Christmas Recital!

My family hosted Danielle's Christmas Recital at our house. We had a lot of fun decorating the house and getting the piano tuned and shinned up. Everyone had a great time and Danielle played very well. We simply had to take some pictures of the house because we rarely decorate this much. I hope you all enjoy them!

Danielle played first in the recital!

Caitlin is Danielle's teacher

Danielle is introducing herself and the pieces she will be playing

I love this ornament!

Decorating the tree was so fun!

My mom loves setting up the little village

The countdown has started :)

We are all enjoying the Christmas season as we celebrate the advent of Christ's birth and the unfathomable mercy of God to his people. May you and your family enjoy spending time together as we learn more about God's great love and faithfulness through the coming of his Son. 

The Lord's Supper Part 1 - The Roman Catholic View

Ever since I partook of the Lord's Supper for the first time when I was 14, I have had a keen interest in studying and learning about this sacrament in the New Covenant.  Like most significant doctrines in Christianity, there are a long list of disagreements over this Supper, disagreements ranging from discussions over the presence of Christ in the sacrament, to the question over who could participate (only professing believers versus believers and their children, a.k.a. paedocommunion), and the effects that come from a faithful participation in this sacrament.  Because of the variety of opinions, I decided to try and get a brief synopsis of some of the major views in the Christian church, written by their respective adherents.  So I picked up this book:

The Lord's Supper; Five Views 

 

The editor, Gordon T. Smith compiles essays from five seminary professors: a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran, a Reformed, a Baptist, and a Pentecostal.  These five denominations represent the majority of the groups of believers who call themselves Christians.  I really benefited from this book and wanted to share some of the key statements of each position with you all.  I have tried to be brief but because of the number of views, the original post was tediously long.  So, it seemed good to me to break this down into three parts: the first being the Roman Catholic position, the second being the Lutheran, and the third being the remaining three views and my conclusion.  With that introduction out of the way, here is the first position on the Lord's Supper!


1)  Roman Catholic - written by Brother Jeffrey Gros
     The Roman Catholic position is best summed up in the word "transubstantiation".  This doctrine was and continues to be a hallmark of the Catholic doctrine of the Lord's Supper.  The 1994 Roman Catholic Catechism defines transubstantiation as follows:

"By the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change in the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood."

Some key quotes from the essay in the book are taken from page 18,
"The Catholic theologians emphasize the importance of affirming the real presence of Chris and the change of the elements of bread and wine.  The doctrine of transubstantiation has been used to give a theological articulation to this faith.  Although other explanations of this presence would be possible, none has yet been approved by the Catholic Church."  (emphasis added)
             I add the emphasis to bring out another key aspect to Catholic doctrine, the necessity of affirmation by a Church council (most notably the Council of Trent) or a pope.  Additionally, the Catholic doctrine of the Lord's Supper (or Eucharist as they call it) brings into light the idea of "re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice":
"In addition to re-presenting Christ's sacrifice, the Eucharistic sacrifice perpetuates the sacrifice of the cross: At the Lord's Supper, on the night He was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood.  This He did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages until He should come again..." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 19)
               While Roman Catholics vehemently deny that this belief takes away from the final and complete nature of Christ's atonement, they nonetheless uphold the idea that Christ's work is supplemented by the sacrament, a doctrine which we Protestants repudiate.



If you enjoyed reading this article, check out my second article on the Lutheran position!

The Lord's Supper, Part 2 - The Lutheran View

Ever since I partook of the Lord's Supper for the first time when I was 14, I have had a keen interest in studying and learning about this sacrament in the New Covenant.  Like most significant doctrines in Christianity, there are a long list of disagreements over this Supper, disagreements ranging from discussions over the presence of Christ in the sacrament, to the question over who could participate (only professing believers versus believers and their children, a.k.a. paedocommunion), and the effects that come from a faithful participation in this sacrament.  Because of the variety of opinions, I decided to try and get a brief synopsis of some of the major views in the Christian church, written by their respective adherents.  So I picked up this book:

The Lord's Supper; Five Views 

 

 

The editor, Gordon T. Smith compiles essays from five seminary professors: a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran, a Reformed, a Baptist, and a Pentecostal.  These five denominations represent the majority of the groups of believers who call themselves Christians.  I really benefited from this book and wanted to share some of the key statements of each position with you all.  I have tried to be brief but because of the number of views, the original post was tediously long.  So, it seemed good to me to break this down into three parts: the first being the Roman Catholic position, the second being the Lutheran, and the third being the remaining three views and my conclusion.  With that introduction out of the way, here is the second view on the Lord's Supper!

