The windows of the church at Saint Leo Parish in Inwood, West Virginia, represent the great events of Christian heritage and the holy people throughout history who have lived the Faith. The themes of pro-life, social justice, education of children, the sacraments, prayer, healing, and salvation from sin are portrayed in windows that reflect the deep concerns and special devotions of the faithful of the parish.

Moses, the great law-giver of the Old Testament, holds the tablet of the Ten Commandments. They remind us of our responsibilities to God Whose power is revealed in the lightning and rolling clouds and of our duties to one another. Mary, represented by the unconsumed burning bush, is ever our guide in the presence of God.

Moses hid from God, pleaded with God, argued with God, questioned God. But eventually, Moses submitted to His will. And through God's power, Moses led the Israelites out of slavery into the Promised Land – out of darkness into the brilliant light of living faith. With the words "I will be with you," (Exodus 3:12). God transformed Moses from a desert shepherd into the leader of a nation. The laws God gave to Moses are the cornerstone of a spiritual nation – rules to govern the conduct of all people in their relationship with their God and with their fellow travelers on the road to salvation. The Ten Commandments are the foundations of our Faith, and we are that nation of God – successors in faith to the Old Testament people of God.

The Lord God is my strength and my salvation. In Him I find rest. He guides me through the torrid desert of my earthly life into the everlasting cool breezes of eternal life with Him. Lead me, Moses, from the slavery of my sinfulness into the never-ending freedom of union with my God.

In the Funeral Window, Jesus holds Joseph at the moment of his death. Mary stands nearby as Jesus passes the soul of His earthly foster father through the open gates of heaven into the glorious presence of His heavenly Father.

Our earthly journey ends with death. We leave behind our aches and pains, our sorrows, our happy times, our friends and family, our triumphs, and the goals we never achieved. Few of us will have our mortal lives commemorated beyond a name on the weather-pitted face of our tombstone. Even that will eventually be obliterated by the ravages of time and events. But the world we leave behind has been irrevocably changed by our passage through it – by the children we taught, the examples we set, the helping hand we extended, the lives we touched in ways we never knew.

St. Joseph, help me to be like you, “a just man.” I long to rest in the arms of my Savior. May Jesus judge me as a worthy steward of the gifts He has entrusted to me and pass me from this life through the gates of glory into the brilliance of eternal life.