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Contents © 2004
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
April 2004

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SAINT LUKE, RANCHO SAN DIEGO

The Church of Saint Luke serves the East County suburb of Rancho San Diego. Located at 1980 Hillsdale Road, the church sits at the base of a hill, with $800,000 homes lining the ridge above.

Architecturally the church's most distinctive ecclesiastical element is a blue and gold diamond-patterned dome, topped with a prominent cross.

Coming through the arched doorway, you enter a grand narthex, in the center of which stands the fountain-style baptistery where worshippers bless themselves.

The Blessed Sacrament resides in a separate chapel accessed from the narthex. A round pillar thrusting upward from the center of the floor supports the tabernacle, a tall round house identical in circumference with the pillar, pointed at the tip. The effect, intended or not, is phallic. A Russian icon of the crucifixion hangs in the chapel.

Saint Luke's whitewashed nave contains few holy images. As you face the sanctuary you see a shrine to the Holy Family on the left and a Franciscan Crucifix on the right. The Stations of the Cross are a series of fired clay statues, each standing in its own alcove along the semicircular wall, concluding with a station of the resurrection. The table of sacrifice is not the usual Latin rectangle but a Greek square style. Pews surround it on three sides.

I attended Mass here on Saturday March 13, the vigil of the third Sunday in Lent. Father Raymond G. O'Donnell celebrated. Three musicians led the congregational singing, a keyboardist alternating on piano and organ, a guitarist and a flutist. The church was packed with an all white congregation.

During the entrance procession we sang "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say." A tall young man led the way, carrying a Greek cross without corpus. An acolyte and an altar girl walked side by side as candle bearers. Then came Father O'Donnell vested in a violet chasuble.

Following the trope Kyrie and opening prayer, Father O'Donnell gave a three-minute introduction to the lesson from Exodus, in which Moses encounters God in the burning bush. A woman read the passage with careful enunciation. After the responsorial psalm, Father gave an equally long introduction to the second lesson, from 1 Corinthians 10; Saint Paul's warning against our incurring the same punishments as the Israelites in the desert. A gentleman with gray crewcut hair and a gruff voice delivered this reading. Finally, Father O'Donnell read the Gospel, Luke 13:1-9, wherein Jesus warns that unless we repent and bring forth good fruit we will perish.

In his sermon, Father noted that people often want God to provide an answer for every question, especially with regard to why terrible things happen to good people. This was the unspoken question of the people in the Gospel who came to Jesus telling him about Pilate's soldiers murdering a group of Galileans as they offered sacrifice in the temple. These were God-fearing men; why should such a thing happen to them? Father pointed out that this question reflects the mistaken belief common among the Jews that if someone suffered it was either due to their sin, or that of their parents. Thus, Jesus delivered a shock when he said, "Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did."

Father said we sometimes assume a similar attitude in thinking that if we say our prayers, attend daily Mass, read the Bible, and support the church then we shouldn't suffer. But this is not so. We live in a world where tragedy befalls both good and bad persons. God is calling us to repentance before it is too late and we likewise suffer an unprepared death.

The good news in this is that God in His mercy gives us more time to repent. This is the point of the second part of the Gospel, the parable of the barren fig tree. Jesus is the gardener who begs for another year to fertilize the barren tree in hope that fruit will appear. So He gives us time to rectify especially our sins of omission. He grants more time to do those things we know we should, but have put off doing. However, the time is limited and will one day be gone. Now is the time to take action.

During the recessional we had a solemn reflection on the sermon's theme as we sang Parce Domine three times: Parce, Domine / Parce populo tuo / ne in aeternum irascaris nobis. Spare, O Lord / Spare thy people / be not angry with us forever.

When the sanctuary party had departed, a big burst of applause from the congregation broke the spell.

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