2) Lutheran - written by John Stephenson

   The Lutheran position bears some resemblances with both Reformed positions and, strangely enough, the Roman Catholic position.  Luther and his theological heirs created and coined the term "consubstantiation" in order to express their unique doctrine of Christ and the Lord's Supper.  The Lutheran Confession (The Book of Concord) defines consubstantiation as follows:
"The Sacrament of the Altar is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself." (emphasis added).  While this view may look very close to Roman Catholicism, there is a subtle difference in the word "under".  My understanding of this complex doctrine is that Christ's body and blood truly come and infuse the bread and the wine, so that the believer really does consume the Lord's body and blood.  The analogy is used of a bar of iron which is placed in the furnace.  The heat surrounds the bar of iron, infusing it with energy and making it hot and turn bright red.  Thus Lutherans believe that they consume Christ literally yet in a distinctly different way from the Roman Catholic position.  Personally, I think the line is very fine, but if they insist on the difference, so be it.
    Some key quotes from the essay are taken from page 50,
"For Luther - and the Book of Concord - the sacramental presence is realized in the divine service at the consecration of the elements, which occurs through the celebrant's pronouncing the words of institution over the elements 'in Christ's person and name.'  We speak the divine, almighty, heavenly, and holy words which Christ Himself spoke at the supper with His holy lips and commanded us to speak.  For as soon as Christ says, 'This is My body', His body is present through the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.  If the Word is not there, it is mere bread; but as soon as the words are added they bring with them that of which they speak."  This is why the Lutheran Church has such a carefully laid out liturgy for the celebration of the Lord's Supper.
"Luther insisted that the Lord's body and blood are not present in the same way as the elements themselves, occupying space and bounded by it.  Rather, the body and blood are supernaturally present and in such a way that each tiniest portion of consecrated bread and wine is the Lord's whole body and whole blood." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 52)
Finally, and perhaps here the difference between Lutherans and Catholics is most clearly shown, Lutherans do join the rest of their Protestant brothers in affirming the once-for-all nature of Christ's sacrifice.
"To the extent that Roman Catholics teach that the celebrant actively offers the really-present body and blood [of Christ] to the Father for the living and the dead, Lutherans react in horror that 'synergism' has swamped what we call the 'divine monergism'.  That is to say, man is now cooperating towards his own justification, rather than simply passively receiving the fruits of the work uniquely and solely accomplished by the God-man, Christ Jesus."  (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 53) With this statement, we can breathe a little easier around our Lutheran brothers, though we still have significant disagreement with them over Christ's presence in the Supper.


If you enjoyed reading this article, check out my third article on the remaining three positions! 

The Lord's Supper, Part 3 - The Reformed, Baptist, & Pentecostal Positions

Ever since I partook of the Lord's Supper for the first time when I was 14, I have had a keen interest in studying and learning about this sacrament in the New Covenant.  Like most significant doctrines in Christianity, there are a long list of disagreements over this Supper, disagreements ranging from discussions over the presence of Christ in the sacrament, to the question over who could participate (only professing believers versus believers and their children, a.k.a. paedocommunion), and the effects that come from a faithful participation in this sacrament.  Because of the variety of opinions, I decided to try and get a brief synopsis of some of the major views in the Christian church, written by their respective adherents.  So I picked up this book:

The Lord's Supper; Five Views 

 

 

The editor, Gordon T. Smith compiles essays from five seminary professors: a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran, a Reformed, a Baptist, and a Pentecostal.  These five denominations represent the majority of the groups of believers who call themselves Christians.  I really benefited from this book and wanted to share some of the key statements of each position with you all.  I have tried to be brief but because of the number of views, the original post was tediously long.  So, it seemed good to me to break this down into three parts: the first being the Roman Catholic position, the second being the Lutheran, and the third being the remaining three views and my conclusion.  With that introduction out of the way, here is my final article on the Reformed, Baptist, and Pentecostal positions!

