112 visited
87 to go
woot.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
St. Charles Corpus Christi Procession
Yesterday afternoon, I attended the Corpus Christi Procession in St. Charles. It started at St. Charles Borromeo, then went to the Academy of the Sacred Heart and then to St. Peter.
I find it amazingly coincidental that at the same time as the Pride Parade, Catholics were showing a different kind of pride by processing in behind the Eucharist.
The procession started with To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King. Then Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! Then Panga Lingua, which was repeated at every stop. (Somebody is going to have to go over how to pronounce all the words with me....).
I find it amazingly coincidental that at the same time as the Pride Parade, Catholics were showing a different kind of pride by processing in behind the Eucharist.
The procession started with To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King. Then Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! Then Panga Lingua, which was repeated at every stop. (Somebody is going to have to go over how to pronounce all the words with me....).
As we processed, we sang Hail Holy Queen.
At the Academy of the Sacred Heart, we sang Humbly We Adore Thee
As we processed we sang All Praise and Glad Thanksgiving and Immaculate Mary.
At St. Peter we sang Pan de Vida, O Saving Victim, Tantum Ergo, and Holy God We Praise Thy Name.
I find it ironic that there were no modern songs.... Pan de Vida was likely included because of the large Spanish-speaking population.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sacred Heart - Troy
Hello!
Sorry for the delay. I dropped and damaged the external hard drive that holds all my photographs. It appears to be dead and deader. If anyone has a place to recommend to try and pull my photos off drop me a line...please :)
For the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 26, I attended the 10 am Mass at Sacred Heart in Troy.
The music was accompanied by either the organ or the piano.
Music:
Opening: At the Lamb's High Feast
Offertory: We Are Many Parts
Communion: Song of the Body of Christ
Communion Meditation: Open My Eyes (but skipped the bridge)
Closing: Sing of the Lord's Goodness
Gloria: Sing Glory to God (whatever that one is)
Mass Setting: was suave and jazzy, the one with the Alleluia with extra words, the Honor and Glory..
Responsorial Psalm was changed from Psalm 147 to Psalm 63.
Rumor has it that there is a Sequence for Corpus Christi....I think it is just a rumor.
Father started off Mass by announcing that it was the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ formally known as Corpus Christi, but no one knows Latin anymore. (sigh.)
Homily:
How much do you weigh? That's considered a rude question. I weigh between 195 to 205. What do we weigh? What do we eat? There is no more food pyramid; it's now a plate. Coffee was good for you, then bad, then good. Bacon was always good for you. Pepsi is bad for you. (what about coke? is that ok?) (Thank you Father Nutritionist) Food is good. It is necessary and pleasurable. In a little while, we will be getting spiritual food. Transubstantiation. What are we cannibals? Intelligent folk seem to think we are. Look at the last supper. This bread becomes My Body. Jesus doesn't cut a hunk of flesh for us and serve it (cause it be raw.....) Jesus, under the appearance of bread becomes Body and Blood. Thank God for that. A prayer for Communion: May we become more like what we consume, You.
After the closing song, everyone knelt and recited the Prayer to the Sacred Heart.
Pictures:
Link:
Website of Sacred Heart
Sorry for the delay. I dropped and damaged the external hard drive that holds all my photographs. It appears to be dead and deader. If anyone has a place to recommend to try and pull my photos off drop me a line...please :)
For the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 26, I attended the 10 am Mass at Sacred Heart in Troy.
The music was accompanied by either the organ or the piano.
Music:
Opening: At the Lamb's High Feast
Offertory: We Are Many Parts
Communion: Song of the Body of Christ
Communion Meditation: Open My Eyes (but skipped the bridge)
Closing: Sing of the Lord's Goodness
Gloria: Sing Glory to God (whatever that one is)
Mass Setting: was suave and jazzy, the one with the Alleluia with extra words, the Honor and Glory..
Responsorial Psalm was changed from Psalm 147 to Psalm 63.
Rumor has it that there is a Sequence for Corpus Christi....I think it is just a rumor.
