Easter Vigil

For the Easter Vigil, we decided to go to the National Cathedral (it's Episcopal, and we were planning to do the Basilica, a Roman Catholic place, on Easter morning).  Since I missed Mass on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, I do believe that enduring the "service" at the cathedral was my pennace for being bad.  Once things finally got going, the actual Mass itself wasn't bad (it was fairly traditional Rite 2, at least as traditional as the cathedral ever gets these days), but all the lesson reading and baptisms and stuff for the first 1.5 hours was ultra-modern and absolutely dreadful.  I guess I should have expected that when I discovered that the priestess who's the canon liturgist at the cathedral was going to be the principal celebrant.  She's the queen of experimental liturgies and inclusive language.  Fortunately, the dean and several other priests were concelebrants, so there were some men to validly consecrate the Elements and we were able to take communion.

This is the "main" porta-altar in the crossing.
In back is Canterbury Pulpit, where Martin Luther King gave his last sermon.

As we entered, the cathedral lights were all quite dim.  Once the service began, they lit the new fire in a brazier all the way back at the west end of the nave; we were sitting up front in the nave, by the second archway west of the crossing, so the fire was way too far away for us to be able to see it.  (For those who have never been in the National Cathedral, the nave, or the area where the congregation sits, is incredibly long—in fact, it is said that one could lay the Washington Monument on its side and it would fit down the center aisle of the nave.)  As the Pascal Candle was processed to the crossing, members of the congregation were able to light their own little individual candles from that flame and pass it on to those around them.  The celebrant and two assisting priests wore a chasuble, dalmantic, and tunicle in procession; I was a little disappointed (but not surprised) to notice that the dean of the cathedral did not wear a cope, but merely his usual alb and stole (with the stole worn down bishop-style instead of crossed at the chest). The choirmaster chanted the Exsultet from the lectern to hundreds of flickering candles.  So far, so good.

Then, however, they started the traditional Vigil series of Bible readings, music, and collects (about an hour's worth).  The first thing I noticed was that the translation of the Bible was totally unlike anything I had ever heard before. I don't believe the version was canonically authorized. Then, they did really trashy, bad, contemporary, Catholic music with electronic keyboard accompaniment!  This, in a church with a magnificent, enormous, internationally-famous pipe organ!  First was "Let us sing to the Lord!", one of those insipid Jacques Berthier/Taizé things that really turned out to be quite a mish-mash.  They also did "Surely, it is God who saves me" by Jack White (the electronic keyboard was so loud, it was hard to hear the cantor), and "Deep within" by (:::gasp!:::) David Haas, which was done in a very "Broadway" style.  In between these awful things, the choir did Anglican chants by the cathedral's choirmaster of Psalm 105 and 42 that were quite tolerable, but they continued to use the electronic keyboard, plus a solo clarinetist.

Finally, after an hour of torture, we got to the homily.  The preacher was okay, but he spoke for eleven minutes, and in my book, that qualifies as a full-blown sermon, not a homily!

Next came the baptisms.  They did three babies and two adults.  In Episcopal baptisms, just a little water is poured thrice on the forehead—there's no dunking in a big aquarium up front—but I felt sorry for the adult woman who was baptized, and who had her coiffure totally drenched!  As the candidates and godparents made their way to the font in the center of the nave, the choir had chanted a very nice a capella setting of Vidi aquam set by the choirmaster.  We also heard the first of the noticable inclusive language adaptations in the Dominus vobiscum, where, instead of saying "It is right to give Him thanks and praise," the printed program directed people to say "give our thanks."

Once the baptisms were concluded, we had the Proclamation of Easter, and, finally, at last, they turned on the lights and we got a nice organ fanfare from the trompette en chamade over the high altar.  A bunch of liberals in the congregation had brought cowbells to Mass and began to ring them, including some man wearing an all-white clergy shirt and collar with a particularly large and obnoxious bell.  I was thinking some very un-Christian thoughts about what I wanted to do with his bell!  Meanwhile, instead of singing the first Gloria in excelsis of Easter (the canon liturgist seems to have something against the Gloria, since she always substitutes some other little ditty at the regular Sunday services), the congregation and choirs sang Easter Hymn (Jesus Christ is risen today), while the clergy sprinkled/showered the congregation with branches of evergreen instead of aspergilla.

During the offertory, the choir and organ did a very fine performance of "Light's glittering morn" by Horatio Parker, followed by the congregation singing Victory (The strife is o'er, the battle done) as a presentation hymn.

They used the Proulx A Community Mass setting for the Sanctus and Benedictus.  Nothing else was sung, except for a dreadful chorus of "Taste and see" by James Moore (from GIA) as a fraction anthem, followed by a reprise of that nasty song as the first communion hymn.  Several traditional lines in the prayers of consecration were converted to inclusive language, and we all noticed that the priestess did not do any of the genuflections before or after the elevation of the bread and wine.

The choir sang a lovely "Ye choirs of new Jerusalem" by Charles VIlliers Stanford as the communion anthem.  The choir always does such a nice job with traditional Anglican choral literature that it's a shame the clergy makes them do so much bad contemporary Catholic music.

Unser Herrscher (He is risen! He is risen!) served as the recessional hymn.  The crucifer and torchbearers, who used to always be so well trained at the cathedral, didn't have the old-time precision of movement, and they positively raced down the aisle (like the Romans are wont to do).

The service ended two and a quarter hours after it started.  Not bad.  I've been to Vigils that lasted a lot longer.

The cathedral organist played a postlude I didn't know, the Final from Sixième Symphonie, Op. 59, by Louis Vierne, a nice, massive, and festive piece.

Afterwards, we wandered around and took pictures like a bunch of tourists.  When I get back to D.C., if I remember, I'll edit this post and try to add a couple of pictures.

And thus was our Easter Vigil experience.

EDIT:  We now have pictures!

Morgan standing in front of the High Altar after Mass.