Flashback to Fancy

So, back in August, I mentioned that on our way back to Texas, we stopped at St. Bernard Abbey to visit the Ave María Grotto. "The Grotto consists of a landscaped hillside of 125 small stone and cement structures, the handiwork of the creative genius, Brother Joseph Zoetl O.S.B., a monk of the Abbey for almost 70 years." (from the brochure for the self-guided tour)

We walked a two block pathway where we saw replicas of some of the most famous places in the world including of course, many religious sites. The best word I can think of to describe what we saw is "delightful". Toward the beginning of our tour, one of the Abbey volunteers told us that Brother Joseph had experienced chronic pain and was unable to sleep. He dealt with his suffering in part by creating his miniatures. People from all over the world donated materials like broken plates, costume jewelry, ceramic tile, beads, marbles and seashells. You'll see some of those materials in the pictures.

After enjoying our tour, we spent a good bit of time in their extensive Catholic bookstore where I found some excellent materials for home schooling. It was a worthwhile detour, memorable enough to make us take the road less traveled a bit more often.

Our tour began at Bethlehem

The Tower of Thanks

Brother Joseph made it in gratitude to all of those who sent materials for his works. The green glass balls at the top are from Ireland where they were used as floats for fishing nets.

I thought this was interesting

I think this is part of the Temple of the Fairies

Good thing the dragon was chained up!

St. Mary Magdalene

Carmel in Lisieux, France

convent of St. Therese

Mia has a special affection for St. Therese

The catacombs

St. Peter's square in Rome

The Holy Land took up the whole hillside

Alleluia

Calvary

This reminded me of a place near Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Jacob's Well, near Shechem, where Jesus spoke

to the Samaritan woman of "Living Water"

Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration

I love that cheesy grin

Even sillier

Sister hug

Fatima replica

Replica of the shrine in Lourdes, France

Where the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette, age 14, in 1858

Brother Joseph built this replica when he was 80 years old.

The Agony in the Garden dedicated to the St. Bernard's students killed in WWII

The last of the Grotto shrines

Our Lady of Guadalupe

When the girls heard about the chipmunk crossing, they hoped to see some chipmunks

Instead, they had to be the chipmunks.

That's it. If you made it through the whole post, congratulations!

See you back here next time.