The Tiles - August 29, 2021

This weekend is the last weekend for our Prince of Peace Welcome Back Tile Project. Thank you to all who participated by glueing your tile on the board and including your prayers and blessings. If you didn’t yet get your tile glued on, it is never too late. We can still make it happen. You might notice that we didn’t finish the mosaic. But we did get 898 tiles out of 2600, which is almost 35%. Rather than look at the mosaic as half-empty, we should look at it half-full! But, the missing tiles just remind us that there is work to be done. The mission of Church to evangelize the world is never done.
 
So here is the big reveal. What is the image the mosaic is creating? Drum role please….it is the Prince of Peace Logo! Big surprise! Our logo has a large cross, with a 3/4 circle around the middle of the cross, with a Chi-Rho (XP) symbol in the (bottom-right) open quadrant of the cross. The Chi-Rho which looks like a big “P” with and “X” on the bottom part of the downstroke of the “P” is a christogram. The first two letters of the Greek word for Christ (KRISTOS) are “Chi” and “Rho”. I suppose it also works for us since the “Rho” greek letter looks like our English “P” so could double and stand for Prince of Peace. You can see the logo on the front of the bulletin or even as part of the flooring in the gathering space.
 
What now? We are going to hang it up somewhere and do a bit of a prayer service/blessing. But, I think I’m just going to leave the mosaic as it is for a while. Yes, it is incomplete, but again it just reminds us to keep working and praying. Maybe someday I’ll give in and fill it out, but not for a while at least. Also, I’m going to begin a monthly wine and cheese night where in smaller groups I’ll invite those who have returned their tile. I just want to get to know the 898 families better. What about the rest? I hope to get to them too (plus make them jealous enough that maybe they will yet return their tile). My goal is for us to build community starting from the center and working outwards. Kind of like the 3/4 circle around the center of the cross of the logo!
 
Anyway, I am very pleased by receiving 898 tiles. I find that amazing! I knew we wouldn’t get 100%, but we can sure dream and pray and keep working. Thank you for your participation. May God bless Prince of Peace Parish!
 
Peace,
Fr. Greg