ROAMIN'
CATHOLIC

2006 ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
November/December
September/October
July/August
June
May
April
March
February
January

Little Notes
Letters

Confessions
Talk About Movies
Follow Me




Contents © 2006
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
April 2006

---

GUARDIAN ANGELS, SANTEE

Guardian Angels parish, 9310 Dalehurst Road, Santee, was founded in 1962. The church's cornerstone reveals that the modified basilica-style building with domed bell tower was dedicated the following year.

In the nave, stations of the cross in painted faux-marble line the whitewashed brick walls. Above them, four small stained glass windows honor the four evangelists while four large windows picture a scene from each Gospel: Matthew's baptism of Christ, Mark's feeding of the five-thousand; Luke's return of the prodigal; and John's wedding at Cana. A walk-in niche features an altar to Our Lady of Fatima and a framed print of Our Lady of Guadalupe, both surrounded by flickering votive lights.

The table-altar occupies the front of the sanctuary, while the presider's chair sits in place of the former high altar beneath a Christus Regnit crucifix. To the left of the table stands a wide pulpit. In an alcove chapel to the right, the Blessed Sacrament reposes in a silver tabernacle adorned with a bas-relief image of the Last Supper.

I attended the 11: 30 a.m. Mass on March 12, the Second Sunday in Lent. Guardian Angels' associate pastor, Father Kevin Casey, S.J. celebrated. A trio led the singing; two male guitarists and a female vocalist.

Father Kevin went to the altar preceded by three altar boys, the smallest serving as crucifer, and a lector in a brown suit carrying a red Gospel book.

Meanwhile the trio struck up a song called 40 Days written by Matt Maher in 2003. A folk-country fusion piece, it was interesting in a toe-tapping sort of way. But this kind of song is meant for concerts and records, not congregational singing. Not surprisingly, everyone just listened as the trio sang: Forty days to wander, forty days to die to self / Forty days to grow stronger, as faith breaks open the gates of hell / The jubilee is over, but grace is far from gone/ in the hearts of the faithful, broken on the wheel of love / 'Cause in the desert of temptation lies the storm of true conversion / where springs of living water drown and refresh you / And as the Jordan pours out change, your true self is all that remains / where springs of living water bind and break you.

Father Kevin, speaking with a distinct Irish brogue, greeted the assembly and introduced the theme of the day. The trio then led us in Lord have mercy; and Father recited the opening prayer.

The lector entered the pulpit and read the first lesson: Abraham's great test in the sacrifice of Isaac, and the Lord's blessing upon his obedience. The trio took up the response, verses from Psalm 116 with the refrain, I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living. Their musical setting was again folk-country fusion. I felt like I might have been listening to a "Contemporary Christian" radio station. The lector read the second lesson, from the eighth chapter of Saint Paul to the Romans, which reminded us that "God did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all." After the Lenten verse, Father Kevin proclaimed the Gospel, Mark 9:2-10; the account of the Transfiguration.

In his homily, Father related how his mother used to enjoy Agatha Christie mysteries by sneaking a peek at the end. Then she read it from the beginning, knowing "who done it." When he reproached her for this practice she explained that knowing the end helped her appreciate the way the writer built up the story to its conclusion. He compared this to the way the Gospels had been written for people who already knew how the story ended. Knowing that Jesus is going to his Passion and Resurrection allows us to view the Transfiguration as a powerful build up to the conclusion. He then said, "Bible scholars tell us that the Transfiguration was actually a post-resurrection event which Mark transferred to the middle of the story for dramatic build up." He did not point out that tother Bible scholars have labeled this position a groundless speculation of modernist critics which undermines the historical reliability of the Gospels.

Father spoke of the location of the Transfiguration on a mountain as signifying a spiritual peak experience. (A mere literary device?) He went on to say that like the apostles we have spiritual peak experiences, but we cannot remain in them. Like Peter, James, and John, we must come down into the plains and valleys of daily routine. But when we let the peak experience illumine our valleys, life is transformed. He concluded with an exhortation for us to ask God for a peak experience in the Eucharist today, and allow it to illuminate our daily journey.

TOP