Week Seventy-Two - Our Lady of Visitation
4:00 Saturday afternoon mass, Our Lady of Visitation or Our Lady of THE Visitation, depending on whom you talk to or which sign you read along South Road. Even the website for Visitation sends conflicting messages. St. Ignatius has the same problem with those little "in-between words" - is it St. Ignatius Loyola or St. Ignatius OF Loyola? You'll see it both ways, and everyone seems to have an opinion about which is correct. Anyways . . .
Although I've been saving a few specific churches for after Christmas in order to enjoy their Christmas decorations, a planned New Year's Day dinner at home necessitated something closer. The answer? Our Lady of (the) Visitation. When it comes to west side parishes, I tend to think of St. Antoninus as "old money" and Visitation as "new money." Based on the crowd at this mass, however, I'm not sure if my theory was right. These people weren't flaunting any new-found wealth. If they were living in any of the new mansion-sized homes in the area, you would never know it. Was I wrong, or have these west-siders eaten a huge slice of humble pie?
I'm not complaining. It was a nice crowd - young, old, families, individuals, and it was definitely a crowd. I'm not sure if the large number in attendance was a testament to the growth in the area or if it was just a fluke, but the church was surprisingly full. Maybe I've just been away from the 'burbs for too long.
Visitation is actually a good-sized church, but in my mind, I had expected a church much large, one that matched its parish population. Assuming most of the parishioners attend weekend mass at OLV, a seating capacity of only 700 in the church might explain why this mass was so crowded.
Built in 1962 in a cruciform design, there are definitely elements of that classic 1960's style still coming through inside of OLV. Case in point: Behind the statues of Mary and Joseph are panels of glistening gold. I found the same effect behind St. Bart's tabernacle. Visitation is definitely a visually busy church. There are lines everywhere, almost to the point of dizziness. Paneled wood, brick, tile, criss-cross designs, checkerboard designs, marble. The list goes on and on. Large banquet hall chandeliers hang above the pews providing more than ample light. It's not gaudy, but it's not exactly refined either.
The soloist leading the singing at this mass was a good singer . . . and a loud one. You can blame it on the sound system, but either way, she was coming over loud and clear. Although she never hit a wrong note, for the majority of the congregation, her soprano voice made singing along a bit difficult. In some ways, it was just too much of a good thing. The celebrating priest caught my attention when, in his homily - which was quite good - he mentioned the time he was living as a "hermit in the desert." Did I hear that correctly? Do people really do that?
Mass was kept moving at a good clip. Things would have probably wrapped up even quicker if not for the dedication of a new "shrine" showcasing an American flag. I didn't completely follow the explanation of why there had never been an American flag in the church until now, but the addition of a flag seemed to be a point of pride on this particular day. I even saw one woman wipe away a tear.
ATTENDANCE: Full
Although I've been saving a few specific churches for after Christmas in order to enjoy their Christmas decorations, a planned New Year's Day dinner at home necessitated something closer. The answer? Our Lady of (the) Visitation. When it comes to west side parishes, I tend to think of St. Antoninus as "old money" and Visitation as "new money." Based on the crowd at this mass, however, I'm not sure if my theory was right. These people weren't flaunting any new-found wealth. If they were living in any of the new mansion-sized homes in the area, you would never know it. Was I wrong, or have these west-siders eaten a huge slice of humble pie?
I'm not complaining. It was a nice crowd - young, old, families, individuals, and it was definitely a crowd. I'm not sure if the large number in attendance was a testament to the growth in the area or if it was just a fluke, but the church was surprisingly full. Maybe I've just been away from the 'burbs for too long.
Visitation is actually a good-sized church, but in my mind, I had expected a church much large, one that matched its parish population. Assuming most of the parishioners attend weekend mass at OLV, a seating capacity of only 700 in the church might explain why this mass was so crowded.
Built in 1962 in a cruciform design, there are definitely elements of that classic 1960's style still coming through inside of OLV. Case in point: Behind the statues of Mary and Joseph are panels of glistening gold. I found the same effect behind St. Bart's tabernacle. Visitation is definitely a visually busy church. There are lines everywhere, almost to the point of dizziness. Paneled wood, brick, tile, criss-cross designs, checkerboard designs, marble. The list goes on and on. Large banquet hall chandeliers hang above the pews providing more than ample light. It's not gaudy, but it's not exactly refined either.
The soloist leading the singing at this mass was a good singer . . . and a loud one. You can blame it on the sound system, but either way, she was coming over loud and clear. Although she never hit a wrong note, for the majority of the congregation, her soprano voice made singing along a bit difficult. In some ways, it was just too much of a good thing. The celebrating priest caught my attention when, in his homily - which was quite good - he mentioned the time he was living as a "hermit in the desert." Did I hear that correctly? Do people really do that?
Mass was kept moving at a good clip. Things would have probably wrapped up even quicker if not for the dedication of a new "shrine" showcasing an American flag. I didn't completely follow the explanation of why there had never been an American flag in the church until now, but the addition of a flag seemed to be a point of pride on this particular day. I even saw one woman wipe away a tear.
ATTENDANCE: Full
DURATION: 55 minutes
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