You can see the first color of accent paint. They will start on the second color next week. Then will come the stencils. Steve has started to stain the confessional. All the wood in the church looks beautiful.

All 3 painters were painting the darker color inside the tape. You can see the different shade where they had started one of the squares. Steve is sanding down the confessional to give it a new coat of stain and varnish.

The painters are done putting the final coat on the sanctuary. They are marking out the ceiling for the second ceiling color and the stencils will go around the square.

The painters are on the final stretch now. Charlie is painting in the entrance way where the steps came out. Rick has been busy finishing the wood grain on the beams. You can see how much it matches the original wood already there. By the end of the day, they were in the sanctuary putting final coat on the main part. The other 2 painters are busy varnishing everything.

With today's gospel reading we conclude the five weeks of reflection on the Bread of Life from John 6. I would like to focus on two very important related concepts that are mentioned in the gospel text of today, which are very dear to Evangelist John: the contrast between spirit and flesh, and the expression, "Eternal Life".

Spirit and Flesh: Layers of Desires

St Augustine famously prayed, "Oh Master, give me chastity and continence, but not yet." What we see in this prayer is a tension between spirit and flesh. What St. Augustine is expressing is a desire to be chaste (which perhaps is at a deeper level), but there is also a desire to be wayward. That is why Jesus says, "It is the spirit that gives life, t he flesh has nothing to offer" (Jn 6:63).

The wood graining is complete in the main part of the church.

The Wood Graining Process continues...

Charlie and Rick are wood graining ceiling beams. All of the metal works, including the tabernacle, are back and looking like they are brand new.

Steve is stripping the old varnish off of part of the old tabernacle table. He will use that to make the new rebuilt one. Schaffner's is in Hansen Hall putting up the ducting for the bathrooms. Painting continues.

The dome has its final paint on it. So exciting! The painters are repainting the wood beams. I also took a picture of Eileen's hand drawn copy of the new rebuilt back altar.

Jesus invites the people in the gospel– as he invites us today – to go beyond the fulfillment of our physical needs to the appreciation of the possibility that exists in Jesus for the fulfillment of the hunger of our souls.

Feeding the Soul: "Being filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5:18b)

The first reading of today from the Book of Proverbs suggests that one who feeds the soul has embraced wisdom. The reading goes on to elaborate what is wisdom. "Wisdom has built her House; she has set up her seven columns" (Prov 9:1-2).

There is a company here that is cleaning the inside of the stained glass windows with special cleaner. Eileen is still hard at work trying to make everything right so it looks beautiful (which she is really good at).

Charlie is putting on the first coat of paint on the wood beams. It is a couple step process to make them look like real wood beams again. Have a great weekend.

Steve and Eileen going over the sanctuary plans. Charlie and Rick putting some color up. It is going to look amazing! Schaffner's are still in Hansen Hall running heat pipes in the I-beams. There will be heat in the entrance way finally.

The sanctuary is all patched and primed. Looks so nice and clean right now. The entrance way all has been patched where the steps came out. Steve has an assembly line of pews - staining and varnishing. They are beautiful after they have been varnished.

These five Sundays in the ordinary time (from 17th Sunday to the 21st ) we continue to listen and meditate on John 6. Thus, the Liturgy of the Word invites us to contemplate the mystery of the Eucharist. "I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world" (Jn 6:51). I would like to invite you to reflect on this verse…

The painters have patched the whole sanctuary now. Ready to prime. The steps to the choir loft have been removed on the landing to make room for the elevator. Now neither set of steps will be taken out.

Charlie and the guys are getting to the top of the sanctuary. Steve is taking out the uneven cement in the back room to lay new even cement for the elevator. With the cities permission, the sidewalk will get a ramp put in so the entrance to the church will be handicap accessible.

Schaffner's is back at it in the furnace room. Painters are working on the sanctuary. Eileen should be back in the next couple of days to go over colors with the painters.

The main belly of the church has its final color painted on. The sanctuary is in the middle of 3 stages right now - patching, priming & painting. The wood in the around the windows and the entrance way are getting a new coat of varnish. Schaffner's are in the furnace room again hooking up some more heat pipe and running some water lines.

Some of the piping from the air conditioners have been installed into place. The painters are still painting, patching and now have started varnishing the wood.

Today's liturgy and the Word of God present us with Jesus as the Bread of Life. Bread is a substance known and used by every society on the face of the earth. It is a gift of God to humanity adapted by the nature in order to be a source of nourishment. In the Old Testament God took care of his people by giving them food for their survival. He gave them Manna in the desert which was the type of divine bread placed before his chosen people.

No new pictures today. The painters are painting the final coat on some of the ceiling and yet patching in the sanctuary yet. Ductwork is still in progress in the furnace room. Electrical is done in the attic. The new lighting will really brighten up the church. Have a wonderful and blessed weekend! Praise God for the summer days that we still have.

The painters are patching the sanctuary. Electrical is still in progress. Moving forward.

Air conditioning units have been put into place. The new varnish has been applied to the woodwork and windows. The duct work in the basement continues.