Father started off Mass by announcing that it was the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ formally known as Corpus Christi, but no one knows Latin anymore. (sigh.)
Homily:
How much do you weigh? That's considered a rude question. I weigh between 195 to 205. What do we weigh? What do we eat? There is no more food pyramid; it's now a plate. Coffee was good for you, then bad, then good. Bacon was always good for you. Pepsi is bad for you. (what about coke? is that ok?) (Thank you Father Nutritionist) Food is good. It is necessary and pleasurable. In a little while, we will be getting spiritual food. Transubstantiation. What are we cannibals? Intelligent folk seem to think we are. Look at the last supper. This bread becomes My Body. Jesus doesn't cut a hunk of flesh for us and serve it (cause it be raw.....) Jesus, under the appearance of bread becomes Body and Blood. Thank God for that. A prayer for Communion: May we become more like what we consume, You.
After the closing song, everyone knelt and recited the Prayer to the Sacred Heart.
Pictures:
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
St. John the Baptist baptizes Jesus
View from the Back Pew!
Adoration Chapel/Tabernacle
Station VIII
Link:
Website of Sacred Heart
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sacred Heart - Crystal City
Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers (spiritual and others) that read this blog! Additionally, I hope everyone had a good Holy Trinity Sunday!
Because June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, I headed out to Sacred Heart in Crystal City. I forgot about Most Holy Trinity in North St. Louis until I saw the towers driving home. Ooops.
Sacred Heart is an older church built in 1909 I believe and was refurbished in the early 1990s. For an older church, there aren't all that many statues surprisingly.
The music was accompanied by an organ in the choir loft.
Music:
Opening: Holy Holy Holy
Offertory: How Great Thou Art
Communion: One Bread, One Body
Closing: Holy God We Praise Thy Name
At the Beginning of Mass, Father introduced himself as a Redemptorist (one of those guys...his words...not mine...) and has been a priest for 41 years and was a missionary in Brazil. Mass started with "In the Name of the Father the Creator, the Son the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit the Sanctifier." The Cards won last night (Thank you Fr. ESPN...I didn't know that..) The most important thing is relationship; relationship between family, friends and enemies. (God?) If you are grumpy, you should leave (I'm so out of here...oh wait..i drove 35 minutes to get here..and I won't make it to another Mass and will have to go to Life Teen...guess I'll stay) Mass is Eucharist which means thanksgiving, so if you are not thankful, you should leave too. (Bang head on column). Father started Penitential Rite A with "We are a bunch of sinners here and we ask forgiveness..." Apparently I was rolling my eyes so hard and snarking under my breath the guy in the pew behind me grabbed and held onto my arm and said Father had to do something to wake the parish up (as Father kept telling us to be more joyful) and everyone has their own way of doing things (I believe that's called Protestantism). In the meantime Father was high-fiving the altar servers.
The homily started off about a young man with a family that couldn't find a job and his wife had to go get one and so the guy stayed home to watch the kids and he's good at it. The youngest kid finds some expensive wrapping paper and cuts it all up. Father reams out little kid. (Uhm good dads don't ream out 4 year olds...). Latter the little girl gives her dad a present wrapped in the paper. Dad feels bad and opens present. The box is empty. Dad proceeds to ream out girl again. The little girl cries and said she blew kisses into the box. The dad kept the empty box and when in need takes out a kiss and places it on his heart. The Father has blown a kiss to us - Jesus. When Jesus was out preaching, the disciples tried to keep the little kids from Jesus but Jesus liked being hugged and kissed by little kids. (someone needs to attend Protecting God's Children....) Everyone wants to be hugged and kissed, even if they don't think they do (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) St. Anthony was hugged and kissed by Baby Jesus. That's why he is shown with the Christ Child. Hugs and kisses...that's all I know about the Trinity. (uh. uh. uh.) I'm officially creeped out. So does this mean that everytime I get hugged and kissed it's the Trinity? What if I never get hugged and kissed? Do I never get to experience the Trinity then?
