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History
of the Stained Glass Windows at
Sacred
Heart Church |
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Altogether, thirty windows now grace the high spacious walls of our
church and the figures used are in clear bold designs superimposed on
backgrounds of soft, rich pastel colored glass.
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Facing towards the altar from the entrance to the main body of the
church and beginning high on the south wall, which is on the left side of the
church, you will see the Five Joyful Mysteries, beautiful in their design and
portrayal of the early life of Christ. The
first window consists of two scenes; above is Gabriel the Archangel, and below
is the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annunciation.
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The second window is the Second Joyful Mystery, the Visitation of Our
Blessed Mother Mary being greeted by Saint Elizabeth.
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Above
this window is Saint Joseph, Mary’s husband.
He is holding the staff with flowers which represent New Life of the
New Covenant. With Saint Joseph is
Elizabeth’s husband Zachariah
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His staff is barren, no longer with life of the Old Covenant.
It also speaks of Elizabeth, his wife, barren in her old age.
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If you
look closely to the right of their feet, you will see
Saint John the Baptist
baptizing our Lord. |
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Moving on to the third stained glass window, you will see two scenes.
This is the third Joyful Mystery of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
On the top is the Christ Child as the Infant of Prague and the prophet
Isaiah is in the bottom scene.
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At
the right of Isaiah’s feet is the scripture reference
Is 11:1 - Isaiah 11:1 “But a shoot shall sprout from the
stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”
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In the upper right corner with Isaiah is the depiction “And the
virgin will be with Child”.
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The
Fourth Joyful Mystery, the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, is also
presented in two scenes. The bottom is Our Blessed Mother Mary with Saint Joseph and
above them is Saint Simeon with Jesus as an infant. Between
these two scenes you can see the Holy Spirit rising from Mary and Joseph to
Saint Simeon fulfilling the promise given to him that Saint Simeon would see
the Messiah before his death. (Luke
2:22-32: When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present
him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male
that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the
sacrifice of “a pair of turtledove or two young pigeons,” in accordance
with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was
righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit
was upon him. It had been
revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had
seen the Messiah of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace,
according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for
revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”) To the
bottom right of our Blessed Mother if you look closely, you will see Abraham
and Isaac. On Isaac’s back is
the bundle of wood for the sacrificial fire.
This reminds us of the wooden cross that Christ bore on his back as he
was lead to the crucifixion. This
stained glass window of Saint Simeon along with the small insert of Abraham
remind us to be as obedient and patient as they were in our wait for the
coming of Christ.
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The
last and Fifth Joyful Mystery, The Finding of Jesus in the Temple, brings to
us the Holy Family with the protection of the Angels from above. (Luke
2:44-49: Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and
looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in
the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking
them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and
his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother
said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been
looking for you with great anxiety.” And
he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must
be in my Father’s house?”)
Grateful
recognition is given for the assistance of my wife, Diane Charters, who took
the photographs and to Lenore Willard, Director of Religious Education, Sacred
Heart Church, who provided me with the short historical record on the stained
glass windows.
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