Praying with St Rose of Lima Off the Record Barbara Stinson Lee

Having no natural sense of direction, my ability to get lost while driving around the diocese is legend. In my 22 years with the diocese I’ve learned to set out for an event to be covered in plenty of time to get lost, ask directions, and find my way there.

Lately, I’ve been working with a portable GPS system (global positioning system), a life saver for a person with my disability. But GPS systems depend on access to satellites, and they can be a bit questionable on cloudy days.

So when I set out on Thursday for St. Rose of Lima Parish in Layton, it was with the GPS system and plenty of time to get lost. Oh, I’ve driven to St. Rose of Lima many times. I even covered it’s dedication. But do you think I can find it when every past attempt has invovled getting good and lost first?

Even in the dark, even under cloudy skies, even in a late March snow storm, the GPS system got me there without a hitch. It left me more than adequate time to pray alone in the church for awhile, attend the 9 a.m. Mass, and then go to my interview with the sewing angels, women (and one man) who get together weekly to make layette items for St. Martha’s Baby Project, Ogden Regional Hospital, Birthright, and anyone else who might need the items.

I like St. Rose of Lima Church. I have always felt St. Rose herself is there day and night. St. Rose ( Isabel de Santa Maria de Flores) was born in Lima, Peru, and died in 1586. Rose was her confirmation name. Taking St. Catherine of Siena as her model, Rose led an austere life, becoming a Dominican tertiery and a recluse. Rose was a gifted mystic, and her prayers were credited with saving Lima from earthquakes. The first saint of the new world, she was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X.

In my travels through South America, I’ve seen many images of St. Rose of Lima, for she is their patron.

The church in Layton does St. Rose honor. It is a wide church, but not very deep, so everyone who goes there is in an intimate relationship with the sanctuary, the altar, and the tabernacle. Lit in part by skylights, the lighting is subtle and easy to get comfortable in when in solitary prayer. All around the church are small, stained glass windows that show the Stations of the Cross and other moments in the life of Jesus. It’s a great place to say the rosary, as both Mary and St. Joseph have prominent places in the church. The sanctuary is beautiful – panelled in wood with angels at the tabernacle. Two larger stained glass windows suggest to me the Eucharist and the crucifixion and the Holy Spirit.

I was grateful I had every spare minute to pray with St. Rose; grateful for the Mass, and grateful for the sewing angels, too.