Mass Review #5

Playing for a Saturday evening wedding meant I had no other option than to attend the noon Mass at a very large church in a nearby city.  Worse things could happen, though, because visiting this house of God named after the BVM is always a visual treat. I've been here a number of times and usually enjoy my time with the Lord very much. The organist is very good, and the musical selections are almost always excellent.

So when Mass started, I was surprised to see that the celebrant was an unfamiliar face. Although elderly, he chanted parts of the Mass in a beautiful, clear voice with just the right amount of vibrato.  Lovely!  His sermon, all twenty-five minutes of it (!), was very enjoyable and full of clear Catholic teaching.  How refreshing and wonderful! Just to clarify, though, the regular priests at this church always perform the liturgy with great care.

Although the church has a very good reputation for its music, the cantor was less than adequate.  Even disregarding her very bizarre pronunciation, her pitch was not accurate, shall we say.  It was really a shame, and it was the first time I'd encountered this problem at the church.  Their cantors would sound even better if they'd ditch the microphones.  For the uninformed, microphones are usually highly detrimental for a vocalist's sound.

Pickiness aside, I really enjoyed my time at this Mass.