Sts. Philip and James - River Aux Vases

The Feast of Sts Philip and James is May 3, so I decided to take a road trip (and see the flooded Mississippi River) and drive down to River Aux Vases which is out by Ste. Genevieve to visit Sts. Philip and James for the 8 am Mass on Sunday, May 1.

Sts. Philip and James is an old, small church that is rather charming.  The GPS had trouble finding the church based on the Archdiocese's address on the website.  It's further down the road.

Music:
Music was accompanied by a guitar with the singers in the choir loft.
Pre-Mass Song:  Come, Now is the Time to Worship
Entrance:  Alleluia Sing to Jesus
Offertory:  Let Heaven Rejoice
Communion:  I'm Forgiven (I'm not sure...it wasn't announced)
Closing:  I Know My Redeemer Lives
Holy:  The one where you echo

Father was pretty reverent, saying all the prayers at the Altar.  He also purified all the vessels.  The only odd thing was at Communion he distributed the Precious Blood while others distributed the Hosts.  Father used Eucharistic Prayer 1 and there were bells at the Consecration and patens at Communion.

Father started off his homily by mentioning that today was Divine Mercy Sunday.  This sunday was added to remind us that Jesus sent us on a mission to celebrate Easter joy.   But we have little resolution and we don't follow through (Father seemed to be waxing nostalgic for a moment...) We don't seem to love God with all our hearts and many of us don't even think it is possible.  There is no follow through anymore.  In the Gospels, St. Thomas is often called "twin".  It is more likely Thomas resembled Jesus and was even mistaken for Jesus (Oh that's got to suck...)  St. Thomas speaks for the people.  For instance, when they were getting ready to go to Jerusalem, Thomas announced that we should die with Him, but Thomas is  hiding with the others after the Crucifixion.  The Early Apostles had it together.  They lived like it was a retreat (I don't know about Father, but I've seriously disliked every real retreat I've been on.)  After Easter, we watch the lilies wilt, wilt like our Faith.  We don't do anything.  We don't work at it; being aware of what He did because He loves us.  We don't come to Mass to be bumps on the log, but to pray and say the responses.  When you celebrate you work hard.  Easter is all about the Mission Jesus sent us on.  Jesus is a hero, like the mothers and fathers who give their lives for their children.  Life is hard but we have blessings which are not private but meant to be shared with others.

Pictures:

Sts. Philip and James

Sign above original entrance

View from the Back Pew

Philip and James are on the sides.

Mary

Station VIII

Link:
Information from the Archdiocese
Pictures from Rome of the West

I Am the Good Shepherd

I Am the Good Shepherd

Found in the Rectory of the Oratory of

St. Francis de Sales

Easter Sunday - Annunciation

Happy Easter!
For Easter Sunday Mass, I attended the 11:30 am Mass at Annunciation.  Annunciation is a modern church built in 1952.

Music was accompanied by a piano.
Opening:  Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Sequence:  Christ, the Lord, is Risen Today
Sprinkling Rite:  River of Glory
Offertory:  The Strife is O'er
Communion:  I am the Bread of Life and This Day Was Made by the Lord.
Closing:  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Father started his homily off by giving some words of wisdom from the former rector of the seminary who is now the Archbishop of Omaha, if you don't know what to say in front of a group of people, say Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior, has risen from the dead.  Imagine you walked with Jesus.  Now He has risen from the dead.  What do you think?  It is hard to believe.  Why did the Apostles believe He had risen?  It was the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit gave them the grace they needed to fully understand (Uhm...is this a Pentecost homily?)  God's Love is fulfilled.  We identify with Good Friday, but we live in an age of hope and resurrection.  Father talked about baptismal promises and about how Jesus went to the waters of death and turned them into waters of life.

Father used Eucharistic Prayer II and there were bells.


Pictures:

The Angel Declared Unto Mary

View from the Back Pew

The Holy Family

Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Station VIII

Links:
Website of Annunciation

Easter Vigil - St. Clare of Assisi - Ellisville

For Holy Saturday, I was invited to the 8 pm Vigil at St. Clare of Assisi in Ellisville.

The Church is very modern.  From the inside, it looks like the inside of a clam shell, with the highest point over the Sanctuary.

When I first arrived, I was a little nervous because where the Tabernacle should be was a giant projection screen TV.  It turns out that since there was not enough room around the in-ground Baptismal Jacuzzi, the parish streamed the video to the TV so everyone could see.

The Vigil started outside with the fire.  We weren't allowed to process into a dark church with lighted candles because it wasn't safe.  The Exsultet was rather different.  The Deacon sang it and then there was a refrain that the people sang, Most Holy Night, and the choir sang some refrains as well.  For the first reading, 2 people went up to the lector.  The woman starts recounting the story of Genesis and then the man reads God's Voice.  Instead of leaving the lights all at one level, the lighting kept changing to light up certain areas at certain times.  Mood lighting.  The only other odd thing was the Litany of Saints.  It wasn't a traditional chanted litany, it was more like a song.  According to my worship aid, the tune was by John D Becker and is from 1987.  The Old Testament Prophets were added it, which I didn't think were part of the traditional one but I'm not sure.  Everything pretty much went normally after that.  A mom and her son were baptized!  5? people were received into the Catholic Church and everyone, but the baby, was Confirmed plus 2 more people.  YAY!

Father used Eucharistic Prayer III and there were no bells.

The music was accompanied by a violin and piano.
During the dressing of the Baptized:  Let's Go Down Into the River and Pray
Preparation of Gifts:  Spirit of God
Mass Setting:  Mass of the Divine Word
Lamb of God:  in Latin by Michael Joncas
Communion:  I know that My Redeemer Lives
Meditation:  Risen! Christ is Risen!
Closing:  Jesus Christ is Risen Today!

