Father Joshua Wagner leads a group of worshipers in prayer beside the gravesite for one of the bishops of the Diocese of Columbus during a Seven Chuch Tour stop at the church in St. Joseph Cemetery south of Columbus. My Final Photo for June 16, 2018.
The blood moon sets behind the cross atop St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westerville. My Final Photo for Oct. 8, 2014.
The blood moon sets behind the cross atop St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westerville. My Final Photo for Oct. 8, 2014.
Traffic at Easter morning Mass at St. Paul.
He is Risen. and stuck in traffic in the parking lot.
Unless something appears that is radically better than this frame, this is the earliest yet that I’ve posted My Final Photo.
The photo of a packed parking lot with the transit of cars from two Masses attempting to quickly navigate roadways designed for more moderate traffic completes my 40 Days of Lent series that began Ash Wednesday and is finished today.
I’m not sure how many photos I shot during the daily visits to the church. I do know that I’m probably among a small number of parishioners who’ve visited the church every day for Lent. I’m positive I’m the only one who did it with a camera.
Sun sets behind cross spire at St. Paul
Good Friday is a unique day for Catholics for more than all the obvious Easter related reasons.
This is the day the Tabernacle sits empty. It is the only day when the Blessed Sacrament is not in the church revered and protected in its place at the altar.
All adornment is removed, covered , or extinguished. Altar cloths are removed. Candles are extinguished. Statues are covered in purple cloth.
The celebration of the presence of Christ is removed from the church. For one day it is emptied of faith.
My original idea for My Final Photo was very simple. I’d shoot the empty Tabernacle to illustrate the dramatic change in the church. And I’d shoot a couple of the statues now draped in purple with the normal presence of prayer candles at their sides. This was an easy part of the day. Not too much difficulty in either of these photos.
I left the church for a short side trip before going home for a fish dinner but quickly returned when the clouds changed as sunset approached. I knew there would be difficulty shooting the church with the sun radiating through the clouds behind it. The church is great to see, but there are a lot of objects in the foreground that can be distracting for a photographer. Plus, any shooting position is from a lower angle than the church so the cross spire only shows if you shoot it from an oblique angle.
Fortunately, or blessedly if you’re faithful, the clouds moved through a variety of configurations with the cross atop the church framed by openings in the clouds and with the sun moving across the sky behind it.
I was late for dinner. I was blessed on a day the church was empty.
The collection for Good Friday is available at SmallTown Stock.