Working among the vestments of the members of the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ led me to think reverently and fondly of them, and then of Him, our first Priest, the High Priest, our Lord and Savior.
Yesterday morning I was on assignment at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S.A. following Holy Mass to take pictures (with permission) of the priests' sacred vestments for several projects in development at Joseph Karl Publishing.No one else happened to be in the immediate area at the time, and so I was in the room all by myself. The plan was to take pictures of one gold vestment in particular, but as often happens when working with God, the task took on a life of its own!
This is the great adventure that comes with handing one's life over to God and serving Him according to His will. Often, the most extraordinary things happen, things made visible by a phenomenal spiritual lens that exposes the most beautiful things.
After acquiring images of that one particular vestment, I felt compelled to take pictures of more of them because they are so lovely.
While working, something began piquing my interest. Even though the vestments are beautiful, I was surprised at how much they attracted me. It was totally supernatural. They seemed to be drawing me into a mystery.
The vestments were removed from the closet one at a time and hung up by themselves. As they were photographed, each of the men who had worn them were made known to me, each one distinguishable from among the others. Just as each vestment is unique and beautiful, so are each of the men who had worn them.
Those sleeves in various colors hung side by side by side; the white one had charming embroidery, and I just had to touch it. So many sleeves, which covered the arms of the men whose hands held the Sacred Body of Jesus and brought our Lord to us in Holy Communion!
Working with the vestments of the devout members of the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ led me to think reverently and fondly of them, and then of Him, our first Priest, the High Priest, our Lord and Savior.
After several had been photographed, it was clear that something very extraordinary and quite unexpected was happening. When each vestment was photographed and then hung back up with the others, I just had to pause and take a moment to appreciate all of them at once. Then, the vestments as a group began emitting distinct scents, the aromas of the men who had worn them while lovingly performing their sacred duties.
Their presence was experienced in a mystical way, as each man was identifiable as an individual uniquely created by God with a specific purpose. This experience led me to feel even greater affection for our priests, who are Fathers and also our brothers, men called by God to live, love, serve, and suffer heroically, for us, in imitation of Christ. While every single aroma was experienced individually and belonged to a specific person, the experience culminated when they all merged and became one scent, one distinct smell, as individual instruments combine to form one masterpiece.
The individual aromas of each man unified to become the fragrance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Thank You, my sweet and gentle Jesus, for sending us so many holy priests, and for that incredibly beautiful expression of Your Presence.
I just love working with You. +
