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Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
May 2005

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SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS

On April 10 and 11, Saint John the Evangelist church hosted the Chorus Breviarii singing the Officium Pro Defunctis, the Office of the Dead, for the late Pope John Paul II. The Office consisted of vespers, sung Sunday evening; matins, lauds, and the requiem Mass sung Monday evening. The services were chanted entirely in Latin with English translations provided in user-friendly booklets.

The celebrant for the Mass was Father Rex De Four, a priest from Trinidad ordained in 1964. He is in San Diego on sabbatical, studying the Old Testament at USD.

The choir numbered eight men. Except during the processions, they formed a semi-circle around the altar. This created a sense of intimacy between the celebrant and choir. It also contributed to a flawless rendition of the psalmody and canticles.

The altar was furnished with a portable wooden tabernacle rising to three points in the front. Designed and built by choirmaster John Polhamus, it resembled both the facade of a cathedral and a crown. Father Rex offered the liturgy facing east, toward the altar and tabernacle. I marveled at the difference this makes in directing the focus of the ritual toward God rather than "the people."

Unfortunately (and possibly due to lack of publicity),there were only 29 persons in the pews.

The Mass, which followed the Ordo Missae of 1970, began with the chorus members, in cassocks and surplices, solemnly processing to the altar led by a crucifer. Father Rex followed. He was vested in a red silk Gothic-style chasuble. During the procession they chanted the introit, the first word of which gives the name to this Mass: "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis." "Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them." Closing my eyes, I thought I might have been at a Requiem Mass at the Abby of Cluny in the tenth century.

Chorus member Roberto Lionello chanted the Epistle, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, in which Saint Paul foretells the coming of Christ in glory, and the resurrection to eternal life for the faithful. Following the epistle the choir sang the gradual, tract, and sequence. This formed the musical highlight of the Mass. The sequence, with its message of "The day of wrath which will reduce the world to ashes," and its long series of pleas to Christ for mercy, seemed the perfect antidote to the prevailing presumption of salvation heard at funerals today. The Gospel, John 11: 21-27, which Father Rex intoned from the lectern, contained the words of Christ to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life."

Father Rex began his sermon with the observation that in this office of the dead we were getting a taste of traditional monastic worship. But the real reason for our being here, he said, was he for whom the office was being offered.

He noted that Pope John Paul had been enormously popular with young people. It is unusual, he said, that young people should so love an old man. "I know, because I am an old man." That drew laughs. He continued, "Why did they love this Pope? Because he never changed what he taught, and that gave young people the security of unchanging truth. He always practiced what he preached; his message was never: 'Do as I say, not as I do.' He showed by his life what it meant to be a follower of Christ."

Father mentioned that holy persons throughout history have attracted large numbers of people to themselves, citing Saint Francis of Assisi, Padre Pio, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta as examples. Pope John Paul had the same magnetism which made people all over the world flock to him. Father offered his opinion that the spiritual magnetism of holiness was the reason why people at John Paul's funeral spontaneously shouted "Santo!" — "A Saint!" and displayed signs reading "Santo Subito" — "Make him a Saint Now!" Father concluded with a call for us to follow the example Pope John Paul gave.

After Mass I asked people what they thought of the cry to make John Paul a Saint immediately. I spoke to John Polhamus in the sacristy. "I think he led from a position of weakness (meaning the Pope's physical infirmities). He showed that there is strength in weakness if your reliance is on Christ. He showed complete abandonment to the will of God to the end. Only a saint could do that."

I asked, "Don't you think the dust of history needs to settle before his papacy can be properly evaluated?"

"Yes," he replied, "but I don't think his sainthood depends on that; his holiness has been demonstrated." John added, "I've been walking around since he died with a sense of effervescent gratitude — what a show!"

Roberto Lionello said, "I think it's very emblematic of the whole pontificate of John Paul II. He always made effective use of the media; he had a very strong personality, and he attracted the crowds like a rock star. I'm not criticizing the Pope; he embraced his cross and died like a saint. But the crowd crying 'Santo' sounds just like a crowd at a concert. Why did they cheer him? Was it because he was the Vicar of Christ, or because they saw him on TV? I think it is not a positive thing; it signifies the secularism and crisis of spirituality in the Church."

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