Brett Illig
In search of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Here are some moments along the way.
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Seeing the Beautiful
On one hand, they say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. On the other hand, maybe beauty is not as subjective as it seems. Maybe beauty is more about the ability to see it as such or not. In other words, beauty is everywhere and in everything. My ability to recognize this is in my life is somehow connected to joy. This makes me think then, what helps me to see? Switzerland is beautiful beyond words. The landscapes and mountains are indescribable. So much so, pictures do not do them any justice. One of the results of witnessing this kind of beauty is that it captives you, draws…
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The Mountain
The Lenten and Easter seasons have certainly been a bit different for me this year. As a result, one of the ways I experienced the season was to go walking. There is a little mountain up the road in front of our house that has some great trails to explore. As I explored them, these were my thoughts… The Mountain A Spiritual Reflection Part One: My life is a journey… “The Christian faith is not a pastime. The Church is not one club among others. Rather, faith responds to the primordial question of man regarding his origin and goal. It bears on the essential problems man confronts. What can I know? What can…
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Resurrection
As we walked down the steep roads of Lugano, Switzerland on Easter Sunday I noticed these beautiful plants growing within the rocky and otherwise barren façades. What a perfect depiction of what the “Resurrection” means… renewal of life in the midst of desolation.
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Market Day in Bern, Switzerland
“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” -Billy Joel
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Happy Easter
He is Risen! Alleluia! One of the distinct ways we find truth in the Risen Christ is that His Church is alive 2000 years later. Here are just a few of the churches we saw while we spent Easter weekend in Lugano, Switzerland. Happy Easter!!
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Good Friday
We spent much of Good Friday touring around the main piazza’s of Lugano. We found St. Anthony’s Church tucked around the corner of a main street. It was a beautiful way to spend time with the “Crucified Christ” as we took part in the Veneration of the Cross.
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Maundy Thursday
“The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, it produces Love.” – St. Thomas Aquinas (This painting is called “Last Supper” and is located in the Church of St. Mary of the Angels (Chiesa Santa Maria degli Angioli) in Lugano, Switzerland. It was painted by Milanese Bernardino Luini, who is sometimes called the “Raphael of the North” for the gentle expressions and calm beauty of his art. We spent Easter Weekend, (and the Paschal Triduum) in Lugano, Switzerland.)
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The Passion and the WC
Living in Switzerland for over a month now, we are starting to get more comfortable with our day-to-day activities and our home. Our sea shipment just arrived, so we have been united with our furniture, pictures, and stuff. We also are settling in with our new Church community. We attend a parish that offers the one and only English-speaking Mass in Bern, Switzerland. The parish does not have a pastor of its own and hasn’t for the last two years, so instead, we have a different priest celebrate Mass every week. All of that to say, for me, this has been a Lenten season void of the Christian community. As…
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Holy Week Reflection
