New cast

Went to Mass this morning at St. Stephen's. They have new priests. The new pastor is another monsignor, but surprisingly young. Back in Oklahoma, when the bishop did the mid-summer clergy shuffle, he usually just changed one priest at a time, but here in D.C., the entire team of three priests is switched out. The celebrant was the new assisting priest. He sings flat, but was basically melodic. He's a little heavy, too, and didn't genuflect during the prayer of consecration. To compensate for that, he held the host and the chalice up for about an hour each during the elevation. I think it's interesting that the pastors of this parish always seem to be monsignors—the new guy is at least the third in a row. St. Stephen's doesn't appear to me to be that big of a parish, or particularly important, so I don't know how they manage to get so much red trim. I still haven't figured out what I think of the parish. Because of the modern '60s architecture, I always feel like I'm going to Mass in a bowling alley.