Sunday, September 17, 2006
LIFE IN THE PEWS IN CLEVELAND - OUR LADY OF VICTORY
My husband and I attended the vigil Mass at Our Lady of Victory in Tallmadge yesterday evening. It's a bit startling to walk into the church and behold the ascending Jesus at the back of the sanctuary. At least that is what He looked to be doing. There was no hint of a cross behind the image dressed in a swirling robe.
On the positive side:
- The processional cross had the image of Christ on it.
- There were boy altar boys.
- Mass was said according to the rubrics mostly.
- Silent time was provided after communion for a thanksgiving. Since I didn't receive, I looked around to see what others were doing. Most of them were watching the priest as he sat in his chair, but the quiet opportunity was there if they wanted to pray.
On the negative side:
- I genuflected to empty air again. As we were walking to our pew I searched the sanctuary frantically trying to find the tabernacle, and wasn't sure as we arrived at the pew that it wasn't there, so I genuflected just in case. It wasn't there. Upon leaving I started by habit to genuflect once again, but caught myself in time. I have no idea where the tabernacle might be in this church.
- My husband couldn't find a missalette and didn't see one anywhere in the church.
- Both the homily and the recessional hymn were about the importance of the cross-- delivered in a church where it has been decided not to have one.
- There was a ceremony to bless catechetical ministers for which the priest came down out of the sanctuary and stood in the aisle, while the ministers stood on the sanctuary steps. Apparently it takes 89 catechetical ministers and staff to educate 318 students, or a ratio of approx. 3.5 to 1.
- Right before the consecration, for some reason a man dressed in white shirt and tie got up from his pew, walked up into the sanctuary, and helped one of the servers arrange the communion cups on the altar, then went back to his pew. It was not until later that I discovered he was an EM. There were four servers at Mass--more than enough to arrange the serving dishes on the altar, one would think.
- The Agnus Dei was quite creative once again.
- The congregation stood throughout the entire Eucharistic portion of the Mass.
- The communion hymn was the ultimate low point. It came out of "Gather"--"Let Us Be Bread". That has got to be about the most mind-numbing ditty that I can conceive of. Not only that, but I refuse to sing it because I am not the Eucharist, and that would seem to be what the ditty is about--being the Eucharist. "US" is the prominent feature of this one. The darn thing has been circling around in my head ever since, until I want to scream. I guess that's what mind-numbing ditties do--program us. Siiiiigggggghhhhhhh!
- The volume of conversation as everyone left the church was LOUD! But then, without a tabernacle, why be silent since there is no one there?
My husband's final pronouncement on the affair as we walked to the car--"Just another man-centered event."
At this rate he is not going to continue attending Mass.