Throughout the rest of the Mass, Father added explanations and such. Like at the Preface we were to be joyful. Father used Eucharistic Prayer III for Children because it was Father's Day. This Eucharistic Prayer has refrains between the Memorial Acclamination and the Great Amen. Father told the organist, who's name he didn't know which was shocking cause he knew everyone else's name, to not use the correct refrain but the refrain from today's Responsorial Psalm. At the Consecration, Father actually broke the bread. There were bells. After the Our Father, Father demanded all the little kids, especially the little girls (!!!!) come up to the altar. Father asked them to go out and hug all the dads and granddads and had the altar servers lead the kids down the aisles.
At the end of the Mass, Father had a special blessing for fathers. This replaced the Closing Prayer. He then told us to go forth hugging. (I don't think so...).
Pictures:
Links:
Website of Sacred Heart
Pictures from Rome of the West
Because June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, I headed out to Sacred Heart in Crystal City. I forgot about Most Holy Trinity in North St. Louis until I saw the towers driving home. Ooops.
Sacred Heart is an older church built in 1909 I believe and was refurbished in the early 1990s. For an older church, there aren't all that many statues surprisingly.
The music was accompanied by an organ in the choir loft.
Music:
Opening: Holy Holy Holy
Offertory: How Great Thou Art
Communion: One Bread, One Body
Closing: Holy God We Praise Thy Name
At the Beginning of Mass, Father introduced himself as a Redemptorist (one of those guys...his words...not mine...) and has been a priest for 41 years and was a missionary in Brazil. Mass started with "In the Name of the Father the Creator, the Son the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit the Sanctifier." The Cards won last night (Thank you Fr. ESPN...I didn't know that..) The most important thing is relationship; relationship between family, friends and enemies. (God?) If you are grumpy, you should leave (I'm so out of here...oh wait..i drove 35 minutes to get here..and I won't make it to another Mass and will have to go to Life Teen...guess I'll stay) Mass is Eucharist which means thanksgiving, so if you are not thankful, you should leave too. (Bang head on column). Father started Penitential Rite A with "We are a bunch of sinners here and we ask forgiveness..." Apparently I was rolling my eyes so hard and snarking under my breath the guy in the pew behind me grabbed and held onto my arm and said Father had to do something to wake the parish up (as Father kept telling us to be more joyful) and everyone has their own way of doing things (I believe that's called Protestantism). In the meantime Father was high-fiving the altar servers.
The homily started off about a young man with a family that couldn't find a job and his wife had to go get one and so the guy stayed home to watch the kids and he's good at it. The youngest kid finds some expensive wrapping paper and cuts it all up. Father reams out little kid. (Uhm good dads don't ream out 4 year olds...). Latter the little girl gives her dad a present wrapped in the paper. Dad feels bad and opens present. The box is empty. Dad proceeds to ream out girl again. The little girl cries and said she blew kisses into the box. The dad kept the empty box and when in need takes out a kiss and places it on his heart. The Father has blown a kiss to us - Jesus. When Jesus was out preaching, the disciples tried to keep the little kids from Jesus but Jesus liked being hugged and kissed by little kids. (someone needs to attend Protecting God's Children....) Everyone wants to be hugged and kissed, even if they don't think they do (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) St. Anthony was hugged and kissed by Baby Jesus. That's why he is shown with the Christ Child. Hugs and kisses...that's all I know about the Trinity. (uh. uh. uh.) I'm officially creeped out. So does this mean that everytime I get hugged and kissed it's the Trinity? What if I never get hugged and kissed? Do I never get to experience the Trinity then?
Throughout the rest of the Mass, Father added explanations and such. Like at the Preface we were to be joyful. Father used Eucharistic Prayer III for Children because it was Father's Day. This Eucharistic Prayer has refrains between the Memorial Acclamination and the Great Amen. Father told the organist, who's name he didn't know which was shocking cause he knew everyone else's name, to not use the correct refrain but the refrain from today's Responsorial Psalm. At the Consecration, Father actually broke the bread. There were bells. After the Our Father, Father demanded all the little kids, especially the little girls (!!!!) come up to the altar. Father asked them to go out and hug all the dads and granddads and had the altar servers lead the kids down the aisles.
