5:00 mass, Saturday afternoon, St. Gabriel. With little on the agenda for this Saturday, a world of possibilities opened up as to which church to visit. Travel time was still reasonable when my daughter and I settled on St. Gabriel's in Glendale. With a close friend living in Glendale, my daughter has made several visits to the area recently and has decided that said village should be her future home. "Yeah," I sighed wistfully. "I remember when I used to wish for that too." After all, what is there to not like about Glendale? Absolutely nothing, as far as I can tell. With tree-lined streets, incredibly charming (and pricey) homes, and, of course, The Grand Finale, it definitely appears that Glendale is perfection when it comes to residential neighborhoods. As a result, with time on our hands and dreams on our mind, the decision to visit St. Gabriel's was an easy one.St. Gabriel Church is perfect for Glendale. Charming on the outside . . . and, yep, charming on the inside too. Small in size, the church had more of a "chapel" feel to it. Two surprisingly ornate altars to Mary and Joseph overshadowed a fairly barren center altar which was flanked by a meager two candles. Large statues depicting the stations of the cross would probably be worth taking a look at if given the opportunity, and architectural and decorative arches were in abundance just about everywhere. Other than that things were fairly uncomplicated. In some ways, it reminded me of last week's host, St. John's in Harrison. The primary difference though - and it was a big one - was the pristine nature of St. Gabriel's. The church really did look incredibly well maintained. Hymnals aren't even kept in the pews at St. Gabriel's. They must be picked up from a rack before entering the sanctuary and returned at the end of mass, a detail my daughter and I overlooked which left us book-less for the duration.
Music was provided by a unseen gentleman quite talented at both the organ and the piano. His "mood music" before mass was subtle and lengthy enough that it was almost awkward, in a Protestant sort of way. Oh! But get this - the communion wafers were amazing! With a "hearty taste and texture," they may have been whole wheat. My daughter noticed an embossed lamb and/or cross on the wafer. Now that's class.
My only complaint was the pace of the mass. Things here were incredibly slow. The priest's manner of speaking, the lectors' manner of speaking, the cantor's manner of singing. It was all really, really slooooooooooooooow. Plus, I couldn't ignore the fact that the priest used a different wording for the final doxology in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. What's up with that? Isn't that against the rules? Someone! Get Benny on the line!
I'm not sure if I'll return to St. Gabe's anytime soon. I would, however, like to try their "single seater" pews. On either side of the church, lining the walls, is a row of pews just wide enough for one person (or a very close couple). It kind of looked like a roller coaster, and frankly, it looked like almost as much fun. These seats filled up quickly. Even with full-sized pews completely empty across from them, many people chose to take a baby pew for themselves. I'm not sure what that says about those individuals - are they anti-social or just having that little bit of fun? I don't know, but if I can get over the self-consciousness factor, I would like to find out.
Finally, a blatant fashion faux pas at St. Gabriel's forces my hand. It has to be said: a suit jacket does not dress up a polo shirt and jeans. Ever. Sigh.
ATTENDANCE: Slightly less than half
DURATION: One hour
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