And Now For Something Completely Different

Mass this weekend brought us to the other Catholic church in the same city as last week.  Husband had listened to homilies online and found clear Catholic teaching on "contemporary" issues.  Intrigued, we gave the city another chance.

Upon entering the church vestibule, one couldn't help but notice the soul-salving scent of incense permeating the air. Sounds of Gregorian chant (recorded) filled the air.  We entered the nave to find several souls there in prayer, forty-five minutes before Mass began. 

Narrative continues below pictures...

Nave

All windows looked similar. Note the Vatican City flag.

Real confessionals.

Our Lady of Guadalupe chapel.

Example of the Stations of the Cross.

Why can't this be standard in every Catholic pew?

The St. Michael Hymnal has square notes for the chants! *swoon*

Isn't she lovely?

St. Peter.  Yes. The fire extinguisher is right there because "the gates of Hell will not prevail."

Not perfect, but simple and beautiful.

Proper furnishings.  NOT from Grandma's dining room table.

St. J.

Divine Mercy chapel.

Infant of Prague.

We prayed the rosary with the growing congregation before Mass began, then stood up to sing the opening hymn entrance antiphon.  Wait, did I say Entrance Antiphon?  Why, yes.  Yes I did.

The priest chanted the opening prayer as well as other parts of Mass. Assisting at the altar were three altar boys and a seminarian.  He gave an excellent, easy-to-understand homily about same-sex relationships, which was one of a four-part series on Secularism.  Pretty sure nobody walked out.  I don't want to speculate (well, I DO want to speculate...) about why priests won't consistently, fearlessly, and constantly speak the truth about church teaching, but this very young priest (may God reward him with a long life and protect him from all harm) is bold in speaking the truth. Praise God.

We're happy to have found another church we are comfortable attending.  It's not completely perfect, but it's as close as we'll get in this general area.  And really, they just need only more thing: me. *wink*

A word about the architecture.  I love beauty as much (maybe more) than the next person, and this church is a good example of making lemonade with lemons.  A very plain (arguably ugly) interior was transformed to be beautiful. Yeah, the bricks are hard to ignore, but the eye is drawn to the altar, as it should be, and it's done beautifully (try to ignore the plants.)