At the end of the Mass, Father had a special blessing for fathers. This replaced the Closing Prayer. He then told us to go forth hugging. (I don't think so...).
Pictures:
Sacred Heart
View from the Back Pew
Holy Trinity
St. Terese and St. Therese
(I don't know which is which)
Rose Window
Baptism
Confirmation
Confession
Eucharist
Marriage
Holy Orders
Last Rites
I've seen the hourglass with wings on sundials!
Anchor
David and Psalms
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Lamb of God
Shroud
Station VIII: Jesus consoles the holy Women
Links:
Website of Sacred Heart
Pictures from Rome of the West
Monday, June 13, 2011
Feast of St. Anthony of Padua
Happy Feast of St. Anthony of Padua! :)
I was reading the St. Louis Review and discovered that St. Anthony of Padua Parish in South City was having a special Feast Day Mass complete with the blessing of bread and lilies. The stars aligned and I was able to go!
The choir was in the choir loft! The organ was used! The music was *old* and not 1970s old but like 1870s old! It was dare I say it...CATHOLIC!!!! It was like a Sunday Mass on a Monday!!
Music:
Organ Prelude
Processional: For All the Saints
Mass Setting: Mass of Creation
Presentation: To Christ Our King
Sign of Peace: St. Anthony Chorale
Communion: How Firm a Foundation
Reflection: A St. Anthony Hymn sung to O God Our Help in Ages Past
Organ Postlude
Father used Penitential Rite A! There was a First and Second Reading. The Nicene Creed. It was neat! Father used Eucharistic Prayer II and there were bells. There would have been more Franciscans but they are at a Provincial Meeting.
Father's homily focused on the life of St. Anthony. St. Anthony was born around 1195 and at 15 joined the Augustinians and became a Canon. He had heard about Franciscans martyred in Morocco and he joined the Franciscans so he could get martyred as well. The images all show St. Anthony as a young healthy guy. He was short, squat and sickly. St. Anthony did get sent to Morocco but he was so sick they sent him back. He was supposed to go to Lisbon, but landed in Padua (must have used Google Maps...also explains why he is patron saint of lost things and travelers). St. Anthony challenged heretics. He died at age 35/36 and was canonized shortly after. Around the 1500, the devotion to St. Anthony was suppressed by the Pope who had something against Franciscans. But the devotion couldn't really be suppressed. St. Anthony wanted to be a humble nobody. It is those kind of people that usually don't get to live in anonymity. In America, women pray to St. Ann to find a husband (St. Ann, St. Ann, send me a man, quick as you can!) In Brazil, women pray to St. Anthony to find a husband (needs to find a novena/prayer quick!!! I has a new favorite saint) . St. Anthony Devotions are traditionally said on Tuesday because St. Anthony died on Tuesday. We all want to be somebody, we need to be somebody of the Gospel.
At the end of Mass, Father blessed lilies and bread and they were handed out.
Pictures:
Links:
Website of St. Anthony of Padua
Pictures from Rome of the West
Previous Visit 1 and 2
Update!!!!
I have an online friend who has told me of her success with praying to St. Anthony for a husband. She said she prayed it everyday and it only took a month for her future husband to appear! She has graciously translated the prayer for me and given me permission to post!
I was reading the St. Louis Review and discovered that St. Anthony of Padua Parish in South City was having a special Feast Day Mass complete with the blessing of bread and lilies. The stars aligned and I was able to go!
The choir was in the choir loft! The organ was used! The music was *old* and not 1970s old but like 1870s old! It was dare I say it...CATHOLIC!!!! It was like a Sunday Mass on a Monday!!