3) Reformed - written by Leanne Van Dyk
     This position is the one held by yours truly, so I naturally enjoyed this article the most.  Basically, the historic Reformed position can actually be subdivided into three types: Parallelism advocated by Heinrich Bullinger, Memorialism advocated by Ulrich Zwingli, and Instrumentalism advocated by John Calvin.
Memorialism is by far the most common in Protestant circles (both Reformed and non-Reformed).  Simply stated, memorialism is "a symbolic or representational approach.  The bread and wine indicate a spiritual reality, and the Holy Spirit is active in the sacrament as the Spirit is in the whole life of the community of believers.  But the sacrament is primarily a sign that points beyond itself tot he reality of the risen and ascended Christ." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 68-69)
Heinrich Bullinger took Zwingli's position just one step further, trying to bring harmony between Zwingli and Calvin.  He believed that the Lord's Supper, "'is an holy action instituted unto the Church from God, wherein the Lord, by the setting of bread and wine before us at the banquet, doth certify unto us His promise and communion, and sheweth unto us His gifts and layeth them before our senses.'  The affirmation of divine gracious activity in the Lord's Supper signals an important difference from Zwingli, who understood the [church] congregation, in its acts of dedication and gratitude, to be the primary subjects in the sacrament." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 72)

Lastly, and this is the position that I adhere to, Calvin systematically laid out the idea of the Lord's Supper being an instrument of grace; one of the means of grace.
"Calvin has three primary affirmations on the Lord's Supper.  First, Calvin affirms the divine origin of all goodness, all graces, all gifts.  The Lord's Supper is a gift of God for the purpose of supporting and nourishing the faith of the community of believers...Second, the Lord's Supper always points beyond itself to Jesus Christ...Third, the prominent role of the Holy Spirit....For Calvin, everything depends on the Spirit.  Neither sermon nor sacrament will point to Jesus Christ without the action of the Holy Spirit."  For Calvin, the mere memorialism of Zwingli failed to capture the true power and nourishment of which Christ spoke when He said that, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." (John 6:53).
"Calvin made a bolder sacramental claim, that although Christ is in Heaven, we are nourished in the Lord's Supper by His body and blood as the food of our souls, united to Him in the Spirit....The Lord's Supper is not under the control of the church, the minister, or the people.  Instead, the grace of the Lord's Supper is always a fresh gift of God through the Holy Spirit."
(The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 78-79)
In closing, we of the Reformed persuasion hold that "the holy Supper we are about to celebrate is a feast of remembrance, of communion, and of hope...We celebrate in remembrance for the past revelation of God throughout history and especially in Jesus Christ.  We celebrate in communion by being united to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.  We celebrate in hope by glimpsing in the sacrament a foretaste of the great heavenly banquet, when all saints and angels together will join in the praise of God.  In this way, the congregation truly receives the gifts of God for the people of God." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 82)

4) Baptist - written by Roger Olson
Whenever one tries to encapsulate a Baptist position, it is daunting due to the wide variety of Baptists (over 56 varieties in the USA alone) and the independence of each church.  There is no one confession which can be appealed to (as the Westminster Confession for Presbyterians) or one body or head which issues definitive declarations (the Pope for Catholics).  But a general definition can be given.  Mr. Olson proposes this definition,
"The almost constant theme of...baptist confessional statements is that the Lord's Supper is a memorial or commemoration that also has the effect of bringing the believer into encounter and union with Christ through the Holy Spirit when faith is present.  There is little or no hint of anything special about the elements beyond their symbolic representation of Christ's death and proclamation of His return." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 100)
"Thus the Lord's Supper is a way of communing with each other and with Christ; it is a communal event of memory and proclamation that strengthens the unity of the church.  There is no special priesthood that officiates; any believer can lead in the Lord's Supper as a priest unto God...so the Lord's Supper draws faithful participants closer to Christ and each other." (The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 108)  This is basically Zwingli's memorialism, which I mentioned earlier.

