Sunday, July 16, 2006
PROTESTANTISM IN CATHOLIC CHURCHES
How ironic that this topic came up today of all days.
My husband would like his mother to move from her present house to senior housing that is closer to him and to his sister. Right now, at 88, she is located too far from either of them to make helping her realistic. He's been looking around for a suitable place and thought he may have found one. Today we attended the nearby church, because without a suitable place to worship, there will be little to no chance of selling her on the idea.
The church has been around for quite a while and looks Catholic on the outside. It had been a while since I was last in it for Mass. Protestant was the first thought that came to mind when I looked around. Where was the Catholic symbolism? The interior is cruciform, and the sanctuary is still located at the head. What had once been the sanctuary alcove has become the choir "loft" I guess, because it was full of chairs behind a screen of sorts made of wood lattice. The altar platform area is projected out into the main part of the church.
There is a wooden cross in front of the screen that covers the choir "loft", but no image on the cross. Plants surround it. The altar itself is typical. On the left side (Blessed Virgin's side) of the altar a tapestry hangs on the wall with four symbols embroidered on it--a lion, an eagle, an angel, and a bull. All four have a banner below them, with nothing on the banner. I'm guessing that these are the symbols for the four evangelists, but don't know for sure. My husband just looked at me, looked at the banner, and looked back at me with raised eyebrows. He had no idea what it was supposed to represent, but the bull definitely didn't look like something he expected to find in church.
On the opposite side there is a complimentary banner as well. This one offers a crown topping the letters V superimposed over an A, hovering above an abstract image that could equally easily be a lilly or a bird. Beneath the bird is what might be white flames. I couldn't connect it with anything Catholic, but that crown looks just exactly like the crown on the outside of the Celebration Church that I wrote about last week. Over there on St. Joseph's side, would the AV stand for Ave Maria?
The windows--you can't ignore the windows no matter how much you might want to--are abstract pictures broken up into small pieces and parts as though someone smashed them with a hammer. I did find a key in one of them and the Host and ciborium in another. Some of them were completely incomprehensible. The stations of the cross were also abstract.
The church has two redeeming features, both of which look out of place. One is a lovely statue of the Holy Family, with a bank of vigil candles beneath it. The other is a beautiful large classic tabernacle with two angels guarding it, located off to the side where you can only see it from a portion of the church. (Once again I realized after doing it that I had not genuflected to a tabernacle.)
The Mass was said according to the rubrics, except that the words of the Agnus Dei were changed. The homily, delivered by the deacon, would be equally at home in either a Catholic church or coming out of Billy Graham's mouth.
At the end of Mass an announcement was made that the image from the crucifix had been sent to Italy for repainting and would be replaced on the cross soon. Why then, did the processional crucifix disappear into the nether regions behind the screen instead of remaining on display during Mass?
The large church has three Masses on Sunday, and was about half full. Many of the parishioners were dressed in shorts and blue jeans.
My conclusion at the end of Mass? I would have a hard time selling my M-I-L on this church. I think they are trying to make it--or keep it--Catholic, but they have an uphill battle in overcoming the interior decoration. That decoration looks relatively new. It would probably take me a year to lose my faith attending Mass in that church. Maybe two. And judging by the empty pews, I wouldn't be alone.
