We continue our series of articles on the stained-glass windows that adorn our beautiful church focusing for the next few weeks on the windows located on the north wall (to your right, as you enter the church). Knowing a bit more about these beautiful works of art will, we hope, enhance your prayer and worship here at St. Anne.
The third window from the back of the church on the right-hand wall celebrates our parish with images important to who we are and what we do. In the top middle, we find St. Anne teaching her daughter and our mother, Mary. Below are images of the three worship places used by the parish since its founding.
On the left are two images that remind us of our ministries to the needy. St. Vincent de Paul is depicted at the top ministering to a poor child. Below, the image celebrates the work of our food pantry in combating hunger.
To the right are two images of Our Lady. At the top is Our Lady of Mount Carmel reminding us of the Carmelite Sisters that served the parish in the past. Below is Our Lady of Guadalupe which honors our Hispanic parishioners.
We continue our series of articles on the stained-glass windows that adorn our beautiful church. Knowing a bit more about these beautiful works of art will, we hope, enhance your prayer and worship here at St. Anne.
The Wedding Feast at Cana
Recorded for us in John 2, this window, located on the south wall of the church, reminds us of when Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding. To the right of the scene a servant is pouring water into a jar. Notice that the artist has conveyed the miracle in the stream of water. It begins as water and then turns red as it enters the jar.
The biblical account tells us that the servants filled six large jars, each containing between 20 and 30 gallons. To the left, we see Jesus and his mother Mary. Jesus’ hand gesture may be indicating his intention of changing the water into wine. In the center foreground is the head waiter who has just been given a sample of the new wine. We read in the Bible how he complimented the bridegroom on the quality. Behind him is the wedding couple who have been saved from the embarrassment of running out of wine at their wedding feast.
Which character are you? Are you the servant hauling water with no knowledge of what is to come? Are you the wedding couple helped by Jesus and the intersession of his mother? Or are you the head waiter, a spectator who marvels at a hidden miracle? Perhaps, as we journey through life, we will be all of them.