Music:
Organ Prelude
Processional: For All the Saints
Mass Setting: Mass of Creation
Presentation: To Christ Our King
Sign of Peace: St. Anthony Chorale
Communion: How Firm a Foundation
Reflection: A St. Anthony Hymn sung to O God Our Help in Ages Past
Recessional: Day is Done
Organ Postlude
Father used Penitential Rite A! There was a First and Second Reading. The Nicene Creed. It was neat! Father used Eucharistic Prayer II and there were bells. There would have been more Franciscans but they are at a Provincial Meeting.
Father's homily focused on the life of St. Anthony. St. Anthony was born around 1195 and at 15 joined the Augustinians and became a Canon. He had heard about Franciscans martyred in Morocco and he joined the Franciscans so he could get martyred as well. The images all show St. Anthony as a young healthy guy. He was short, squat and sickly. St. Anthony did get sent to Morocco but he was so sick they sent him back. He was supposed to go to Lisbon, but landed in Padua (must have used Google Maps...also explains why he is patron saint of lost things and travelers). St. Anthony challenged heretics. He died at age 35/36 and was canonized shortly after. Around the 1500, the devotion to St. Anthony was suppressed by the Pope who had something against Franciscans. But the devotion couldn't really be suppressed. St. Anthony wanted to be a humble nobody. It is those kind of people that usually don't get to live in anonymity. In America, women pray to St. Ann to find a husband (St. Ann, St. Ann, send me a man, quick as you can!) In Brazil, women pray to St. Anthony to find a husband (needs to find a novena/prayer quick!!! I has a new favorite saint) . St. Anthony Devotions are traditionally said on Tuesday because St. Anthony died on Tuesday. We all want to be somebody, we need to be somebody of the Gospel.
At the end of Mass, Father blessed lilies and bread and they were handed out.
Pictures:
View from the Middle Pew
See the Lilies on the Communion Rail?!
St. Anthony of Padua
They had 3! tables of votive candles surrounding the Altar!
Links:
Website of St. Anthony of Padua
Pictures from Rome of the West
Previous Visit 1 and 2
Update!!!!
I have an online friend who has told me of her success with praying to St. Anthony for a husband. She said she prayed it everyday and it only took a month for her future husband to appear! She has graciously translated the prayer for me and given me permission to post!
Saint Anthony, I know that marriage is a vocation blessed by God. It is the sacrament of love and can be compared to the love that Christ has for the Church. I feel called to marriage: so I ask you, Saint Anthony, help me find a good boyfriend, nice, serious and sincere who has the same feelings of affection that I feel. Help us to complement each other and form a union blessed by God, so that that we, together, are able to overcome any potential problems. May we always keep our love alive, and never lack understanding and family harmony. Saint Anthony, bless us both me and my boyfriend, accompany us to the altar and keep us united for the rest of our lives. Saint Anthony, pray for us.Was that prayer too long? How about..Santo Antônio! Santo Antônio! Meu santinho tão querido, Quero pedir, em segredo, Que me arranje um marido.Translated:St. Anthony, St. Anthony, my little saint most dear. I ask you in secret, to sent me a husband.Sunday, June 12, 2011
St. Anthony - Sullivan
Happy Pentecost!
It was such a nice day I hit the Mother Road and went out to St. Anthony in Sullivan for the 10 am Mass, in honor of the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua. St. Anthony of Padua in South City is having a special Mass tomorrow and giving out bread and lilies. I'm not sure what the connection is as I've always seen St. Anthony depicted with lilies (and St. Joseph for that matter...). Ah. St. Anthony is the patron saint against starvation. That explains the bread but not the lilies.
St. Anthony in Sullivan was built in 1963 and is semi-circular. The choir sits in the front off to the left.
Music was accompanied by a piano.
Music:
Entrance: Come Holy Ghost
Offertory: One Spirit, One Church
Communion: One Bread, One Body
Recessional: Send Us Your Spirit
Mass Setting: was echoed between the parish and the cantor. The Angus Dei was half Latin.
Pentecost is one of the few Feasts that still has a Sequence, Veni Sancte Spiritus, which was skipped. The Church was decorated with red banners but Father wore a white chasuble.
