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Still searching for a place to call home…
Since moving to the Chicago area in August - and roughly - right after that time returning to the faith, we have been searching for a place to call our home “parish”. I put parish in quotes as the church has deemed based on geographical location as to where we should attend Mass and receive the sacraments.
As you can see from my previous posts HERE - my soul is not nourished at such PLACES. We have been venturing out to fulfill our Sunday obligation at some of the Extraordinary Form Masses I can find, but still have not yet found a place that calls us as one of their own.
Last Sunday I returned to a parish we had actually visited once before. Their website lists a 10AM Tridentine Latin mass. So back in October we ventured down there to go check it out and see how it is.
When arriving at the parish we knelt down and began to pray - this parish had been built in the late 50’s / early 60’s but before the majority of the abhorrent “Wreck-O-Vations” took place. This parish was perhaps just stuck in that time space.
I was impressed with the “Benedictine” arrangement of candles - but noticed no Altar cards on the altar.. but the server was still prepping the Altar as we arrived so I thought perhaps they were to be setup. Well it turned out even we were at the right place and at the right time - this was to be an ordinary form mass.
To be fair the OF was prayed very reverently - the Priest and Deacon were precise and no liturgical abuses, no altar girls, no extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and communion was given to some at the Altar Rail. So even though it wasn’t the Extraordinary Form I didn’t leave mass wanting to pluck my eye from its socket due to the dress/demeanor of the ladies and I didn’t pull my hair out over liturgical abuses.
Come to find out via Facebook that the Extraordinary Form is actually prayed in the basement of the exact same parish.
So for Gaudete Sunday I returned to see how welcoming this community was to outsiders.
The Mass was a Low Mass - which isn’t for everyone but I can appreciate it. The Priest prayed slowly and reverently and gave a very good Homily - Since the Tabernacle is upstairs the Deacon that Assisted for Communion took the remaining hosts in a ciborium back upstairs covered in the Humeral Veil. Everything was going very well and I was praying deeply until….
Since this was a low mass some people responded to the Dominus Vobiscum - some did not - I have seen the response at the Low mass from time to time depending on where I am - One time it was even billed as the “Dialogue Mass” but I digress.. I would say that maybe 60% of the faithful were responding with “et cum spiritu tuo” but when it came time for the Susum Corda there was not much of a response. Except for one person…. This poor person just wanted to pray the Mass, but another parishioner even more loudly and obscenely replied back to them after the “habemus a dominum” with a resounding “SHHHHHH, THIS IS A LOW MASS, QUIET MASS” I was taken aback, and so was my 8yr old Son that was with me, after Mass he even remarked about how rude that was and how could I disagree. This remark also made me hesitant to take any more pictures which my old readers will know I so very much have a grace of doing (sometimes well ;-) ) This act alone has made me be hesitant to return. After Mass it was nice to meet and greet with the other faithful, but I could not get the SHHH out of my mind or ears.
I do think between the Joliet Latin Mass Community and this community we have a constant way to attend the Extraordinary Form on Sundays but we are still in need of a parish to hold our Sacramental records and enroll in First communion classes.
Until then we’re still searching for a place to call home….
All photos taken from my personal collection - hosted on Flickr - Click any Photo for the set / larger version.
