This morning, Laurent and I headed over to St. Stephen's. They've switched their Mass setting for Advent to Richard Proulx's Mass for the City, though the Agnus Dei continues to be the Isele Holy Cross Mass, the Kyrie was plainsong, and the Gospel Alleluia is an adaptation of the de Victoria "O Magnum Mysterium."
The choir sang "This Is the Record of John" by Josef Rheinberger for the communion motet. Hymns were Nun komm der Heiden Heiland for the processional, Geneva for the offertory, a bad Jesuit responsorial for the communion marching music, and Venez, divin Messie for the recessional. I thought it was fun during the processional hymn when the words got to "down to death and hell descends" and the organist interpolated a little minor dissonant "hell" for us.
Monsignor's homily talked about confession. He tends to do that every year around this time.
This afternoon, Ryan decided he wanted to go to Mass! Well, far be it from me to discourage him. He even picked out the 5:30 at St. Matthew's Cathedral as the place he wanted to go (he doesn't like St. Stephen's cause he thinks the outside door is ugly....interestingly enough, Monsignor has drawn up plans for a new entry way, but I don't think they've found donors yet).
The music there—that St. Louis Jesuits guitar Mass crap—quickly reminded me why I don't like going to that Mass. What's worse, they were receiving RCIA candidates tonight, and they did some weird little hippie/New Age ceremony with the candidates spaced out down the center aisle and, as the celebrant said stuff, the sponsors had to touch and make signs of the cross on various parts of the candidates' bodies. It was ghastly.....stuff like that would definitely send me running and make me not want to join a church.
The entrance hymn was an interestingly unsingable "Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light" that much of the congregation gave up on once it got too confusing. During the offertory, they sang a Psalm 85 responsorial setting from the Gather hymnal (both this and the actual psalm were both Haas settings). For the recessional, they did "God of All People." The Mass setting was the Haas' Mass of Light.
The celebrant (I didn't know the priest) talked during his homily about his preferences in Quizno's sandwiches. Somehow, he also worked in the concept that world peace was a good idea.
The one bright spot in the Mass was during communion. They had a tenor sing "Comfort Ye" and "Every Valley" from Handel's Messiah. It was nice, though the piano was very, very bright and muddled (it's hard to use a grand piano in a marble floored room), and it was a really odd juxataposition to have Handel with all the Haas music.
Oh, we saw Michael there in the congregation, but couldn't get over to say hi in the crowd. I seem to recall him telling me he likes bad contemporary Catholic music.
The street beggars were all out in force tonight as people came down the cathedral steps after Mass.
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