world’s admiration is too high a price for many. The next time you recite the Creed at Mass remember those words are written with blood. The next time you kids protest going to Church or your teenager scorns the faith you insist they practice, remember that others have faced far more formidable does than an unhappy child. The next time you are challenged for your faith and merely have to  risk ridicule, remember others suffered (and still suffer) prison. Many were (and still are) killed for it.

Good words!

Campanilismo (a/k/a Parochialism)

In last Sunday’s bulletin, Nicoletta shared some thoughts about bells and bell towers:

By: Nicoletta MacKenzie

Actually, the translation of campanilismo into parochialism is not a good one. The literal translation would be closer to “bell-tower-ism,” since a campanile is in fact a bell tower.

How did the usage of the word start? It started when, in the mid 500s, Italians began to build towers with bells, both for church and for public use. In the beginning, it was supposed to be the highest building in the village, town or city, and the bells had a very practical use. For instance: church bells were rung at very specific times or events and according to specific sounds. They would notify all within hearing distance that Mass was about to start, or the beginning of a novena, a triduum or the 40-hour Eucharistic Adoration. Every noon the bells told us that it was time to pray the Angelus (noon), and at 3:00 pm every Friday they’d toll Jesus’ death. Festive bell peals announced weddings, the local parish feast day, solemnities and processions and the election of a new Pope. Slow tolls notified of deaths and funerals.

Church bells also warned of danger and disasters, such as a fire, war and of pirate incursions, in the dark days when they prowled, pillaged and burned all around the coasts of Italy.

Bells on civic towers tolled national holidays, school times, marked the hours (down to the quarter hour) and also served as a warning mechanism.

You can see how important bells were in everyday life, and they were set on the tallest building so that their sound would reach as far as possible.

That’s why Italians became attached to their bell towers, their campanili. Soon there arose a spirit of competition in the breasts of citizens of neighboring villages, towns and even cities. After all, if it was to be the most visible representative of a community, the bell tower had to be beautiful; it had to be recognized from a distance; and it had to be unusual. A town with a “run of the mill” campanile reflected poorly on its inhabitants. And so the larger towns, who could count on the financial support of more people, started to hire architects to design the building that would represent them to anyone who came within sight.

Some of these towers are so famous that just about everyone in the world has heard of them.

For instance, who has not heard of The Leaning Tower of Pisa? Yes maam, it’s the bell tower of the Duomo (or principal church) of Pisa. Its striking structure has no rival anywhere in the world. It took “only” 177 years to complete and although the good Pisani certainly did not intend for their masterpiece to start sinking into the ground, they undoubtedly got their money’s worth! Here you can clearly see the Duomo, which is almost dwarfed by its magnificent and yes, leaning, tower.

Closer to the town from where my family hails, there is a less well known but equally distinctive bell tower: the Campanile di Ossuccio. Its delicate, slender and tall form is also unmistakable. This one stands guard over the church of St. Mary Magdalene. The characteristic top was added in the late 1400s, while the original “stem” goes back to the 1100s.

And who has not heard of the bell tower of Notre Dame? Or at least, of its bell-ringer? Now I’m going to dare to say that my campanile has that squat structure in Paris beat all hollow. And you can call me campanilista if you wish.

And now our Holy Trinity church also has a bell tower, with a full contingent of bells. I venture to say that it’s the most handsome in all Westminster, and while it may not rival in beauty with the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the slender marvel in Ossuccio, when it’s lit up at night it brings a lump to the throat. Its tall grace proclaims to our part of the city that we love God and put our trust in Him.

I can hardly wait to hear the sound of “our” bells calling us, and anyone else who wishes to join us. In fact, a bell tower with its ringing bells is eminently Catholic and exemplifies what the writer James Joyce said: “Catholic means: here comes everybody.” Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Dedication of Our Church

In today’s bulletin, Father Hilton writes:

Does it seem like a long time since we started the renovation of our church? I know that many of us, from the Design Committee to the Finance Council, from our Architect to our dedicated staff, and all those who were involved in the planning and executing this project put forth the best of our efforts and energies. All of us were determined to use our gifts of generosity for the greatest honor of God and to provide future generations of parishioners with a beautiful place in which to worship. We hope that, when you walk into your new church, you will feel that we have achieved our goal, because during all the planning and executing stages we had you, as well as our Lord, in mind.

Traditionally, our Catholic churches have been designed as places of peaceful beauty for two reasons: First, because we instinctively know that God is the Creator of all that is beautiful and, as King David so many centuries ago, we want to honor Him by making for Him a home that is worthy of Him. Second: because when we gather in a beautiful place our minds turn more easily towards God, who is Beauty Himself. Many of our adorers, for instance, tell me that they find rest and gather strength every time they visit the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel: that was our goal, and it has been our goal as we planned, designed and transformed the church. I encourage you to look around, observe all the details, and tell me whether you agree that we have achieved our goal.

You will also notice that we have tried to make the space as comfortable as possible for you: the pews are a little farther apart, so those with long legs will not “bump” in the kneeler behind them. If you pardon me for saying it, I think that the Choir loft not only is beautiful, but it does more justice to the voices of our choir members. How about our confessionals? They are elegant, but more importantly, they will give greater privacy to everyone and the sound-proof wall coverings will make sure that no whisper can be heard outside. We gave special attention to our Marian Chapel, where our beautifully restored statue of the Blessed Virgin finds her home. The raised ceiling, the “clerestory,” with high windows give us more light and greater height. The best part, of course, is our Sanctuary, our new altar area. It is difficult to be distracted during Mass when our eyes are attracted to the exquisite work that required the greatest amount of thought and skill in execution.

Of course, the fact that we now have air conditioning for the Summer will make everyone more comfortable.

I pray that you are thrilled with how our renovated church has turned out. More importantly, I pray that our new church will be a rich source of blessing for you, your children and grandchildren. I again thank you for your generosity and sacrifice, which made all this possible, and I know that those parishioners who will come to the Holy Mass in the future will thank you, just as we thank those who fifty years ago first built the Parish of Holy Trinity that we love. God’s blessings upon you and your family!

Fr. John Hilton and Fr. Carlos Bello

Editor’s note: Click the embedded links for more about Holy Trinity Parish in Westminster and this remodeling project. Thank you to Allan Eckert, Dave Koski and Nancy Thompson for the images.

Feedback #1: Overheard at the Light Weigh Meeting

Two comments overheard at tonight’s Light Weigh meeting:

We are so blessed to have a priest like Father Hilton, who had the vision to help us get a beautiful worship space!

and

Father Hilton is going to wake up with sore cheek muscles tomorrow because he’s been smiling so hard all weekend!

1959 * Holy Trinity Church * 2009

Our cornerstones.

Thanks to Allan Eckert for the image.

Today is Opening Day

West Facade, 6 May 2010, as photographed by Allan Eckert

Details: Marian Chapel