5) Pentecostal - written by Veli-Matti Karkkainen
    You might be surprised that the Pentecostal churches have a distinct doctrine of the Lord's Supper to the Reformed and Baptists.  The truth is that there is very little difference and what difference does exist is challenging to identify as the Pentecostal church is still in the process of defining their theology of the Lord's Supper.  However, this statement from the United Pentecostal Church International Articles of Faith seems to encapsulate the views pretty well:
"We do not believe superstitiously that the bread and wine actually become the physical body and blood of Christ, nor do we believe that there is any virtue in the physical elements themselves apart from their power as figures to point us to the deeper reality which they typify.  We do believe, however, that an act of faith in partaking of the elements results in the real operation of the Spirit in us to strengthen us in the inner man and to heal us in our physical bodies.  We, furthermore, believe that the reality which the Lord's Supper signifies is our daily 'bread' of which we partake day by day." (emphasis added, The Lord's Supper; Five Views, page 124)  I added emphasis because the healing nature of the Lord's Supper is something which the Pentecostals bring out in their worship service more so than any other Protestant denomination.  Oftentimes, this phrase will be used during the Lord' Supper, "There is healing at the Table!".

-Conclusion-

Hopefully, those of my readers who persevered to this point will be glad to see that my conclusion is brief.  All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this little book (148 pages total).  My understanding of my own beliefs about the Lord's Supper was greatly improved and I felt that I was able to get an overview of the five most common belief systems of this sacrament, written by the men (and woman) who wrote their articles.  Reading a Roman Catholic explanation or Lutheran explanation of the Lord's Supper helps you avoid constructing straw men and incorrect assumptions about their beliefs.  As always, we must go back to the Scriptures when we try to state what we believe about the ordinances of God.  Lastly, I would urge all my readers not to lose sight of the awe and reverence we should have for this gift of God, despite all the disagreement.  To quote The Lord's Supper; Five Views, one last time...
"The two disciples on the road to Emmaus declare, 'We had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel.' (Luke 24:21), and in response Jesus does two things: He explicates for them the story of redemption, the story of the cross, and then He meets them in the breaking of the bread.  From the moment of despair, Jesus takes His disciples to the Word and then to the Table.  At the Lord's Supper, we do look back, remembering the once-for-all gift of salvation in Christ Jesus.  And in this meal we are conscious of present realities...But it is vital that we also remember that the Lord's Supper is an act of anticipation.  It is but a foretaste of a meal that is yet to come.  In times of despair and disillusionment, this meal is God's unique gift through which we remember that evil and darkness do not have the last word.  We are increasingly made one with Christ as we abide in Him, and we are made one with one another in the fellowship of the Spirit.  And in this event, in the practice of the Lord's Supper, we surely know that evil does not have the last word!"

"While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.'"  Matthew 26:26-28

John Calvin and the Trinity

Over the past month, I have set out to read through John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion

As I have been reading this phenomenal defense of orthodox Christianity, I can understand now why it has stood the test of time.  The thoroughness, richness, reverence, and simplicity of style which Calvin wrote the Institutes makes it a foundational book of systematic theology for the Christian layman and minister alike!

I currently am in the middle of Calvin's section on the Trinity and I wanted to share some of the quotes which impacted me the most.

To begin with, it should be stated why we must study the Trinity.  Calvin says,

"Moreover, Satan, in order to tear our faith from its very roots, has always been instigating great battles, partly concerning the divine essence of the Son and the Spirit, partly concerning the distinction of the Three Persons.  He has during nearly all ages stirred up ungodly spirits to harry orthodox (true and right) teachers over this matters and today also is trying to kindle a new fire from the old embers.  For these reasons, it is important...to resist the perverse ravings of ungodly men."  (Book 1, pages 144-145)

Mormons, Muslims, and Jehovah's Witnesses anyone?  In order to stand strong for the truth against our sometimes well-equipped opponents, we have to "know our stuff".  If you need more reasons, check out my earlier post about 10 reasons to study the Trinity.

 
Additionally, whenever we probe into the mystery of the Trinity, we absolutely must maintain a strong sense of caution and reverence.  God reveals Himself to us and opens our eyes to comprehend who He is.  That said, there is a limit to what our finite minds can grasp and inevitablely every single Christian must cease his inquiry and simply believe.  Here is an excellent atittude which every student of the Trinity should possess:

"...[this] passage from Gregory of Nazianzus vastly delights me:
'I cannot think on the One without quickly being encircled by the splendor of the Three, nor can I discern the Three without being straightaway carried back to the One.'" 

