The chapel walls are inscribed with the words, “Who is she who comes forth like the rising dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, like the rainbow gleaming amid luminous clouds, like the bloom of roses in the spring?” The altar inside the chapel depicts the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The walls are mosaic and on both sides show pilgrims coming to venerate her.

I stitched about seven or eight images to create the photo, which is about a 19 MB file. Click on the image to view a larger size.

A panoramic view of the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Basiclica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Click on photo to view large image.

For Catholics of the western rite persuasion, who shudder at the thought of extended time in church on Holy Saturday, your Eastern rite neighbors, who trace their roots to Constantinople rather than Rome, have news for your: two hours are nothing.

I had the privilege of attending the April 14 celebration of Great and Holy Saturday, also known as the Paschal Vigil, at Holy Resurrection Monastery in St. Nazianz, Wis., about 50 miles south of Green Bay. The Byzantine monastery relocated to Wisconsin last fall from California. The small community of monks, led by their Abbot, Nicholas Zachariadis, has opened its doors to their Roman Catholic neighbors. Indeed, nearly half of those in attendance were Roman Catholics.

The Easter celebration began at 11 p.m. in the monastery’s modest chapel with Nocturns, a recitation of prayers, followed by an outdoor candlelight procession, Matins of Holy Pascha and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The service, highlighted by chanting and sung prayers, lasted about three hours. A 2 a.m. breakfast followed the Divine Liturgy.

After sharing in a festive meal, bidding farewell to the monks of Holy Resurrection and making the one-hour drive back to Green Bay, it was 4 a.m. Now that’s what I call a vigil.

Below is a photo slideshow of images from the Paschal Vigil.

In addition to shooting photos, I recorded audio and decided to put together an audio slideshow using Soundslides. The software has an option to convert the flash-based slideshow into an mp4 video, which I did and then uploaded it to my YouTube channel.

Below is the video from Ash Wednesday.

Both men have known each other for years, as they’ve attended bishops’ meetings in Washington, D.C., and were both rectors of the North American College in Rome. But who would have guessed back in 2003 that these men would represent the United States at the cardinal’s consistory in 2012? The thought never crossed my mind while in the presence of then-Milwaukee Archbishop Dolan in July 2003.

We were in Brookfield, Wis., where I was reporting on and photographing a special visit the archbishop made to the home of Mary Kay Kulla. Kulla’s husband, Scott, an Army lieutenant, was stationed in Iraq and Mary Kay had just given birth to the couple’s fourth child nine days earlier.

There in the Kulla living room, Archbishop Dolan sat on the sofa holding 9-day-old Blaise Augustine Kulla, in his left arm while conversing with Kulla and her three other children, 11-year-old Celeste, 6-year-old Gabriel, and 2-year-old Genevieve.

“Since the war broke out I’ve been praying for military families,” Archbishop Dolan told me. “I found out about (Mary Kay’s) story and I took a liking to her.”

During his visit, the archbishop offered a special blessing for Blaise, who weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces at birth. He also made a phone call to a fellow archbishop, Edwin F. O’Brien, who was head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services. He wanted Archbishop O’Brien to keep in touch with Kulla and her family while Scott was overseas.

So the two archbishops who teamed up to help a military family in 2003 are now teaming up to be part of Pope Benedict’s College of Cardinals. Yes, it’s funny how things work out.

In 2003, then-Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan cradled 9-day-old Blaise Augustine Kulla during a visit to the Kulla home in Brookfield, Wis. (Photo by Sam Lucero)

Nativity scene taken with iPhone4, edited in Instagram. (Sam Lucero photo)

Note: This blog entry originally appeared as an editorial in The Compass, newspaper of the Diocese of Green Bay, where I work as News & Information Manager.

If Joseph and Mary were alive today, looking for a place where Mary could give birth to Jesus, where could they find solace? After some online and empirical research, I’ve concluded that it would not be in a stable filled with animals. No, today it would probably be in a storage unit.

This theory first came to me while driving to work recently. I noticed construction workers pouring concrete in a lot next to an already existing storage unit facility. Apparently the units were all filled and more were needed. On my five-mile drive to work, at least four storage unit facilities exist. Two of them are “climate controlled” and one is heated.

No swaddling clothes needed to stay warm here.

I confess to knowing something about storage units. Before moving to Green Bay in 2008, I rented one to store goods while waiting to buy a new home here.

According to the Self Storage Association (yes, there is such a thing), the self storage industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. commercial real estate industry in the last 35 years. There are approximately 46,000 primary self storage facilities in the United States with rentable space that totals 2.22 billion square feet.

That’s a lot of space for wise men, kings and barn animals.

Nearly one in 10 U.S. households currently rents a self storage unit, reports the Self Storage Association, which is up from one in 17 in 1995. It’s a profitable business as well, with the industry grossing $22 billion in 2009.

