4:00 Saturday afternoon mass at St. Catharine in Westwood. Let me start by clarifying that the above photo is a side view of the church. Some minor construction at the main entrance to the church blocked what would have otherwise been a very nice photograph. Wow. It's all about the details, and the interior of St. Catharine has a LOT of them. From the tile and hardwood floors to the ridiculously detailed stained glass windows (depicting the eight beatitudes), there's a lot to look at here. I can't say that I particularly liked the ceiling, but it certainly was impressive - an arched ceiling with arched wooden beams. I had to smile when I realized the altar was supported by two carved wooden angels. On the wall behind the altar was perhaps the most intriguing artwork in the church. Being in my usual spot towards the rear of the church, it was difficult to determine exactly what I was looking at. Clearly, a display, floor to ceiling, of 13 carved wooden - I think wooden - statues. A larger statue at the center top was flanked by three smaller statues aligned horizontally on either side. Six additional statues, three on each side, were aligned vertically below the seven mentioned above. And so the thought processes begin. Who are these people? First thought - 13? Jesus and the 12 disciples. No, no. Although the center figure is, in fact, larger, the six arranged vertically are of that same larger size. I don't recall anything special about six of the 12 that would qualify them for an increase in wooden stature. Wait. One of those is definitely a woman . . . and one looks like a robed, hooded character from Star Wars. Approaching the altar later to receive communion, I was doing everything I could to see around the incredibly tall gentleman in front of me. Upon closer examination, I realized that the top center statue was also a woman. I'll take a wild guess and assume it's Saint Catharine, but as for the rest of them, your guess is as good as mine.
St. Catharine is a fairly large church, and this particular evening it was only about half full, and a good portion of that half was the family and friends of a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. I expected their attendance to extend the mass considerably, but a quick blessing over the happy couple was the extent of it, and it was quite nice at that.
Although a loud, traditional organ accompanied all of the music for the mass, I was somewhat disappointed not to recognize one hymn or one sung response. I was also caught off-guard when, after sitting down for the offertory hymn, I suddenly realized that after the first verse, everyone was standing again. What the . . . ? With just musical accompaniment, the offertory gifts were brought to the altar, at which time, everyone sat back down and continued with the hymn. Huh. My first liturgical variation!
The priest read a rather long, tedious homily. Maybe I'm spoiled by the years of homilies at St. Ignatius where the priests almost always "speak from the heart" without even the use of notes, but I definitely look for that extemporaneity. While I'm sure their homilies have been written out and rehearsed, they just seem more . . . real. A homily read to the congregation, although probably more organized and even more eloquent, always seems to be just a little too perfect and, as a result, a little too boring. I'm just sayin'.
I find it interesting to note that, after six weeks, I've only been to one church where I didn't recognize at least one person. At St. Catharine's, I was surprised to see two people that I know! That's either a commentary on how Catholic my lifestyle really is or how Catholic Cincinnati is.
ATTENDANCE: Half full
DURATION: 60 minutes
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