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Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
February 2005

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HOLY SPIRIT, OAK PARK

Holy Spirit church, located in a residential neighborhood at 2755 55th Street, serves the Oak Park area of San Diego. Founded in 1952, the parish offers services in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Dark oak paneling covers the interior walls. The bas-relief stations of the cross are interspersed with stained glass windows depicting the seven sacraments and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The modern trend of minimizing the presence of Christ, Our Lady, and the Saints is not in evidence here. The floor plan follows the cruciform basilica style. Statues and paintings, including the Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Perpetual Help, Holy Infant of Prague and Saint Anthony of Padua, adorn both transepts. Affixed to the ceiling above the altar a golden image of the Holy Spirit in the likeness of a dove appears as though descending from heaven.

The tabernacle of the Blessed Sacrament rests on a pillar of stone at the rear-center of the sanctuary. Designed to resemble the Ark of the Covenant, it effectively utilizes an Old Testament symbol for the New Testament reality of God's presence. Above it hangs a traditional crucifix. Seating for the clergy and altar servers is set to the side of the altar.

I attended the 7:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, January 2, observed as the Epiphany of our Lord. Associate pastor Father Doan Van Lai celebrated the liturgy, and Deacon Marvin Threatt preached.

A cantor attired in a navy blue suit led the singing, with organ accompaniment. In honor of the Magi coming to Christ we sang "We Three Kings," the song of 19th century Protestant Episcopal origin. Three altar boys led the procession. A black-haired woman in dark skirt and cream jacket carried a red lectionary, followed by Father Van Lai and Deacon Threatt wearing vestments of white and gold.

We made the Sign of the Cross, and Father Van Lai wished us all a happy new year. Then Deacon Threatt, an African-American with a deep voice, boomed out, "Let everyone turn to their neighbor and tell them 'This is going to be the greatest year ever!'" An exchange of smiles, handshakes and "Happy New Year!" ensued. After this interruption, the liturgy resumed with the "I Confess" and singing the Gloria from Marty Haugen's Mass of Creation.

The Epiphany lessons, psalmody and Gospel all proclaimed the universality of Christ's kingdom. During the Old Testament and epistle lessons, the lectoress performed a ritual I had never seen before. She took a folded white liturgical stole from the lectern and laid it over her left shoulder, removing it at the conclusion of each reading.

Deacon Threatt began his homily saying that Epiphany is the Church's great celebration of inclusivity. He then explained that this inclusivity consists in the fact that all people, Jews and Gentiles, male and female, rich and poor, young and old, are included in the salvation offered in Christ. Among several applications of this principle he made reference to the recent tsunami victims, noting that many were not Christians. "They also are included in salvation," he said, but left it unclear as to how.

He told a story of how some Jehovah's Witnesses came to his door and he bought a copy of their Watchtower magazine. After seeing the Icon of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa on his wall they asked if he was a Christian, and he told them "Yes, I am a Catholic." "What!" they yelled, "Don't you know the Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon? You can never be saved in the Catholic Church!" "First of all," the deacon demanded, "give me my 35 cents back and leave!" "And furthermore," he told them, "I am not saved by the Catholic Church! I am saved by Christ!" He concluded his homily with an appeal to rejoice in Christ the Savior of all.

The congregation acclaimed the homily with applause.

After Mass I told Deacon Threatt that his sermon had raised a question for me. "If we are saved by Christ and not by the Catholic Church, doesn't that make the Church pointless?" "No," he said. "We need the guidance of the Church. But you are saved by Christ, by his grace, by his blood; not by the Church."

"I've heard that for years from Protestants," I replied. "But I believe what Saint Joan of Arc said at her trial when they asked her about Christ and the Church: 'Christ and the Church are one, and we should not complicate the matter.'"

"I agree with Saint Joan!" he declared.

"But if Christ and the Church are one," I asked, "isn't saying 'You are saved by Christ, not the Church' dividing the oneness of Christ?"

"We need the Church's guidance," he repeated, "so don't leave the Church."

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