Father's homily focused on how we see the devastation from natural disaster but it also lets us see the Goodness of God as people help each other and a witness to Jesus Christ.  As St. Augustine said, We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.  The separation from Jesus is no longer there because He has risen.  The foundation of our Faith is tonight.  Hope.  We celebrate Christ's love.  All of our senses are touched tonight.  We go forth changed, renewed in Faith, Hope and Love.  Each and everyday is a witness to us as an Easter People.  (It was actually way more coherent...My notes are terrible and all the Masses are blurring together...)

Pictures:

View from the Back Pew

Tabernacle

Exterior Image of St. Clare

St. Clare of Assisi

Link:
Website of St. Clare of Assisi

Tenebrae at St. Joan of Arc

After Good Friday Service, St. Joan of Arc had a Tenebrae Service.
This was quite a different kind of Tenebrae.  There was no loud banging at the end when the Christ Candle  is hidden.  Actually, they blew out the Christ Candle.  The readings and the responses, which were sung, were different.  It seemed a rather cheerful Tenebrae then what I've experienced before.

First Reading:  Lamentations 3:1-6
First Response:  Amazing Grace

2nd Reading:  Isaiah 50:4-9
2nd Response:  What Wondrous Love

3rd Reading: Phil 2:5-11
3rd Response:  Beautiful Savior

4th Reading:  John 19:25-27
4th Response:  Stabat Mater

5th Reading:  Matthew 27:39-43
5th Response:  Adoramus Te

6th Reading:  Mark 15:33-39
6th Response:  Silence

7th Reading:  1 Peter 2:21-25

Then everyone recited the Our Father.
It was beautifully done, just more cheerful...

Pictures:

Good Friday St. Joan of Arc

For Good Friday, I attended the 7 pm Service at St. Joan of Arc.  I spent a great deal of the Service contemplating if I could fit under a pew... cause either Father didn't hear the sirens or he decided to press on regardless.  But I guess if you are going to die, a church might be the best place...

St. Joan of Arc is in the shape of a cross, similar to Immaculate Heart of Mary but the inside was similar to Holy Redeemer, and even had the same light/speaker fixtures.  Unlike IHM, St. Joan of Arc had a choir loft, not like the choir was in it though.  St. Joan of Arc was built in 1959.

There were lots of people wearing red, at first I thought they were supporting the Cardinals (This is Cardinal Nation!) but then I realized they were wearing the liturgical color for the day.

All of the music was acapella.
Music:
Entrance:  Silent
Offertory:  Sing My Tongue The Savior's Glory
Veneration of the Cross:  When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, O Sacred Head, Jesus Remember Me
Communion:  Were You There?
Closing:  Silence

To venerate the Cross, there was a large (taller than me) cross made of 4x4 without a Corpus.  I have to say venerating that was less creepy than venerating a Cross with a Corpus.

The Deacon gave the homily.  Jesus asked us to follow him in His human ministry.  Every morning the disciples likely asked what Jesus was going to do today?  The Tridiuum is the core of our Faith.  Tonight , we look at the Cross.  The Cross shows Christ's victory over our shortcomings, over messiness (Christ needs to get busy cleaning my room...)  It is the ultimate in forgiveness, a horrifying act of forgiveness.  Overcomes the cross in our life.  Jesus invites us to walk in his forgiveness.  For us, it is not over, we can't let go.  Won't let things be over and can't let things go.  We are called by the Cross to that forgiveness.  How do we know to let something go?  How do we say in our hearts it is finished?  One small act starts it.

The opening prayer and the intercessions were chanted.

Afterwards there was a Tenebrae service.  That will be a separate post.

Pictures:

St. Joan of Arc

St. Joan of Arc

Cross

View from the Back Pew

Altar of Repose

St. Joan of Arc

Notice the missing candles

Christmas

(advent was blurry)

Epiphany

Lent

PassionTide

Easter

Pentecost

Time after Pentecost

Peter

Paul

Michael

Louis

Joseph

John

The Baptist I think

Joan

Baptism of Jesus

Links:
Website of St. Joan of Arc

Tenebrae at the New Cathedral

After Mass at St. Mary Magdalen, I hurried to the New Cathedral to catch the Tenebrae Service with the seminarians chanting.  I got to the Cathedral as the Eucharistic Prayer was starting.  The Cathedral didn't have bells at the Consecration, they had this clacker noise maker thing.  During the Eucharistic Procession, one of the Fathers rattled as they walked.  I imagine it sounded much rather like a 4x4 or cross being dragged across a stone/cobblestone path....  It was striking and rather eire.

As the Altar was stripped, the choir chanted Psalm 21.  They chanted from the side.  The sanctuary was essentially empty except for the Tenebrae candle holder.

All the antiphons were sung by the schola cantorum.  For the psalms and canticles, the cantor chanted a verse, then we chanted the next verse.

So the actual Tenebrae started with Psalm 2.
The first Lesson is from Lamentations (3:1-11)
Then came Psalm 37
The second Lesson was from the catechesis of St. John Chrysostom.
Followed with Psalm 50
Then the Canticle of Habakkuk (3:2-4,13a,15-19).
Then Psalm 147
Then the canticle of Zachary (Luke 1:68-79)
The service concluded with the Our Father.

The seminarians and the cleric (?) that chanted Lamentations all did an awesome job.  It was very moving.


Picture:

The Christ Candle

Links:
Same picture from Rome of the West