ROAMIN'
CATHOLIC

ARTICLES

LETTERS

NEWS

FOLLOW ME







Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
March 2005

---

HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH, FRESNO

Bass Eruption and Toms

Entering the nave of the large modern church, one immediately encounters a Jacuzzi-sized cruciform baptismal font, from which people blessed themselves with its heated water. The church's stadium seating allows everyone a good view. Walking around the periphery of the interior, I noticed two reconciliation rooms, though peering in, it seemed to me that one looked like it was being used for storage space. Only four murals depicting the stations of the cross hung from the wall -- I presumed the other ten are on the way. A lonely side room housed a tabernacle strongly resembling a space ship.

Before Mass, I listened to the liturgical rock band rehearse, which was situated on one side of the sanctuary. The band comprised an electric guitar, a bass player, a zealous drummer, a female vocalist, and chimes. The electric guitar sound seemed at times to have a heavy amount of distortion for a liturgical band, though the chimes tended to give the music a softer edge. Before Mass, the band members huddled, presumably for a prayer or last minute word of inspiration.

In the small entrance party, the albed and cinctured acolytes led the way, first the crucifer, then two candle-bearers, followed by Father Eric Swearingen in green vestments. The gathering song, "Blessed Be Your Name," began relatively softly but picked up steam at the chorus -- singing passionately in a higher register. Judging from many of the songs, the drummer seemed to think that nothing says "sacred liturgical music" quite like repeated strikes of the crash cymbals.

Father made the sign of the cross and then asked us to pause to remind ourselves of how blessed we are. We then recited the confiteor.

The noisy drums cluttered the Gloria. After the hip sounding tune, Father's instruction, "Let us pray," sounded almost comical.

As the lead vocalist explained before Mass, "we're gonna mellow way down for the psalm response," which began with a thoughtful piano intro (in typical "rock-ballad" fashion) with very light drums keeping the beat. After twice singing a sleepy "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will," the drums picked up on further repetitions of the chorus, between which a lector spoke psalm verses. The drum sound was an eruption of bass and toms during the alleluia verse, while the teen section of the church vigorously sang, "Alleluia! Peace be with us. Love has come to show the way." The priest marched to the ambo with the lectionary raised high.

Father read the first chapter of John's Gospel, where John the Baptist announces, "behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!," after which we were treated to a reprise of the alleluia verse. During the homily, without constraints from a lectern or pulpit, Father paced back and forth at the front of the sanctuary, gesticulating. He began by explaining that he recently received a call from his niece, asking if she could use him as a reference. He then asked all the teenagers in the congregation with jobs to raise their hands. Then he asked all teens who mooch off their parents to raise their hands. Everyone laughed.

"You don't write down people who have nothing nice to say about you, I hope," Father explained. "Perhaps teenagers who want to continue in their unemployment do that. You don't want to put someone down who will embarrass you," a scenario which reminded Father of the John Candy movie, Uncle Buck.

Father went on to explain the Gospel: "Jesus comes onto the scene as the Messiah. And the Gospel writer, John, chooses the principal person that is going to be used as a reference to Jesus as the Christ, John the Baptist. John the Baptist is kind of like old Uncle Buck. Why do I say that? Remember how John the Baptist dressed? Remember how he went out into the desert and had some pretty strange foods? Kept some pretty strange company? Scripture tells us he pretty much said exactly what he wanted to say. He didn't mince his words. He ticked people off."

The priest explained that John's reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God made sense to the Jews, who remember well the stories of salvation history, such as the Israelite's slavery in Egypt and the Passover.

Paraphrasing the Baptist, Father also pointed out that John indicated that Jesus is divine: "even though you see Him in the flesh, He is eternal ... the one who came after me was really before me, because He existed before me." Father elaborated, "He existed since when? Always as the Second Person of the Trinity."

Swearingen then explained that the reason that that is important for us today is that Americans are obsessed with looking like youth. But "we are eternal. If you think you're getting old now, think about it, you have an eternity to go." Father suggested that we just be happy.

Father concluded, "you and I are called to give testimony to Jesus today. When John the Baptist said 'there's the Lamb of God,' you and I need to be witnesses of His love and mercy. We need to give testimony to the fact that there is no other savior, no other lord. He is the Messiah, the chosen one.... All others are false prophets and false gods." And John the Baptist gave a strong reference to that fact.

We recited the Nicene Creed, and prayed the prayer of the faithful. The lead singer announced that after the gifts are brought forward, all the teens are invited to stand around the altar. The "song of preparation" (offertory song) was called, "My Glorious," and featured a guitar solo.

The band shifted to an adult-contemporary sound for the "Holy, Holy," and we knelt for the Eucharistic prayer. Bells were rung after each consecration, Father bowed to the sacred species, and the band went into an adult-contemporary memorial acclamation, "Christ Has Died," with soft cymbal swells and a slow descending scale of mystical-sounding chimes.

Three songs were sung during communion: the first, "Holy and Annointed One," was soft and nocturnal, and might be good for slow dancing. The second song, "Fragrance Prayer," which used the phrase "Dear Jesus" as a motif, tenderly asks for God's grace and the strength to spread his fragrance. The third song, a "communion meditation" called "Facedown," used various expressions expressing God's greatness. Its chorus was, "And I'll fall facedown, as Your glory shines around."

For the recessional, the band played, "Great God," seemingly letting out all the pent-up energy they had been holding back ever since the offertory.

TOP