St. Joske's - San Antonio's spiritual oasis in the midst of materialism

Spirituality-wise, San Antonio - a wonderful city - is better-known for its missions:

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park preserves four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio, Texas. These outposts were established by Catholic religious orders to spread Christianity among the local natives. These missions formed part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

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[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Missions_National_Historical_Park[/ame]


But those who have lived there certainly must be familiar with St. Joseph's - a Catholic church nicknamed "St. Joske's" for its perseverance in the face of commercialism - in this case, the then-well known department store, Joske's:

In 1944, Joske's of Texas bought the church-owned St. Joseph College a couple of lots away and later made an offer as high as $200,000 to buy the church property, according to the parish history book. The church unanimously refused the deal, a source of pride to this day and the reason for the parish's enduring nickname, St. Joske's.

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Joske's has come and gone, but St. Joseph is still there, providing for its congregants a spiritual haven - one particularly welcome at Christmas, a season which seems to have devolved into one of crass commercialism, with few traces remaining of the anti-material message of Christ.

Here's St. Joske's story, from today's San Antonio Express-News.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church, pictured

Really weird, wfgodot. I was just telling my husband this morning that we should go to Mission San José. We've only been to the Alamo, and it's mostly gone. They say that Mission San José, is the most complete mission, and can give you an idea of what the Alamo used to look like.

Anyway, we were talking about the local mission, then I pop onto Websleuths, and there is a thread about this.

Tuffy said:

Really weird, wfgodot. I was just telling my husband this morning that we should go to Mission San José. We've only been to the Alamo, and it's mostly gone. They say that Mission San José, is the most complete mission, and can give you an idea of what the Alamo used to look like.

Anyway, we were talking about the local mission, then I pop onto Websleuths, and there is a thread about this.

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Glad you did! I was afraid it'd just stay unnoticed. St. Joseph's is part of the very strong German presence and tradition in S.A. The missions are great, but, after awhile when one lives there, like the Alamo and the RiverWalk, they just blend into the rich culture San Antonio has - one has to remind oneself not to take them for granted.

wfgodot said:

Glad you did! I was afraid it'd just stay unnoticed. St. Joseph's is part of the very strong German presence and tradition in S.A. The missions are great, but, after awhile when one lives there, like the Alamo and the RiverWalk, they just blend into the rich culture San Antonio has - one has to remind oneself not to take them for granted.

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What really surprised me about San Antonio, after I moved here, is the German influence. I haven't been here too long, so I still kind of feel like a tourist. I haven't been here long enough to take it for granted.

Although, I'm reminded of an incident some years back, when on the island of Kauai. My boyfriend and I walked out of the store and were just staring at the beautiful landscape. We noticed the behind the store, we could see the volcano rising up out of the rain forest. I thought, wow, imagine seeing this every time I walked out of Kmart back home! lol Then we asked someone to take our picture. I'm sure that lady thought we were the craziest tourists ever!

And, speaking of S.A. religious/historical sites, here's a story I didn't want to see:

Mission is defaced

For the second time in about five years, someone has vandalized historic structures at Mission San Juan.

Black spray-painted symbols resembling the acronym “ATM” now mark one wall of the more than 200-year-old church and another structure that surrounds human remains on the South Side park's grounds.
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“It's a historic place, where San Antonio began, really,” [Rev. Jim] Galvin said. People attending Mass on Sunday morning shook their heads in disapproval and gasped when he told them about the vandalism, he said.
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“The mission is part of the South Side,” said Mary Herrera, 47, who stopped at Mission San Juan to stretch her legs while teaching her 15-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, how to drive. “You're hitting home here — it's personal.”

First-time visitor Erica Ances, who toured all of the local missions Sunday, said she thinks the vandals should expect more than a possible federal charge.

“They're going to get haunted,” said Ances, 33.
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the rest, at
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Mission-is-defaced-933001.php