What do these statistics tell us? I believe they indicate that we Americans are controlled by our possessions. Rental units are no longer used simply to store furniture while a family relocates. Today they serve as long-term rentals to store goods. We own so much that we have to rent storage space to hold all of our stuff that doesn’t fit into closets, attics and garages.

Not all Americans rent storage units. Not the estimated 2 million to 3 million who are homeless every year, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Most of these Americans cannot even afford to rent an apartment. Fortunately, churches and communities team up to provide shelters for the homeless, especially during the winter months.

Isn’t something wrong in our country when there is such a disparity between the haves and the have-nots? When an estimated seven square feet of storage space exists for every man, woman and child in this country, yet homeless shelters struggle to find enough space to accommodate people living on the streets?

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the modern-day Joseph and Mary wouldn’t take shelter in a storage unit after all. Storage units have locks to protect all of the worldly possessions inside. Jesus, the Son of God, was born to give hope to the hopeless, to unlock the hardened hearts that bind us to our possessions and blind us to the suffering of others.

Given the choice between a heated storage unit and a crowded homeless shelter, Mary and Joseph would choose the latter. For while the cries of the poor are heard here, so too are the voices of justice that give shelter and comfort. Isn’t their example why the Son of God was born among us?

Below is a gallery of stained-glass images I’ve taken over the years that relate to the Nativity.

The latest incident of the unannounced and unwanted photo assistant took place on the feast of the Assumption while photographing a Mass and rosary procession at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wis. For those unfamiliar with the shrine, it received international attention last December when Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay issued a declaration proclaiming that appearances (called apparitions) by Mary, the mother of Jesus, in 1859 were found to be valid and therefore worthy of belief by the faithful.

This Mass and rosary procession, an annual event since the 1860s, attracted about 3,000 people — double the crowd at last year’s Assumption celebration.

At the conclusion of the rosary procession around the five-acre shrine grounds, I spotted a young boy near the entrance of the shrine’s chapel. He was checking out a group of nicely dressed gentlemen whom we know as the fourth degree Knights of Columbus. The KCs were entering the chapel to change into their civvies. Shooting with a 16-35 mm Nikon zoom lens, I took a series of photos from behind the boy.

I settled into my spot at the top of the steps, just a few feet from the youngster. I knew that Bishop Ricken would soon file past us. This could be the photo of the day, I thought.

But my “assistant” made sure that the photo I imagined in my mind would never make it to my camera — or to Catholic newspapers and magazines across the country. My photo assistant had no idea that the boy was a focal point of the picture. She thought he was blocking my view, so in an instant, from the corner of my eye, I saw a hand grab the boy and move him out of the way. “No, no, no,” I said. “Oh, I thought he was in your way,” assistant said.

Assistant then told me she would grab the young photo prop and put him back. No, I said. I didn’t elaborate how staging photos isn’t a good journalistic practice. Instead, I was thankful just to get a few images of the boy and the Knights.

I need to hire a photo assistant who can be on the lookout for unwanted photo assistants. Here are three photos in a series from the day.

Young boy checks out fourth degree Knights honor guard as they enter the shrine chapel. (Sam Lucero photo)

Procession of fourth degree Knights is just about finished. Bishop Ricken should be next. (Sam Lucero photo)

The hand of my photo "assistant" reaches out to grab the little boy, who she thinks is in my way. Darn it! (Sam Lucero photo)

My Nikon 60mm f2.8 macro lens. Love it.

Most of the photos I’ve taken of insects were shot strictly with available lighting. On occasion I will grab one of my SB-800 Speedlights and use it to highlight the background or a spider’s web. The 60mm prime lens also serves as a decent portrait lens. What I love about this lens is its sharpness. When I’m on with the focus (not the easiest thing when focusing in about five inches from a subject), it’s incredible how the details of little bugs pop.

For anyone who has considered close-up photography — whether it be insects, objects such as coins, or flowers — I would highly recommend Nikon’s line of macro lenses. Some day I hope to purchase Nikon’s 105mm macro lens, but for now, the shorter 60mm is working just fine.

Recommendation: If you are serious about purchasing a macro lens but are worried about the cost, I would  suggest visiting Adorama’s refurbished lens selection. All lenses are refurbished by the manufacturer (unless specified otherwise) to the original company’s specifications.

According to Adorama, all refurbished cameras and lenses “are checked over by the manufacturer by hand, inspected very thoroughly, diagnosed, and calibrated by experienced technicians, and could therefore turn out to be more dependable than a new item.” In addition, all  refurbs sold by Adorama come with a 90-day return-to-manufacturer warranty. (Canon gear comes with a one-year return-to-Adorama warranty.)

However, refurbs are not always in stock due to availability, so patience is a key when purchasing a refurbished lens.

Below is a slide show of macro images taken in the last year. Enjoy.

This fact was driven home recently as I read a status update from a grade school classmate now living in the southern United States. Like many people on Facebook, he shared an opinion and then ended his comment with the challenge, “Post this as your status if you agree.”