There was a Children's Liturgy of the Word and the parishsaluted blessed the children. The children came back with colored pages, which the children in my pew promptly turned into paper airplanes (Holy Spirit Air!)
Father had a very well constructed homily that he motored through. I had a very had time taking notes because he zoomed through it. Pentecost is the capstone of the Easter season. It is all about how God (?) saves, redeems and renews us all through Jesus' life. What drives your word? Breath. Because you can speak, you can touch souls. Wind, breath, spirit, soul. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit breathes on us, God's Breath. It allows us to see the inside of God (Bodyworlds: God Edition). Pentecost is the Jewish Harvest Feast. It undoes Babel. Jesus gave the disciples His Mission. Breathed on them and started the process. Pentecost finished the process. They received the Holy Spirit over time, as their Faith matures. Jesus is the Lord, that is the basis for Christians. We all have gifts, especially spiritual (hmmm wonder what mine is...) Making breakfast for the parish is the work of the Holy Spirit. Parish work is a work of love and the Holy Spirit (duh...I've seen financial reports in the bulletin..no one works in a parish for love of money...). Use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to build up the Body of Christ.
Father used Eucharistic Prayer I and there were bells.
Pictures:
Links:
Website of St. Anthony
PS What's the difference between Veni Creator Spiritus and Veni Sanctus Spiritus? Besides a word?
It was such a nice day I hit the Mother Road and went out to St. Anthony in Sullivan for the 10 am Mass, in honor of the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua. St. Anthony of Padua in South City is having a special Mass tomorrow and giving out bread and lilies. I'm not sure what the connection is as I've always seen St. Anthony depicted with lilies (and St. Joseph for that matter...). Ah. St. Anthony is the patron saint against starvation. That explains the bread but not the lilies.
St. Anthony in Sullivan was built in 1963 and is semi-circular. The choir sits in the front off to the left.
Music was accompanied by a piano.
Music:
Entrance: Come Holy Ghost
Offertory: One Spirit, One Church
Communion: One Bread, One Body
Recessional: Send Us Your Spirit
Mass Setting: was echoed between the parish and the cantor. The Angus Dei was half Latin.
Pentecost is one of the few Feasts that still has a Sequence, Veni Sancte Spiritus, which was skipped. The Church was decorated with red banners but Father wore a white chasuble.
There was a Children's Liturgy of the Word and the parish
Father had a very well constructed homily that he motored through. I had a very had time taking notes because he zoomed through it. Pentecost is the capstone of the Easter season. It is all about how God (?) saves, redeems and renews us all through Jesus' life. What drives your word? Breath. Because you can speak, you can touch souls. Wind, breath, spirit, soul. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit breathes on us, God's Breath. It allows us to see the inside of God (Bodyworlds: God Edition). Pentecost is the Jewish Harvest Feast. It undoes Babel. Jesus gave the disciples His Mission. Breathed on them and started the process. Pentecost finished the process. They received the Holy Spirit over time, as their Faith matures. Jesus is the Lord, that is the basis for Christians. We all have gifts, especially spiritual (hmmm wonder what mine is...) Making breakfast for the parish is the work of the Holy Spirit. Parish work is a work of love and the Holy Spirit (duh...I've seen financial reports in the bulletin..no one works in a parish for love of money...). Use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to build up the Body of Christ.
Father used Eucharistic Prayer I and there were bells.
Pictures:
St. Anthony
St. Anthony and a different view of Church
View from the Back Pew!
Altar
Note: Holy Spirit...flames from above.
Devil..flames from below...
I'm just saying....
St. Anthony
Station VIII
Plaque above old School Doors
Links:
Website of St. Anthony
PS What's the difference between Veni Creator Spiritus and Veni Sanctus Spiritus? Besides a word?
Sunday, June 5, 2011
St. Norbert
Good Morning. Although June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart and I still have 3-4 Sacred Hearts to go to, it was also Ascension Thursday/Sunday today, but I already went to Ascension. June 5 is the feast of St. Boniface (YAY!) but we closed that parish (BOO HISSS!) But, June 6, is the feast of St. Norbert. I headed out to St. Norbert in Florissant.
