It's time for a Favorite Thing Saturday again. Time flies. My favorite thing this week is a place in our town. It sits on the corner of our Church property. A place for people to sit awhile and pray, meditate or just remember . This is the Sacred Heart Memorial Grotto on the grounds of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Byron, Illinois. It was built in 2010. I wrote about it in it's own blog while it was under construction. You can find it in my blog listings. It was quite an undertaking and the results...you can see in the pictures below.
The architect drew up these plans after seeing the drawing that was the dream of one man. He certainly wasn't an artist, but he had an idea in his mind of how it would be. He hired the best craftsmen to build this and sat there supervising everyday.
The statue of Jesus arrived by truck on a cold snowy day. It was ordered from Italy and would be the focal point of the Grotto.
The Grotto at night, is a beautiful sight. Drivers going by stop to look at it. Children leave little mementos for Jesus. Once in a while a flower is just lying there. The benches are inscribed with names of family members. The benches sit on pavers where members of our Church have put their family names for remembrance.
This Grotto is very personal to me. It was the dream of my husband, Joe. He thought about it and drew it up for the architect. He was the general contractor for this project. He was there everyday helping when he could. It is a memorial to his first wife and all of our deceased family are remembered with a paver. This gift to the Church will live on after we are gone. It's one of my favorite things.
So, join in with us on this Favorite Thing Saturday...just visit Claudia at http://mockingbirdhillcottage.com/ and see some really interesting favorites.
Balisha
12 comments:
Such a lovely tribute by your husband and for your husband, by you! A beautiful spot to reflect and remember.
How wonderful that your husband's dream to see this built came to fruition and it is now a monument enjoyed by many. It's quite lovely! Wishing you a wonderful weekend. Tammy
I was reading along thinking that the prayer grotto is such a special spot. Obviously if people stop and children leave special things, then it has touched lots of people. Then I read the part where you said it was Your Husband's dream for his first wife. That's so sweet.
Ah Balisha, that is lovely!
Balisha, the grotto is beautiful. Your husband's dream come true! How wonderful that all his work paid off in such a lovely, quite retreat for everyone.
Thank you so much for joining in this week!
xo
Claudia
I remember reading that Joe was the one who dreamed, designed and got it done. It is truly a beautiful place.
It is so beautiful and peaceful! :)
What a nice place for people to come and find a sense of peace and serenity. You and Joe should feel a sense of pride. I'm sure many parishioners appreciate it. :-) Sue
What a beautiful spot to sit, meditate and reflect. The perfect kind of dream to become reality!
Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
What a beautiful post about a lovely and peaceful place!
The grotto is a beautiful and sacred place. I am glad you shared it. Visiting from MHC, olive
Thankyou all for commenting. I have been busy visiting all of your favorites today. This is so much fun. Christmas time will be wonderful.
Balisha
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