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Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
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ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
March 2005

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ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, GRANADA HILLS

Mass of Surprises

In one sense, the Feast of Christ the King sums up all of the Church's traditions — the Incarnation, Transubstantiation, the Sacred Heart, the Queenship of Mary, and, of course, Catholic social teaching. Nevertheless, established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, it is one of the newest feasts of the Church.

In the encyclical Quas Primas, in which he established this feast, Pope Pius XI emphasized the necessity of honoring Christ not only as king of individual Catholics but of all the nations of the world. "Nations will be reminded by the annual celebration of this feast that not only private individuals but also rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ," wrote the pope. "It will call to their minds the thought of the last judgment, wherein Christ, who has been cast out of public life, despised, neglected and ignored, will most severely avenge these insults; for his kingly dignity demands that the State should take account of the commandments of God and of Christian principles, both in making laws and in administering justice, and also in providing for the young a sound moral education."

Having established his rationale for the observance, the pontiff decided on a date: "the last Sunday of October seemed the most convenient of all for this purpose, because it is at the end of the liturgical year, and thus the feast of the Kingship of Christ sets the crowning glory upon the mysteries of the life of Christ already commemorated during the year, and, before celebrating the triumph of all the Saints, we proclaim and extol the glory of him who triumphs in all the Saints and in all the Elect."

This feast was a great inspiration to beleaguered Catholics throughout the world, who in those days (as in these) were risking their lives for the Faith. Throughout the globe, Catholics honored the day not only by the special Mass and office Pope Pius had composed, but also by Eucharistic processions — a custom still maintained in Latin America, the Philippines, Bengal, and elsewhere. The "Social Kingship of Christ" was a theme repeated from pulpits for the next four decades.

After Vatican II, the feast was transferred to the last Sunday before Advent. As with Eucharistic Processions in general, fewer were mounted — in the United States, at least. Above all, mention of the reign of Christ over society was muted.

These thoughts were very much in my mind — especially in the wake of the recent election, on November 21, 2004 — when I attended the 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. John Baptist de la Salle Catholic Church in Granada Hills (16555 Chatsworth Street). Although I had attended Alemany High School in neighboring Mission Hills, I had never been inside the church before. Built in 1967 and heavily damaged in the 1994 Northridge Quake, St. John's had lost its altar rails and side altars in 1999 and 2000. The tabernacle was banished to the west end of the building at that time and lacks a kneeler or any other means of easy reverence nearby.

But other surprises were in store for me at St. John's. Not only was it the feast of Christ the King, November 21 was also the 50th anniversary celebration for choir mistress Gerry McGrath, who had taken up her post the year after the parish was founded in 1953. As it turned out, Mrs. McGrath had another distinction — she is the mother of several children, including a classmate of mine at Alemany.

A special honor was prepared for the choir mistress. As the sanctuary party filed in to the strains of "To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King" (beautifully sung by the choir), I saw that the mitered celebrant was none other than Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, former principal at Alemany and family friend of the McGraths.

As it was Cycle C in the lectionary, the nattily-suited lectoress and lector read successively 2 Samuel 5:1-3, with its narrative of the Israelites' address to King David, and Colossians 1:12-20, wherein St. Paul exhorts the folk of that city to give thanks to God, listing the many ways in which He is ruler of all things. A vested deacon read the Gospel. This was St. Luke 23:35-43, where the Good Thief confesses his belief in Christ and so wins Paradise.

Bishop Blaire delivered the homily. His remarks were also a bit of a surprise, given the tenor of his last talk to appear in this paper ("The Day the Liturgists Danced," June 1998). At that time, when delivering the keynote address at an archdiocesan "Day of Liturgical Formation," Blaire — then an auxiliary bishop — had opined, "there is a movement ... which is trying to get the Church on the wrong track. They are exaggerating the presence of Jesus in the bread and wine." The bishop then assured us that "Jesus is not present in the tabernacle for adoration. That devotion flows from the liturgy. He is present among us because He has redeemed us. This is what the cardinal [Roger Mahony] is telling us in his pastoral letter [Gather Faithfully Together]." To clarify things a bit, he did mention to me at my high school reunion a month later that while the quote had been exact, he had been thinking of things like the storied "bleeding hosts" of traditional devotion. Having seen one dating from the Middle Ages exposed for public adoration in Belgium a week before, this explanation meant little to me at the time.

However, on the Feast of Christ the King, Bishop Blaire declared that the Eucharist in the tabernacle and on the altar was the very Christ who had taken on human nature, been crucified, died, was buried, and rose again. Most eloquently, the bishop continued, saying that, "He is that same Christ Who is to be King over all of us, Who is to rule our hearts." He also spoke of Mrs. McGrath's many years of service to the parish and his personal acquaintance with her and her family.

The Mass proceeded according to the missalette, and the Second Eucharistic Prayer was used. An ice tea pitcher held the Precious Blood, in keeping with cardinal's directive. A bevy of extraordinary ministers helped dispense communion. While communion was underway, the choir beautifully delivered the Latin hymn, Adoramus Te.

After all had communed, but before the final blessing, Mrs. McGrath herself was given the lectern to deliver a few words. She recalled being the first choir mistress in the archdiocese and how hard that was. "It just wasn't done in those days," she said. "And you would never have seen a woman doing this [speaking from the lectern]. We weren't even allowed in the sanctuary. But after ten years that all changed." She remarked that it was wonderful that the Church could change in that manner and that it was the work of the Holy Spirit. To the Holy Spirit also she attributed her long tenure and her success in raising a large family.

When the honoree finished, Bishop Blaire gave the blessing, and the sanctuary party recessed to the singing of "Crown Him With Many Crowns." Rather than attend the reception in the parish hall, I made my way to the site of Alemany High School, now a public storage bin (most of the campus was ruined in the '94 quake, and the school has taken over the former minor seminary, closed for lack of vocations). Though the former office remains as headquarters for the storage company, the new owners have kept the cross on top of it. After musing about the passing of human life, I went to the nearby El Presidente restaurant for a Mexican brunch — after all, in my day, it was one of the two places where an Alemany kid went on special occasions.

Readers may find Quas Primas at this link.

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