The Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude 2015
Yesterday was one of those peculiar Fall days that call for every contingency in clothing. I began the morning on my way to St. Mike's wearing a tweed jacket, some hiking shoes and a pair of daddy pants. And, over all of it I draped a light-weight, roll-up raincoat that I keep in my book bag. It had rained shortly before I hit the street and looked cloudy for the remainder of the time I spent in church.
There were a couple of surprises during the service. The first thing that greeted me was a jazz ensemble executing the Gloria section of the traditional Mass. It was a swinging, dissonant piece, at times cacophonic. It made me sorry that I'd missed the Kyrie portion. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei were just as exciting to hear.
In between all of those pieces which were sandwiched into the service at their normal intervals, there was a sermon by Bing. Nominally, it was about the Gospel passage, John 15:17-27. The word "hate" or some iteration of it, appears all over the selection. But, that just isn't Bing's style. So, he talked about love instead. And, not surprisingly, about his recent hospital stay. By now, it should not be a surprise to any of us that his sermons are as good as they are - without notes - totally charming and conversational in tone. No one, including Colette, can figure out how he does it.
I sat with Pale Male and Sean Kelly, passing the Hymnals back and forth so we could all sing. The choir director did something a little different with LEVAS 141 and 117. The bulletin instructed parishioners to pause for instrumental solos between verses. But, of course, not all of us read the fine print, so we sang our heads off while the rest of the sanctuary was silent. We couldn't understand why the band was playing so loud!
Coffee Hour went smoothly. I was talking with Front Page when Benjamin wandered over. We both started to say something to Front Page at the same time and then, immediately stopped. At five years of age, Benjy already knows not to talk when someone else is. There are adults who don't even know how to do that.
The trip to the nursing home was uneventful. I watched the Jets game with Mom at my side. I kept thinking, has it really been a year since Crosby was fretting about his home team's losing streak? They seem much stronger this year, but, couldn't quite seal the deal against the Patriots. The last touchdown of the game came as the Jets defense tried to blitz Brady and left Gronkowski undefended in the endzone.
There were a couple of surprises during the service. The first thing that greeted me was a jazz ensemble executing the Gloria section of the traditional Mass. It was a swinging, dissonant piece, at times cacophonic. It made me sorry that I'd missed the Kyrie portion. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei were just as exciting to hear.
In between all of those pieces which were sandwiched into the service at their normal intervals, there was a sermon by Bing. Nominally, it was about the Gospel passage, John 15:17-27. The word "hate" or some iteration of it, appears all over the selection. But, that just isn't Bing's style. So, he talked about love instead. And, not surprisingly, about his recent hospital stay. By now, it should not be a surprise to any of us that his sermons are as good as they are - without notes - totally charming and conversational in tone. No one, including Colette, can figure out how he does it.
I sat with Pale Male and Sean Kelly, passing the Hymnals back and forth so we could all sing. The choir director did something a little different with LEVAS 141 and 117. The bulletin instructed parishioners to pause for instrumental solos between verses. But, of course, not all of us read the fine print, so we sang our heads off while the rest of the sanctuary was silent. We couldn't understand why the band was playing so loud!
Coffee Hour went smoothly. I was talking with Front Page when Benjamin wandered over. We both started to say something to Front Page at the same time and then, immediately stopped. At five years of age, Benjy already knows not to talk when someone else is. There are adults who don't even know how to do that.
The trip to the nursing home was uneventful. I watched the Jets game with Mom at my side. I kept thinking, has it really been a year since Crosby was fretting about his home team's losing streak? They seem much stronger this year, but, couldn't quite seal the deal against the Patriots. The last touchdown of the game came as the Jets defense tried to blitz Brady and left Gronkowski undefended in the endzone.