By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic
Cross looms over the three bells at Blessed Sacrament Church.
The entrances at Blessed Sacrament Church are wreathed with multicolored glass.
The chancel is backed with a wall of coral, quarried from the Florida Keys.
Supporting the altar is a pedestal with a bas-relief of the Last Supper.
Faceted glass windows depict the Eucharist: in stalks of wheat, for the consecrated bread ...
... and in grapevines, for the consecrated Eucharistic wine.
This processional cross was used by St. Pope John Paul II during his 1987 visit to Blessed Sacrament.
An innovative set of Stations of the Cross, made from bent metal, fills one wall at Blessed Sacrament Church. Here, in Station 1, Jesus is condemned to death in a Roman court.
In Station 2, Jesus is given his cross to carry to Calvary.
In Station 3, Jesus falls for the first time on the way to his crucifixion.
In Station 4, Jesus meets his mother.
In Station 5, Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross.
In Station 6, Veronica wipes Jesus' face, then sees an image of his face on her cloth.
In Station 7, Jesus falls for the second time.
In Station 8, Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem: "Weep not for me but for yourselves."
In Station 9, Jesus falls for the third time.
In Station 10, Jesus is stripped of his garments.
In Station 11, Jesus is nailed to the cross.
In Station 12, Jesus dies.
In Station 13, Jesus is taken down from the cross.
In Station 14, Jesus is entombed.
Mary reaches for her Son in this bronze bas-relief of her Assumption, created by the late artist Randolph Johnson in his studio in the Bahamas.
Bronze crucifix in the chapel, Like the bas-relief of the Assumption, was created by the late Randolph Johnson.
Smiling statuette of Our Lady of Fatima seems to offer a rosary.
Several angels are etched into the glass walls of the chapel at Blessed Sacrament Church.
This needlepoint tapestry of the crucifixion was a gift from Olga Priestman, a Russian emigre.
Dried flowers form a cross in the parish hall.
Children learn from Jesus in this bas-relief in the parish hall.
This African-style crucifix hangs in the sacristy of Blessed Sacrament Church.
This wooden gate, bearing a painted image of St. Francis, is said to have been made in Mexico in 1830. Restored by a company in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the gate was donated in 1998 for the church's St. Francis Enrichment Center.
Photography: JIM DAVIS | FC
OAKLAND PARK | Blessed Sacrament Church has no patron saint, but it has 52 feast days.
“Every Sunday is our feast day, because we have the Eucharist,” said Father Robert Tywoniak, pastor at the church. “Everything in the Church grows out of Sunday.”
Photographer: Jim Davis | FC
Six angels are etched into the glass walls of the chapel at Blessed Sacrament Church.
The consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist are, of course, among the seven sacraments, or channels through which God’s grace flows. But as the sacrificial body and blood of Christ, the Eucharist is considered pre-eminent among the seven.
Before the 12th century, according to the Encyclopedia of Catholicism, Holy Communion was reserved mainly for the sick in emergencies. During that century, however, more parishioners wanted to see and worship Christ in the sacrament.
In workshops for the faithful, Father Tywoniak defines Eucharist as “profound gratitude. It’s a whole welling up of gratitude from within ourselves.”
He admitted, though, that the definition – indeed, any definition – is inadequate to package what happens spiritually in the Eucharist. “That’s why we do what we do. Words can't explain it altogether.”
Blessed Sacrament Church was established in 1960, only two years after the creation of the Diocese of Miami (now an archdiocese) itself. The new congregation celebrated Mass first at a restaurant, then a funeral home.
In 1963, the parishioners dedicated their own building. They added a social hall five years later, then a bell tower with three bells in 1977. The church building underwent a major renovation in 1996, gutting the interior and leaving only the roof and walls.
The sanctuary was moved from the north end to the west side. This allowed the morning sun to shine through new faceted-glass walls in the atrium.
Seating, too, was changed from the usual nave style to a fan-shaped pattern. The new design was meant to let worshipers even in the last rows feel closer to the sanctuary and to each other.
The backdrop of the sanctuary is a wall of coral from the Florida Keys. The wooden altar rests on a pedestal with a carved bas-relief of the Last Supper.
Photographer: Jim Davis | FC
Dried flowers form a cross in the parish hall.
To one side is the Chapel of the Angels, named for the angelic figures etched into its glass walls. Looking down on the chapel is a bronze crucifix, cast at a foundry in the Bahamas.
As a church dedicated to the Eucharist, Blessed Sacrament builds most of its ministries around the Mass. Members serve as greeters and ushers, and sing and play during worship. Some also visit the hospital-bound as extraordinary Eucharistic ministers.
But the oldest ministry at Blessed Sacrament is the St. Vincent de Paul Society, providing food and other aid for the unfortunate. It has grown into a regional chapter of the society, with cooperation among the other parishes of the deanery.
Blessed Sacrament’s largest physical ministries, however, are in land. One parcel is a two-acre nature preserve behind the church complex. The church mows it once a year but otherwise leaves it as the original “high and dry meadowland” that once covered much of the area.
The other land ministry is Cherry Creek Park, covering three acres just east of the church. The park has trees, a meandering path and a bank on the namesake creek. Blessed Sacrament has partnered with Oakland Park to run and maintain the park.
“Sharing it with others is part of our patrimony,” Father Tywoniak said.
