I Am the Good Shepherd
Found in the Rectory of the Oratory of
St. Francis de Sales
Showing posts with label St_Francis_de_Sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St_Francis_de_Sales. Show all posts
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Nativity at St. Francis de Sales
What's better than one Midnight Mass? Why two of course!
On the way home from St. Ann, I noticed that the lights were on at St. Francis de Sales. I popped in for the end of Mass, but in time to venerate the relic of theCrib Stable they have.
On the way home from St. Ann, I noticed that the lights were on at St. Francis de Sales. I popped in for the end of Mass, but in time to venerate the relic of the
The relic is on the pillow in the front.
Friday, November 6, 2009
A Response to My Post on St. Francis de Sales
The blogger who blog St. Louis Catholic, has written a long response to my experience at St. Francis de Sales and the traditional Latin Mass. You can read his thoughts here.
Thanks for taking the time to respond!
Thanks for taking the time to respond!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
St. Francis de Sales - St. Louis
Today is neither a Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation. However, I had the opportunity to go to a Solemn High Requiem Mass to remember the Souls in Purgatory, as November 2 is the Feast of All Souls.
St. Francis de Sales is not a regular parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, but rather it is an oratory staffed by priests (and soon to be nuns) from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. What makes the St. Francis de Sales different from every other church in the Archdiocese is that Masses and other devotional practices, like Benediction, are conducted according to the 1962 Roman Missal. This is the Mass that was used before Vatican II (read the documents)
St. Francis de Sales is a very old, very Gothic cathedral like Church. Comparing it to St. Anthony of Padua, it seems shorter, but much taller. Many of the interior elements of St. Francis de Sales, such as the wall paintings and the stained glass windows resembled St. Anthony of Padua and St. Boniface, all of which were founded by German immigrants in the mid to late 1800s. St. Francis de Sales is in dire need of restoration (or a good cleaning...white paint would be so much better than grey..) and they have started a campaign to raise the funds. The biggest issue is that the beautiful bell tower, which can be seen for miles, is separating from the main church.
Because it was a weekday Mass, I assumed most people would be in more casual clothing. There were somewhere between 75-100 people of various ages. All of the women wore long skirts and all but one had head coverings, such as mantillas, of some kind. I was rather shocked about how nicely dressed everyone was. Even the men who wore jeans wore button down shirts. There were no flip-flops. No dresses so tight and/or short you wondered how the wearer genuflected or kneeled.
This was the quietest church I have ever been in. I was taken back to grade school, when Mrs K and Sister Mary Anne, insisted on absolute silence in Church, it was that kind of quiet. It stayed that quiet pretty much throughout the entire Mass and after Mass. There was no mad rush out after Communion. As whole, the people in Mass knelt right after Mass to pray private prayers. I thought maybe there was a devotional or something, but was informed it was just private prayer of thanksgiving.
I didn't have a missal, so I couldn't really follow along. I could have swiped my friend's but then I wouldn't be able to see what was going on.
The priest, deacon, and subdeacon all wore black vestments. There were 9 altar boys of various types, a couple seminarians and a master of ceremonies, who directed everyone on where to go..sometimes by clapping, sometimes by pulling on surplices. Because it was a Requiem Mass, which is a Mass for the Dead, there was a coffin-like structure (called a catafalque) in the center, surrounded by unbleached candles. The entire Mass was in Latin. I only knew exactly what was going on at five points during the roughly 90 minute Mass: the Kyrie Eleison (or here for the current use), when everyone made the Sign of the Cross on their foreheads, lips and chest at the Gospel (or at least I hope it was the Gospel) when the priest washed his hands at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist (for the current Mass), at the elevation at the Consecration, and at the end when the catafalque was being incensed and sprinkled with holy water. Because it was a Requiem, there was no Gloria and there was no homily for some reason. My friend insisted the Our Father was said, but I totally missed it. The Mass itself was said with Father having his back to the congregation, so that both he and the people were both facing God. It's called ad orientem worship as opposed to what occurs in a current Mass, which is versus populum, or towards the people. Father chanted whenever he spoke loud enough for people to hear. It seemed to me that the congregation spoke only two lines multiple times: amen and "Et cum Spiritu Tuo" which means "And with Your Spirit" as an answer to "The Lord Be With You"(Dominus vobiscum) My friend said there were actually more parts for the people (like a piece of the Our Father)...but I missed those too. This was a very reverent and holy (and quiet!) Mass. There was incense during the Mass.
The music was chanted and was absolutely lovely.
My thoughts are conflicted. I think Latin is necessary for a universal, Catholic church. It would be nice to know that no matter where I go or what happens to me, the Mass is constant, if not reassuring in its routine. However, I feel betrayed at some level. It was my understanding that the only major changes made to the Mass after Vatican II were to have Mass in the vernacular and to allow Communion to be received in the hand. This is so not the case. For the majority of the Mass, I had no idea what was going on. I'm having a hard time reconciling that the Masses that I have described so far in this blog and have attended my entire life originated from the Mass I attended tonight. I have no clue as to how what I witnessed tonight morphed into what I witness on Sunday everywhere else. It seems to me that the Mass I witnessed tonight was akin to the Old Testament God, distant and remote, whereas the Mass I attended every Sunday, is more like the New Testament God, approachable and friendly. This is an inaccurate analogy, as I have been in some Masses that were so cold, God needed a hoodie. But I am so conflicted...