It is always useful, when dealing with a difficult doctrine, to clearly set forth what we do affirm and confess.

"Therefore, let those who dearly love soberness, and who will be content with the measure of faith, receive in brief form what is useful to know: namely, that when we profess to believe in one God, under the name of God is understood a single, simple essence, in which we comprehend three persons...

Therefore, whenever the name of God is mentioned without particularization, there are designated no less the Son and the Spirit than the Father; but where the Son is joined to the Father, then the relation of the two enters in; and so we distinguish among the Persons." (Book 1, page 144) 

Lastly, one of the trickiest aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity is the unity of the Trinity while also maintaining the distinctness of the Persons.  Three in One, without confusion or contradiction.

                           -The Relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit-
"...this distinction is so far from contravening (conflict with) the utterly simple unity of God as to permit us to prove from it that the Son is one God with the Father because He shares with the Father one and the same Spirit; and that the Spirit us not something other than the Father and different from the Son, because He is the Spirit of the Father and the Son.  For in each hypostasis (any of the persons of the Trinity) the whole divine nature is understood, with this qualification - that to each [Person of the Trinity] belongs His own peculiar quality.  The Father is wholly in the Son, the Son wholly in the Father, even as He Himself declares, 'I am in the Father, and the Father in Me' (John 14:10)....

Augustine well and clearly expresses the cause of this diversity in another place, when he speaks as follows:

'Christ with respect to Himself is called God; with respect to the Father, Son.  Again, the Father with respect to Himself is called God; with respect to the Son, Father.  In so far as he is called Father with respect to the Son, He is not the Son; in so far as He is called the Son with respect to the Father, He is not the Father; in so far as He is called both Father with respect to Himself and Son with respect to Himself, and Son with respect to Himself, He is the same God.'

Therefore, when we speak simply of the Son without regard to the Father, we well and properly declare Him to be of Himself; and for this reason we call him the sole beginning.  But when we mark the relationship that He has with the Father, we rightly make the Father the beginning of the Son." (Book 1, pages 143-144)

I hope that these passages have increased our understanding and reverence for the awesome and mighty God whom we serve.  The hidden things (and aspects) of God and His character belong to Him.  But the revealed truths, found in Scripture alone, are for us and for our children (see Deut. 29:29) 

If you would like to find a short and condensed, but highly informative and refreshing study of the Trinity, check out Bruce Ware's book, "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit".

 

Grass, Dirt, and Dominion!

In the Scriptures, specifically in Genesis 1, we read about the Creator who made all things, seen and unseen.  Out of His own good pleasure and in His good time, He spoke the universe and all that it contains into existence.  Genesis 1:1 is a familiar verse to many, but its widespread renown does not take away from the sheer power and majesty conveyed in those ten words,

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

In the very next chapter, we discover that God filled the Earth with the trees, plants, animals, etc.  All in all, He created a world which He, being the ultimate expression of perfection, declared to be "very good".  And over this creation, God set His last created being; man.  The Scriptures tell us that,

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'” (Genesis 1:26-28)
 
In these passages of Scripture we find a mission which God gave to mankind.  We call this mission the Dominion Mandate and even though sin and death have made the fulfilling of this commission arduous, we are still engaged in completing this mandate.

Over the past few days since I have returned home to Colorado, I have been engaged in seeking to take some dominion over our yard, in preparation for the end of our year-long lease.  The challenge was to take the yard, both front and back, from its current state of neglect and return it to its original state when we first arrived at this house in 2012. 

My first concern was the watering system.  Here in Colorado, water is less than plentiful, but the state residents do what they can to maximize the water source available to them.  Even the most amateur landscaper knows that grass needs consistent watering.  But just turning the sprinklers on doesn't answer all your problems.  My family and I soon discovered that the soil here in Castle Rock is filled with clay.  This means that the yards have to be aerated in order to allow water and other nutrients to penetrate deeper than a mere surface level.  So, the weekend project for my dad and I was to rent an aerator and start taking dominion!  Here are some of the pictures from our efforts... 

The professionals take over :)

Progress

Almost done with the backyard!

While Dad was making good progress on the lawns, I was hard at work trying to get all of our sprinklers operational.

