As I write this on my MacBook Pro, I'm sitting on a bus returning from a very enriching and inspiring pilgrimage to Conception, MO, Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO. The pilgrimage began with an overnight stay and day of recollection led by Archbishop Raymond Burke at the beautiful grounds of Conception Abbey (a Benedictine monastery) in a rural area of northwest Missouri. The picture below is from their main church, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception:
(The picture above was taken with my D40 on the ledge of the holy water font in the back of the Basilica Church, thus the watery reflections).
We then moved on to a visit to the monestary at Clyde, MO, of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, for a tour and to pray the Rosary. There were many beautiful displays of needlework done by the sisters (including some unbelievably detailed priestly vestments!), but, alas, we weren't allowed to take pictures of them. One thing I did take a picture of was this crafty little storage box's insides:
How are those for some virtues? Love and reprimand wouldn't stand up so well in our modern culture... unless you take out the reprimand part :-).
We stayed the rest of our nights at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, and visited some wonderful Churches in the two Kansas City dioceses (Missouri and Kansas), including the Cathedral fo Immaculate Conception, the Church of the Sacred Heart, and St. Peter's Cathedral, inside which I found some beautiful stained glass, like the window pictured here:
There were a few panes, such as the one pictured above, that I hadn't seen the likes of before. (In case you were wondering, the above art is of Mary and Joseph's marriage). You can see all my pictures from the pilgrimage here.