Pictures:
Links:
St. Francis de Sales Website
From the Rome of the West Site (I get the feeling he really likes it :) ):
Catafalque
Interior Set #1
Interior Set #2
Interior Set #3
Sacristy
During Holy Week
From Flickr (exterior shots and night shots)
St. Francis de Sales is not a regular parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, but rather it is an oratory staffed by priests (and soon to be nuns) from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. What makes the St. Francis de Sales different from every other church in the Archdiocese is that Masses and other devotional practices, like Benediction, are conducted according to the 1962 Roman Missal. This is the Mass that was used before Vatican II (read the documents)
St. Francis de Sales is a very old, very Gothic cathedral like Church. Comparing it to St. Anthony of Padua, it seems shorter, but much taller. Many of the interior elements of St. Francis de Sales, such as the wall paintings and the stained glass windows resembled St. Anthony of Padua and St. Boniface, all of which were founded by German immigrants in the mid to late 1800s. St. Francis de Sales is in dire need of restoration (or a good cleaning...white paint would be so much better than grey..) and they have started a campaign to raise the funds. The biggest issue is that the beautiful bell tower, which can be seen for miles, is separating from the main church.
Because it was a weekday Mass, I assumed most people would be in more casual clothing. There were somewhere between 75-100 people of various ages. All of the women wore long skirts and all but one had head coverings, such as mantillas, of some kind. I was rather shocked about how nicely dressed everyone was. Even the men who wore jeans wore button down shirts. There were no flip-flops. No dresses so tight and/or short you wondered how the wearer genuflected or kneeled.
This was the quietest church I have ever been in. I was taken back to grade school, when Mrs K and Sister Mary Anne, insisted on absolute silence in Church, it was that kind of quiet. It stayed that quiet pretty much throughout the entire Mass and after Mass. There was no mad rush out after Communion. As whole, the people in Mass knelt right after Mass to pray private prayers. I thought maybe there was a devotional or something, but was informed it was just private prayer of thanksgiving.
I didn't have a missal, so I couldn't really follow along. I could have swiped my friend's but then I wouldn't be able to see what was going on.
The priest, deacon, and subdeacon all wore black vestments. There were 9 altar boys of various types, a couple seminarians and a master of ceremonies, who directed everyone on where to go..sometimes by clapping, sometimes by pulling on surplices. Because it was a Requiem Mass, which is a Mass for the Dead, there was a coffin-like structure (called a catafalque) in the center, surrounded by unbleached candles. The entire Mass was in Latin. I only knew exactly what was going on at five points during the roughly 90 minute Mass: the Kyrie Eleison (or here for the current use), when everyone made the Sign of the Cross on their foreheads, lips and chest at the Gospel (or at least I hope it was the Gospel) when the priest washed his hands at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist (for the current Mass), at the elevation at the Consecration, and at the end when the catafalque was being incensed and sprinkled with holy water. Because it was a Requiem, there was no Gloria and there was no homily for some reason. My friend insisted the Our Father was said, but I totally missed it. The Mass itself was said with Father having his back to the congregation, so that both he and the people were both facing God. It's called ad orientem worship as opposed to what occurs in a current Mass, which is versus populum, or towards the people. Father chanted whenever he spoke loud enough for people to hear. It seemed to me that the congregation spoke only two lines multiple times: amen and "Et cum Spiritu Tuo" which means "And with Your Spirit" as an answer to "The Lord Be With You"(Dominus vobiscum) My friend said there were actually more parts for the people (like a piece of the Our Father)...but I missed those too. This was a very reverent and holy (and quiet!) Mass. There was incense during the Mass.
The music was chanted and was absolutely lovely.
My thoughts are conflicted. I think Latin is necessary for a universal, Catholic church. It would be nice to know that no matter where I go or what happens to me, the Mass is constant, if not reassuring in its routine. However, I feel betrayed at some level. It was my understanding that the only major changes made to the Mass after Vatican II were to have Mass in the vernacular and to allow Communion to be received in the hand. This is so not the case. For the majority of the Mass, I had no idea what was going on. I'm having a hard time reconciling that the Masses that I have described so far in this blog and have attended my entire life originated from the Mass I attended tonight. I have no clue as to how what I witnessed tonight morphed into what I witness on Sunday everywhere else. It seems to me that the Mass I witnessed tonight was akin to the Old Testament God, distant and remote, whereas the Mass I attended every Sunday, is more like the New Testament God, approachable and friendly. This is an inaccurate analogy, as I have been in some Masses that were so cold, God needed a hoodie. But I am so conflicted...
Pictures:
View from the Back Pew!
I actually didn't sit in the back pew this time.
I sat at the second column from the front and
still couldn't see everything.
This is sometime in the beginning.
Maybe around the Kyrie..
(Almost all of the pictures are blurry...God is telling me no take pictures during Mass...)
No clue what is going on.
I think it might be the reading because a book had been walked around right before.
Back in front of the Tabernacle.
No clue what is going on.
In the current Mass, this would be the Final Commendation.
Incensing the Catafalque.
The priest is about to bow to the Crucifix.
The Gospel Book is resting on the deacon's head.
I do hope he doesn't use hair products...
Links:
St. Francis de Sales Website
From the Rome of the West Site (I get the feeling he really likes it :) ):
Catafalque
Interior Set #1
Interior Set #2
Interior Set #3
Sacristy
During Holy Week
From Flickr (exterior shots and night shots)
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