To be honest, I’ve never reposted anyone’s comments on Facebook. The closest I’ve come to doing so were two pithy status updates: “If you agree, repost,” followed by, “If you disagree, repost.”

Those comments led to a few curious responses. I guess the sardonic humor evaded some folks.

Now back to my Facebook friend’s comments.  Not one to reply to opinions contrary to my own, lest I open myself up to an electronic scrum, my friend’s words struck a chord and I found myself writing a quick response. His topic: immigration.

He wrote: “If you cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years of hard labor. If you cross the Afghanistan border illegally you get shot. If you cross the U.S border illegally you get: a job, a driver’s license, a place to live, housing benefits, health care, education, child benefits, tax free business for seven years. No wonder we are a country in debt! Post this as your status if you agree.”

Not only did the comments take a complicated issue (one that our federal government and state governments have grappled with for years without consensus) and boil it down to the supposed overriding source of our country’s economic woes, it unjustly condemned our brothers and sisters south of the border who had no vote for the choice of country in which they were born.

To top things off, my friend uses analogies from countries with fascist leanings to describe supposedly better options for treating people who cross borders illegally.

No one denies that immigration is a critical issue that has to be resolved on the federal level. But the problem is that simplistic, draconian solutions will not end illegal border crossings. In so many ways, unfair trade policies and illegal drug use in the United States have caused the migration of Latin America’s poor, seeking a better life, to our country and the onslaught of murders by drug lords along the U.S.-Mexico border.

I had an opportunity to visit the U.S.-Mexico border in 2007 during a border immersion experience sponsored by Maryknoll Lay Missioners (see photos and video below). We visited with missionaries who serve the undocumented along the border of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez and we met many people who crossed the border illegally. Their stories were always the same: An inherent desire to provide for their families, even at the cost of imprisonment and death.

Yes, there are bad apples among the flocks of immigrants, just as there are within any group of people. But to condemn an entire group as thieves, terrorists, law-breakers and worthless freeloaders is inaccurate and an affront to the God who created them.

Back to my Facebook friend’s comments. Without being preachy or condemning, I wrote in response: “And aren’t you lucky you were born in America? Can’t say the same for those not as lucky as me and you.”

Facebook isn’t the place to debate political or religious issues. It’s a platform to state one’s views on these heavy topics and then hope friends will give a “thumbs-up.” It sort of satisfies the shallow approach we take to forming opinions on life-and-death issues. Sometimes I wish Facebook offered a “thumbs-down” option.

Here is a photo slide show with images taken during my border immersion experience in 2007.

Below is a YouTube video I created during my 2007 visit to El Paso. It features West Cosgrove describing the border immersion program sponsored by Maryknoll Lay Missioners.

Before moving to Rome, Paul worked five years for CNS in Washington, D.C., where he edited and captioned photos used by the wire service. “The bulk of the editing I did was photos of the pope and the Vatican,” he told me over a bottle of Peroni in the lounge of the Hotel Cicerone, about a 15-minute walk from the Vatican.

Paul Haring photographs in St. Peter's Square during a rare snowfall Feb. 12, 2010. (Photo by Giovanni Lin)

While editing photos from the Vatican, Haring said he realized he could be taking the photos.

“The opportunity came along in 2005,” he said. “CNS wanted to create a staff position. … I volunteered myself for it and in August 2009 my wife and I came over here and we began this grand adventure in Rome.”

Haring says his schedule is based on events at the Vatican.

“I adhere to the schedule of the Vatican, following the activities of the pope. He has two regular events every week — the Wednesday general audience and the Sunday Angelus,” he said. “I photograph both those events and other events the pope has and many other Catholic events throughout the city.”

Haring also does a lot of international photo editing. “I work with L’Osservatore Romano and another agency, Catholic Press Photo. I try to get some of that editing done and some of my own pictures.”

Many of Paul’s images of Pope Benedict are shot with long glass. Most of the close-up shots of the pope are taken by Vatican photographers. Haring said he is within close distance to the pope only on rare occasions.

“I consider it a very privileged opportunity to be close to the pope … maybe less than 10 times a year,” he said. “For the most part we work with long lenses and we try to do the best that we can in that way.”

Asked if he had a favorite image he’s shot, Haring described a photo taken in 2010.

“Every photographer wants to get a good picture of the pope kissing a baby or something like that,” he said. “There was one moment in the basilica where the pope spontaneously went over to a baby. Sometimes the children are brought to him by ushers, but this was completely spontaneous. He was processing out and the baby gave him this angelic look and I got the moment.

“It was very rewarding because it’s very hard to get” engaging photos of the pope, noted Haring. “We have to compete, in a sense, with other photographers who are closer and are trying to get that moment as well. That was a special picture for me.”

Check out the audio slide show I put together for The Compass, which features numerous photos shot by Haring in Italy — including that angelic baby.