Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Church of the Divine Child

Studio Name: Willet Hauser Architectural Glass

City: Dearborn

Window Shape: 2 (rectangle)

Subject/Title of Window: Mass, part 2

Brief Description of Subject: This is the second of 3 such windows. The medallions are to be read bottom to top.

The sketches of these windows by Marguerite Gaudin do not match their realization -- they differ mainly in the order of the medallions.

The bottom medallion contains the inscription LAVABO" which means "I wash". The Lavabo is still part of the Offertory; the priest has taken the gifts offered by the congregation and now washes his hands. While he is washing his hands, he recites Psalm 26: 6-12 (Psalm 25: 6-12 in the Vulgate) -- "I WASH my hands among the innocents .......". This act is meant to cleanse both his body as well as his soul.

The middle medallion is now inscribed "Dominus Vobiscum". On the sketch it was inscribed "Oremus". In the booklet "Our Stained Glass Windows", the architect believes it depicts the "Orate Fratres" which I believe to be what should have been inscribed. Near the end of the Offertory the priest turns to the congregation, spreads his hands and recites a prayer that begins "PRAY BRETHREN  (Orate fratres), that my sacrifice and yours will be acceptable to God the Father almighty". The window depicts the priest's spread hands and rising from the chalice is smoke which symbolizes the sacrifices of the priest and the congregation. This prayer is to God the Father who is symbolized by a triangle with the Hebrew letter for God. A Tau-Rho Cross is also seen --- presence of Christ.

The top medallion. After the Offertory comes the Eucharistic Prayer section of the Mass which begins with the priest lifting up his hands, as seen here, and saying  "Sursum Corda" . This comes from Lamentations 3:41 -- "Let us LIFT UP OUR HEART (along) with our HANDS unto God in heaven." You lift your hands when you pray, so this passage means -- it is not enough to say the words of the prayer it must be heartfelt. This prayer is also said to God the Father -- symbolized here by the "Creator Triangle".

Comments from "Our Stained Glass Windows" c. 1970 "At the north (epistle side) wall of the sanctuary is one of the very significant and charming windows in the Church. It is a medallion type of window which relates, chiefly by the hands of the priest the progressive story of the Mass."

Inscriptions: LAVABO (I wash)
DOMINUS VOBISCUM (Lord be with you)
SURSUM CORDA (Lift up your heart)


Height: 140"

Width: 36"

The MSGC is a constantly evolving database. Not all the data that has been collected by volunteers has been sorted and entered. Not every building has been completely documented.

All images in the Index are either born-digital photographs of windows or buildings or are scans of slides, prints, or other published sources. These images have been provided by volunteers and the quality of the material varies widely.

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