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Contents © 2006
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
January 2006

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SAINT PATRICK, NORTH PARK

Saint Patrick church, dedicated to the patron Saint of Ireland and located at the corner of 30th and Dwight Street in North Park, was the site of a special celebration in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Saturday Decem ber 10th at 12:45 p.m. Auxiliary Bishop Gilbert Chavez came among his flock as chief celebrant. Augustinian Fathers Tom Verber and Gary Rye concelebrated.

All liturgical hymns and songs were in Spanish; prayers and readings were divided between Spanish and English. Bishop Chavez preached in both languages.

A group of 12 singers, five of whom played nylon-string guitars, led the music. The use of guitars seemed dignified and appropriate. They offered praise to God and Our Lady in a joyous expression of the Hispanic folk-culture which grew up under the patronage of the Catholic Church.

Saint Patrick's sanctuary features a modern adaptation of the ancient rood screen. A wooden latticework divides the altar of sacrifice in front from the altar of repose behind it. Above the screen rises a rough wooden cross with a two-dimensional, Byzantine-style corpus affixed. A portal in the screen may be opened allowing those in the nave to see the tabernacle. On this day, the portal was closed, and over it hung the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe surrounded by a garland of roses.

The festal day's worship began with a procession through the parking lot and back into the church. Banner-bearers carried flags of every nation in North, Central, and South America. Some of the women wore traditional Mexican folk-costumes. Many people carried images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which Bishop Chavez later blessed.

During the procession the people sang Mañanitas Guadalupanas and Buenos Dias Paloma Blanca. The latter hymn's first verse is, "Buenos dias Paloma Blanca / hoy te vengo a saludar / saludando a tu belleza / en tu trono celestial." There was no translation, but a friendly soul offered the following approximation: "Greetings O Spotless Dove / I salute you this day / Saluting your beauty / on your heavenly throne."

We recited the Confiteor in English. The Kyrie and Gloria followed in Spanish.

A woman from the choir took the first reading in Spanish: Apocalypse 11:19, 12:1-6, 10. This set before us the image of the woman clothed with the sun who will gain the victory over Satan. A gentleman then read in English from Saint Paul to the Galatians, "When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons."

Oddly, the melody for the Alleluia was not Hispanic, but the so-called "Celtic Alleluia." Father Tom Verber then proclaimed the Gospel in Spanish: Saint Luke's account of the visitation.

Bishop Chavez' sermon was in three parts. He began by noting that the Blessed Virgin Mary came to Tepeyac to show herself as our Mother. She came to lead people to the Faith. She also came to give us hope in the midst of all our difficulties. "There is not a week that goes by that I don't hear someone tell me about tragedies in their families; especially the untimely deaths of loved ones."

He recited a litany of worldly woes: "Illness, unemployment, under-employ ment, war, terrorism, crime, racism, and hatred. Our Lady of Guadalupe has the true answer to all our problems because she always receives us with motherly care and leads us to her son, our God."

His Excellency next emphasized Our Lady of Guadalupe's role as empress of the Americas. Although she appeared in what is today Mexico, her apparition at Tepeyac displayed her intention to extend the kingdom of God throughout the New World. This is why the Church has formally declared her patroness of all the Americas, from Alaska to Argentina. In this connection the bishop stated, "Only three Marian apparitions have been declared authentic by the Church: Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fatima; and Guadalupe is the earliest."

He did not qualify his limitation of the Church's authentication to these three. I wondered where that left Our Lady of Mount Carmel's apparition to Saint Simon Stock.

He concluded by observing the closeness of this feast to the Nativity, and that Our Lady of Guadalupe is the one who can best prepare us to worthily celebrate Christmas.

Following the homily Saint Patrick's school children put on a Guadalupe pageant. All the characters were present: Saint Juan Diego, Our Lady, Bishop Zumarraga, and his priests. The costumes were excellent. Best of all was the manner of performance: A girl standing at the lectern narrated the entire story, from Mary's first appearance to Juan to the mass conversion of the Mexican people. As she told each episode (with good enunciation), the actors performed the drama silently. We laughed when the bishopspy lost sight of Juan Diego. The most touching moment came when he opened his tilma. Out spilled roses; there was the image "made without hands," and Bishop Zumarraga fell to his knees. Bravo, children!

After the Mass we proceeded to the parish hall where we enjoyed a festive Mexican meal.

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