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Sunday, October 2, 2016

ATTENDED HOLY MASS AT SANTO SPIRITU IN SASSIO (ROMA) RIGHT DOWN FROM THE VATICAN

Santo Spiritu is the Shrine of Divine Mercy and Saint Faustina. Their 10 AM Sunday Mass is all in English. The church was packed. Afterward went to a hole in the wall tratatorria called Sor'Eva. I had spaghetti Carbonaro and a bottle of wine along with an espresso. So good! Here in Italy, Italian food is simply called "food."

The Mass was nicely celebrated.  But although it was an English Mass, there were people there from all over the world. I felt bad that in Rome, the English speakers who plan this Mass each Sunday don't have the hospitality to chant the parts of the Mass in Latin while allowing for English for everything else.

The faux altar in front of the magnificent original altar in in front of the altar railing, made of plexiglass and only one step up from the nave. Thus sitting almost 3/4's of the way back, I could not see the altar in a packed church. I might as well have been outside the doors!

What are they thinking when they place these faux altars as they are?

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh I am sure Rome wants to know your opinion of how to design their church.
You cannot post one thing without a critical eye. Not even a holy church in Rome.

Anonymous said...

You drank an entire bottle of wine?
Nice going. Cant do that in Richmond Hill.
Quite a nice Vacation.

Anonymous said...

Can you eat all that and drink an entire bottle of wine and still be on a diet?
What happened to the diet?

gob said...

Anonymous....one or both....Are you Fr. McD's daddy, or mama, or personal trainer, or physician...? You take care of your diet....he'll look after his....

Anonymous said...

Well it must be nice that you are on a long vacation that you aren't paying for. That way you don't have to worry that you aren't getting up in the morning and going going to work.

Anonymous said...

gob, I was only teasing. Just like you tease about "holding out on your marriage"
Cant a Catholic take a joke?

Anonymous said...

Fly to Europe. Eat bowls of pasta. Drink bottles of wine. All at the expense of someone else. What a humble life our Holy Priests live. They live in such poverty to serve the lord.

gob said...

Anon....So was I....teasing, that is....

Rood Screen said...

Father McDonald,

I agree about those added altars. I understand installing a free-standing altar in a new church, and, when possible, moving forward an older high altar. But having two altars in the same sanctuary, one of which is impoverished, makes no sense liturgically or aesthetically.

Anonymous said...

Yes gob you were teasing. You have a very good marriage of 60 years.

Unknown said...

I can't the pics to load :(

Anonymous said...

Anonymous

Your pathetic efforts of childish harassment directed at Fr. M make less sense than a dog barking at passing cars. Get a life if you know how!
Anon-1

Anonymous said...

"But having two altars in the same sanctuary, one of which is impoverished, makes no sense liturgically or aesthetically."

Indeed, as an instruction from the Congregation for Divine Worship put it, putting a table in front of an existing high altar violates the principle of the unicity of the altar.

John Nolan said...

Mass in English at a plexiglass 'altar'. Not being able to see it must count as a blessing. Better still, stay outside the doors and you won't have to listen to it either.

Paul said...

My god mother worked for Catholic priests for many years.

Occasionally, when a parishioner would make some comment about priests and their usually rare trips overseas, she was known to reply

"Yes, dear, and when did you last see your family?".

Anonymous said...

When I go to see my family I pay my own way.
I dont dine out every day and drink entire bottles of wine.
And I sure would not behave like that and expect my church to pay for that.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

Apart from your severe puritanical judgement allium, what makes you think I am not paying my own way?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

Judgementalism

Anonymous said...

It's not nice for a priest to call people names.
If you took a vow of poverty we just assumed you didn't have money to fly to Europe and drink bottles of wine.
Guess we don't know the meaning of poverty. Enjoy yourself. You sure are lucky. LOL

Anonymous said...

If you are not puritanical you need to stop telling people that you have all the answers.

Gene said...

Parish Priests do not take vows of poverty.

John Nolan said...

On the 2nd inst. at 12:49 pm 'gob' made a sensible comment. Terra tremuit. The Guinness Book of Records was put on high alert. I am still, to use a vernacular expression, 'gobsmacked'.

Anonymous said...

Who is Gob?