Blessed Sacrament Church, Stowe, VT

After a pretty flawless journey yesterday, here I am with Father Benedict, the very pro-Pope-of-the-same-name pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church here in Stowe.




Last night we went to an Italian restaurant owned by some parishioners so a plug is in order: Trattoria la festa. It was lovely to see a packed Italian restaurant with a great atmosphere and such friendly hosts who were delighted to have their parish priest and his friend.

Here's the church set up for Mass (very few people in the photo, but by the time Mass started it was standing room only, with lots of holidaymakers - sorry, vacationers - in attendance):

Here it's 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time rather than Assumption which was transferred to today in England & Wales. Here the feast was kept on 15th but the obligation is lifted when it falls on a Saturday.

So Father Ben had the opportunity to preach again on the Eucharist, and did so with great eloquence and fervour. He called to mind the reply of Billy Graham who, when asked what he would do if Jesus appeared before him now, replied that he would fall to his knees and worship. And so we should avoid all over-familiarity with the Lord truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, to which the parish here in Stowe is dedicated.

The Church is built on the site of a farm where the companion of Blessed Damien of Molakai (to be canonised this October), Ira Dutton who became Brother Joseph, was born. The outside of the church is decorated with frescoes commemorating the missionary work of these two holy men in Molakai, Hawaii. Here you can see depictions of the Holy Mass and hearing confessions.




Finally, here's the presbytery. In America, patriotism is seen as a good thing. So the flag flies proudly.


More later...