Reading I Dt 18:15-20 |
Responsorial Psalm Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9 |
Reading II 1 Cor 7:32-35 |
Gospel Mk 1:21-28 |
Rain was forecast, and I slept a bit late, so I drove an hour and a half to a T-shaped church bearing a 1972 cornerstone in a town named for a man who works for one of my employer's clients. Well, okay, the town probably predates the man-- but then again, who knows? Anyway, the church is fairly plain, with tall, circular stained-glass windows that are a bit on the modern side but definitely not abstract. One window depicted Pope Paul VI in commemoration of his 1965 visit to the United States; most of the rest were biblical scenes. In between were the Stations of the Cross. The sanctuary is at the center of the T and features a tall, narrow, colonial-style portico behind the celebrant's chair. A traditional crucifix is mounted within the portico. The rectangular, metal tabernacle is in an arch to the right and may have been there from the beginning. A symmetrical arch to the left leads to the sacristy. A freestanding altar is at the center of the sanctuary. The ambo is at the left, and to the left of that is a small lectern near the organ, piano, and choir section. The choir section may be a later revision, as a full choir loft is located over the narthex. The pews are in six basic sections, with a small chunk taxed from the middle of the center right section for the baptismal font.
I arrived at about 11:50 AM for the noon Mass. Shortly after that, the choir entered in blue robes with green trim. The cantor announced that the choir would sing two hymns. After that, Mass began with the entrance hymn, "Gather Us In." We sang two verses as one young server in an alb, two adult servers in formal street clothes, a reader, the deacon, and the priest passed through the center aisle in the entrance procession. The deacon led Form C of the penitential rite. We sang the Gloria
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In Gary, West Virginia, stop for Mass at Our Lady of Victory Church on Church Street. Across the nation and all around the world, you can almost always find a Catholic Mass.
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