Mass was fine. It was a typical suburban parish Mass.
Links:
Website of St. Norbert
Misc:
1. I broke the lens I use to take the majority of these pictures. I cracked the mount. It still works but I don't know for how long. I did order a nice new shiny bigger lens. If you'd like to help a poor starving grad student pay for said lens (and a tripod!) drop me a line :)
2. A couple people have recommended Opus Dei to me, especially Women's Night of Recollections. I can't find anything out about it. Google has failed. However, some of my more liberal associates have concerns that Opus Dei is a cult or cult like. I'd love to hear your thoughts either way.
I attended the 11 am Mass. This was the contemporary music Mass which I discovered as I pulled up as the message board outside was advertising it. St. Norbert is a modern church and almost in the round. Where the tabernacle should be, is where the band was. I did stumble across the tabernacle in a side chapel area. Mass was pretty full and multi-ethnic.
Perhaps the strangest thing I saw was the big video screens high and off on the sanctuary. The video screens had welcoming messages on them. When Mass started, the lyrics for the songs appeared on the screen. At other times, there was a picture relevant to the day displayed. I'm rather surprised the words to the Nicene Creed, the Our Father and the Mass Setting did not appear. This is what it looked like:
I wonder how those with visual impairments handle this. Also, I don't know this song so I would need the hymnal because that's where the music is! Amazingly, last week Deacon Greg wrote an article about just this thing. Honestly the first thing I thought of when I saw the screens and realized they were being using was to pray that the homily was not a powerpoint. I think that would have driven me to the EF Mass faster than anything.
The music was accompanied by a band and was contemporary. Well somewhat contemporary. The Responsorial Psalm was chanted and the Mass Setting was not contemporary either.
Before Mass: How Great is Our God
Gathering: Lord I Lift Your Name on High (I'm not sure the lyrics are Catholic)
Offertory: Fish With Me
Communion: The Lord is My Light and My Salvation
Closing: Go Make a Difference
The first two songs I hear on The Message on XM Radio. I don't know how I feel about songs used by Protestants in a Catholic Mass. I was honestly waiting for people to put up their hands and start swaying. For one opinion about Praise and Worship music at Mass see this article. Comments from the Deacon's Bench are pretty interesting as well. I don't know. I like contemporary music. I like chant. But what I really like is Catholic! I want the music at Mass to be Catholic. I don't want to sit and think is that music an accurate reflection of what the Catholic Church believes? Or worse be confused. Mass should be different? timeless? I shouldn't be bopping to the same thing on the radio as in Mass. I'm not sure that makes sense. Mass should be set apart?
The Deacon gave the homily. He was outside the sanctuary and walked back and forth. Jesus came to Earth like us. Ascension is what we hope to become. Jesus became one with the Father. What does this mean for us? We have doubt, but God will be with us to the end of days. We all strive for Heaven. Going to Mass on Sunday is not enough. We must become Christ for others. Catholics think they are better than other Christians but we are not. (I'm not sure where he was going with that.) Most of the homily focussed on a story about shopping at Sam's and how the Deacon hated it and was a terrible representative of Christ. But now he loves it. (I probably did not pay enough attention. I was incredibly distracted.)
Father used Eucharistic Prayer III and there were no bells. There was hand raising and holding at the Our Father.
Pictures:
St. Norbert
Marian Garden
Holy Spirit
Mary
Station VIII
View From the Back Pew
Chapel
Stained Glass at back of Chapel
Tabernacle
Links:
Website of St. Norbert
Misc:
1. I broke the lens I use to take the majority of these pictures. I cracked the mount. It still works but I don't know for how long. I did order a nice new shiny bigger lens. If you'd like to help a poor starving grad student pay for said lens (and a tripod!) drop me a line :)
2. A couple people have recommended Opus Dei to me, especially Women's Night of Recollections. I can't find anything out about it. Google has failed. However, some of my more liberal associates have concerns that Opus Dei is a cult or cult like. I'd love to hear your thoughts either way.
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