Happy 4th!

Fireworks taken from Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River at downtown Saint Louis, Missouri.

Independence Day

On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence of the 13 American colonies from the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was an act fraught with destiny:

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When, in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the Causes which impel them to the Separation.

This was not a mere local rebellion, but it led to a broader European war, and it sparked revolution throughout the Western world.

How we ought to be governed? is an ancient question and Christian scripture does not give many clues, perhaps because we should seek the Kingdom of Heaven instead. We are told that we are to "render unto Caesar", but how should Caesar render unto God, and more importantly, how should citizens in democracies, little Caesars all, act?. Unlike the state religions in other parts of the world, Christians are forced to use reason and truth to find a proper government.

Photos of Mosaics at the Cathedral Basilica

As a treat to my visitors, I offer the following photos of mosaics at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis:

"the heart of Europe was bled white"

If we wonder today why Europeans are gun shy, why their foreign policy would make the Vicar of Bray seem bold and decisive, why their culture seems to have become decadent and even degenerate, why homosexuality and libertinism seem rampant there, maybe we are seeing the cost paid in two world wars having a seriously enervating and demoralising effect on today's Europeans. It may be too much to suggest that only the timid and weak survived to mate and produce offspring. But it has often been said that the heart of Europe was bled white on the battlefields of the First World War.

—from G. Thomas Fitzpatrick at Recta Ratio.

Photos of Mary, Queen of Peace Church in Webster Groves, Missouri

Mary, Queen of Peace Church is located in Webster Groves, Missouri, about 12 and half highway miles southwest of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri. It is one of three Catholic churches in Webster Groves.


This church has an unusual octagonal design, with a rounded porch.



Statue of Mary on top of the church. While all Christians recognize Christ as our King, ancient Christianity recognizes and honors Mary as the Queen Mother.



The rectory is of similar design to the church.




The church was built in 1955. The parish was started in 1922.




The church has a large school. Traditionally, the educational mission of the Church far exceeds the cost and manpower of its pastoral mission.

Like its nearby rival Kirkwood, Webster Groves was founded in the 1850s along the newly-constructed Pacific Railroad, and was an early suburban bedroom community, allowing the upper-middle class to escape from the squalor of the City. It was named after the liberal New England politician Daniel Webster.


Address:

676 West Lockwood Avenue
Webster Groves, Missouri 63119