Lovely mission in trouble

La Lomita, the  church that gave Mission, Texas, its name

Be still. Listen. 

I’m standing outside La Lomita, a simple 12-by-40-foot chapel in Mission, Texas, that's ministered to people for 155 years.

 It stands on a small rise overlooking the Rio Grand. (Its name means "Little Hill" in Spanish.) If the trees weren’t there, I could see Reynosa, Mexico. 

Such a cute little girl

It’s a quiet little whitewashed sandstone structure steeped in history. 

And then I step inside. And I see and feel an explosion of life. And love. Weekly worshippers keep fluffy pillows in the pews and fresh notebooks and pens on a prayer table. (I write my name and a little note.)

A garden of fresh-cut flowers, newspaper items, pictures and rosaries crowd the altar. What personality! A little rosary-draped bear appears to giggle shyly, showing off her youthfulness. A flower pot grins at me, inspiring me to grin back.

This historic place of worship is the namesake of the town of Mission.

 And I didn’t know until I started my research for this little blog that it is in trouble.

 The U.S. government wants to build its border wall here because of the hill it sits on and the sights it can see. 

Since 2018, the Catholic Church has fought the effort. So have the people in the community who feel this little chapel knits intricately into their history.

I never felt the turmoil while I was there. The walls spoke only of peace and love. And I was still when inside. And I listened. It spoke only of worship and the congregation who love it. 

Fresh flowers show a dedication to this chapel

A Lourdes Grotto

Almost all pews have pillows

Notebooks spill over the prayer table

Lovely flowers distract from crumbling walls