My tools and parts for repair

The problem at hand

Working on the front yard

Our supervisor on his snazzy ride :)

Looks good from here!

This picture was his idea...

All done and ready to be taken back to Home Depot!

A freshly aerated lawn!

 With our labors accomplished for the day, my Dad and I look forward to seeing the fruit of our labors; green and luscious grass covering our front and back lawns!

God created men and women to work and to take dominion over His creation as stewards.  How are you taking dominion and caring for what God has entrusted to you?  I would challenge you, wherever you may be, to always be on the lookout for ways to act as a wise and hard-working steward over the little parcel of creation which God has given to you.

"What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

 

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!" 

(Psalm 8:4-9)

 

A Day in St. Louis

As my time in Missouri came to a close, the Saffa family and I spent a day in St. Louis.  It was my last opportunity to see some of the key sights and buildings which make St. Louis unique.  Of course, visiting the Arch was a must :)  We also visited the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis, one of the largest and most impressive cathedrals in the country. Lastly, we made a stop at a historic frozen custard shop.  Here are the pictures from our adventures!

Isabella & Gracie Lee Saffa

Peter Saffa

 Our first stop was at the Cathedral Basilica.  It used to be called the Cathedral of St. Louis but in January of 1999, Pope John Paul II came and visited the Cathedral.  After his "pastoral visit" the Cathedral was granted the privilege of being ranked as a basilica.

The Basilica

A gentleman escorting his mother

Monument to the Pope

Impressive architecture

"Basilica, as a term used by canon lawyers and liturgists, is a title assigned by formal concession or immemorial custom to certain more important churches, in virtue of which they enjoy privileges of an honorific character which are not always very clearly defined." - The Catholic Encyclopedia

The Latin underneath the coat of arms reads: "Through Jesus Christ"

If you look at the coat of arms over the main doors, you will see the shield with the "keys of the kingdom" crossed behind it.  The umbrella that you see above the keys is: "The conopaeum is a sort of umbrella, which together with the bell is carried processionally at the head of the clergy on state occasions." - The Catholic Encyclopedia.  Only Basilicas are granted the conopaeum.

This Cathedral is renowned for the intricate and ornate mosaics which cover the ceiling, walls, and floors

Mosaic of Cardinal Ritter, who lived in St. Louis

Looking towards the front of the church from the back pew

An altar in an alcove for private masses

The Papal banner which was carried during Pope John Paul's visit in 1999

King Louis, the namesake of the city

The ceiling mosaics

The Cardinal's chair

Massive...

The Saffa family

 After our time at the Basilica, the Saffa's and I went to a local burger joint, called "Steak n' Shake".  This was the first restaurant I had eaten at when the pastoral internship had started eight months ago.

Lunch!

Delicious!

Even though I had been living in Missouri for eight months, I had never made a trip to the Arch.  I was determined not to leave the city without making a stop to examine this iconic structure.

The waterfront

Just hold still!

Fellow photographer, Isabella Saffa

The pod

 This pod is the exact size and shape of the pods which carry passengers all the way to the top of the Arch.

Monument to success

Underneath the Arch, the federal government has set up a museum to the westward expansion of the United States.

Indian Chieftan Red Cloud

A hard life

Stagecoach, the traveling machine of the day

The Texas Longhorn

A Yankee

Haggis?

 This description of "boudin blanc" by Meriwether Lewis seemed to be a French-Canadian version of the Scottish haggis.  Even if there is no connection, they both sound disgusting!

An insightful quote made back in 1907

Our ride to the top!

Cramped quarters :)

At the top of the Arch, St. Louis lays spread out before you.  The scene is quite breath-taking on a clear and sunny day!

Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals

A long way down...

Having concluded our trip to the Arch, we made a quick stop at the St. Louis Zoo to ride the train around the circuit of the zoo grounds.

After a long but very satisfying day of sightseeing, we made a final stop at the famous Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.  On most evenings, this little custard shop is jammed packed with lines crawling all across the nearby streets and sidewalks.  St. Louis loves it's custard!

In case you missed it :)

Oreo custard

Late that evening, the Saffa family and I arrived home.  We had a wonderful time together, as I bid St. Louis farewell.  The very next morning I would be heading out West myself, driving across Kansas to rejoin my family in Colorado.