Get Thee To the Church: The Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Atlanta

Happy New Year! I hope you've had a blessed Christmas, and many joys in 2011. Tomorrow (well, today, since I'm writing this at midnight) after Mass--and maybe before--it's time to take down the Christmas decorations and concentrate on getting back into our regular routines. I've put a lot of things off until the last minute, an methinks I shall be up late tomorrow night with the many tasks I should have completed this week.

We spent Christmas with family in Atlanta this year (see my last post for more), and attended Christmas Eve Mass at Sacred Heart Basilica downtown. We've been to this church before--it's where our niece and nephew were both baptized--and I was surprised when we arrived this time around to see the title "Basilica" on their signage. Turns out that it was given this distinction only this past February. What an honor! This gem of a church deserves it. I've met the priests and the deacon here, and as far as I'm concerned they deserve it too (even though it has nothing to do with them, of course).


On Sacred Heart Basilica's website there are some fascinating descriptions of the objects and images in the church, like the stained-glass windows and the statues. On either side of the crucifix are symbols of Christ's passion and death. Above it, the Hand of God reaches down toward Earth. Click here to read about these, and much more about this beautiful house of God.

I got this photo from a website for a wedding planning service. What a beautiful place to have a wedding! Perhaps either I'm Okay or Girly Girl (she really is a girly girl; you should have seen her toddling around the house Christmas morning with her new purse and shopping cart and doll stroller) will get married here someday.

At the 4:00 Christmas Eve Mass, Baby Jesus still hadn't been placed in the manger.

The little ones were very squirmy during Mass, which is to be expected. We had almost forgotten how much of struggle it can be to bring small children to church. Fortunately, there were plenty of family members here who could pass them around. Once I heard our little nephew exclaim "I'm Okay!" when he slid off the pew or something.

Little I'm Okay didn't want to say good night to us on Christmas evening, because he knew we wouldn't be there when he got up the next day. I'm glad we'll see them again in February when Larry celebrates Confirmation!