A Baldacchino for Holy Souls Hermitage Chapel? And thanks to benefactors

The above is a picture of what’s over the seven foot wide and six foot high, one inch thick polycarbonate window behind the ad orientem altar at Holy Souls Hermitage.

The space beween the top of the window, already a good ten feet from the floor, is about 30 inches. Horizontally, it would be a good eight feet from the center of one vertical roof supporting beam on the one side to the same on the other side of the window.

If I were to put up a 4′ by 8′ sheet of plywood, with one edge along the top edge of the window, it would have to be tilted over the altar at, say, a mere 30 degree angle, with the top edge being attached to the rafters. This would more than cover the entire altar and gradines.

So, a 4′ x 8′ space to fill up, artistically. Remember, this is Holy Souls Hermitage, so, perhaps something to do with the Holy Souls. However…

Traditionally, the underbelly, if you will, of just about any baldacchino, has an image of a white dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, with a sun burst of golden rays shining out over a backdrop of deep blue.

I’m not much of an artist, so, I don’t know about painting such a scene. I wouldn’t want anything stylized, just simple, traditional…

I wonder if anyone has such a dove made out of whatever, which I could attach over a sunburst. I could paint the sunburst with gold paint, perhaps… Perhaps craft stores sell doves like this? Perhaps there is one carved in relief, which ensemble I could attach over a painted sunburst.

But, maybe someone of you has another idea… or suggestions as to how to go about this.

Thanks to those of you who have been sending a donation in here and there, against all my protestations. I now have 307 dollars and .34 cents in the checking account. I’ve bought some materials to continue to make the hermitage a bit more habitable. Good thing I didn’t get a drivers seat for Jenny the Jeep. With tax and shipping, that would have broken the bank.

Anyway, as you can see, I’ve continued putting up some wood to finish off the wall above the altar (at least as a first step). No more plastic! That’s a blessing. I’ve also done the same on this Eastern side of the hermitage around another set of windows. I also put up a few more sheets of corrugated tin. And that’s after having put a door in the other week!

About a third of the hermitage walls are still no more than plastic sheeting. But, progress is being made. This is quite miraculous, really. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. Usually, this is all quite beyond me. I’m thanking my guardian angel for all this. I think he’s saved me more than once even just today. I was up about twenty feet I don’t know how many times on the extension ladder, and this with a pulled, if not ripped muscle attached, I’m told, to the achilles tendon (or perhaps not that much attached as it was!). And that’s on the bad leg. Yikes!

Also, thanks go to C.W., who sent in a care package for myself and the neighbors (after their accident). A prayer for them please: Hail Mary…

Thanks go to T.P.F. & R.L.F. for their regular, unsolicited gift to the hermitage. Very thoughtful.

Thanks also go to the new parish priest, Pastor, of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Brevard, who gave me a totally unsolicited gift the other day, besides a meal out, besides having heard my confession! He’s a great confessor. He makes time for confession. You locals: Go to confession!

And this card came in with a Mass stipend. A grey or gray wolf. The Sierra crowd is trying to reintroduce them into all 49 continental states if they’re not already there. I sure haven’t seen any around here. In Minnesota we had Timber Wolves. Same difference I guess. Maybe it’s just that Minnesota wolves are smarter. If there were all of a sudden a big uptick in the wolf population, I imagine they would be concentrated around the forest ridges here. Don’t know if they are protected in North Carolina. I don’t have a gun, but I do have my trusty Ka-Bar!