How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place

As the source and summit of Christian life, the Mass is always the most important event of the week. Some, though, are more memorable than others. This past Sunday was one such.

Since I was in Salt Lake and I’m not familiar with the town, I left on foot plenty early. I wanted to arrive in time for sung Lauds prior to Mass. It took a little over 20 minutes to walk up the hill and over a bit to the Cathedral of the Madeleine. The exterior evoked the Summa in gray stone – relentless, massive and possessed of a beauty that was none too accessible to my small mind.

I was actually early enough that the early Mass was still in progress. After nearly everyone from early Mass had left, I entered the church to pray. The few photos I had seen did not do this place justice. Between the great murals at the front of the church, the vivid Stations of the Cross, the stained glass, the brilliant colors painted on the pillars and the intricate tracery of the chancel screen and other woodwork, the interior translated the dense exterior into expressions vivid, simple and light enough for even me. The murals struck me the most. The mural over the left transept depicted the woman drying Jesus’ feet with her hair. The rightmost showed Jesus comforting St. Mary Magdalene at the tomb on Easter day. The central mural – the crucifixion as the central event of all time - was beyond my ability to describe. Even representations don’t do it justice. It must be seen in situ. To great consternation pro multis, beneath the mural a portion of II Cor 5:15 is writ large: “Christ died for all”. The tableau from left to right said it all: repentance then sacrifice and then new life.

Sung morning prayer soon commenced beyond the chancel screen without me. At its completion I noticed the one truly nice feature of the hymnals in the pew: the full Sunday lectionary was included, albeit in a slightly variant translation. Before long the pews filled in. The organist played a spirited rendition of Bach’s* Prelude in C major (BWV 553). This difficult piece is one of my favorites. The organist did well with only a couple of rhythm glitches that most people probably wouldn’t have noticed. A short pause led into “All Creatures of Our God and King” (sung to Lasst Uns Erfreuen). I had never before heard such enthused and competent singing from a Catholic congregation. I guess that being a short hop from the Mormon Tabernacle gives one greater motivation to “sing praise with all your skill”.

The procession included a contingent of altar servers in hooded albs, a half-dozen older folks in albs sans hoods, a gentleman in what looked like a decorated black surplice, two deacons and his Excellency, Bishop Niederauer. The Bishop is an observant and perceptive fellow as he drenched me during the Asperges. (Is it just me, or do all bishops in the U.S. have bad posture?) The fellow in the black quasi-surplice turned out to be the lector. I later found that the older folks in albs were the EMEs. The choir stayed unseen in the choir loft. (No, really!) The chief parts of the Mass were from a few settings, at least one of which was by Proulx. The music for the preparation of the gifts and the recessional were by the great (and euphoniously named) Dietrich Buxtehude.

The Bishop’s homily was well-written and well-read. He mentioned that one of the many great blessings that the Church received from the late Holy Father was the proclamation of the current Year of the Eucharist. The year has as its theme Mane Nobiscum Domine -- an excerpt from the Gospel reading of the day. Consequently all parishes in the Diocese of Salt Lake were to make this particular Sunday the principal commemoration of the Year of the Eucharist. He mentioned that while we can (and indeed must) pray and study scripture on our own as well as with others, we can never participate in the Eucharist alone. For that we need the Church. As we see in the reading, the Eucharist is absolutely indispensable in coming to know Jesus. He recalled advice he once heard a wise old priest give to some young adults who were having a difficult time in the faith. The advice was to reverently attend Mass at least once a week and to volunteer in a soup kitchen. Those two things, Eucharist and service to people in need, would eventually awaken a truly Catholic spirit in anyone.

Mass was celebrated with due reverence, dignity and beauty. The closing hymn was “Father We Thank Thee Who Has Planted”. I didn’t get to stay for the cathedral tour after Mass as I had to hurry off to an afternoon session of the conference that necessitated my presence in Salt Lake.

I do not mean to insinuate that art somehow increases the intrinsic value of worship. Art in worship’s service, though, can be a valuable teaching tool. It can concentrate the attention and return it to its proper focus. That doesn’t happen in rooms that look like their main purpose is boring software presentations.

*I’m aware that not all agree on Bach’s authorship of the piece, but I’ll stick with the old-fashioned usage.