ROAMIN'
CATHOLIC

ARTICLES

LETTERS

NEWS



Contents © 2001
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, WESTLAKE VILLAGE

Faith Village People

This publication opens with the warning that "We are Church. Together we journey in Faith and Love." The parish site has a variety of structures, which the pamphlet describes as "A Faith Village." "The complex of buildings that form St. Maximilian Kolbe's parish home," says the pamphlet, "are clustered around the open-air gathering space much as the church, shops and homes of a Medieval town or village surrounded the village square." Apart from the church of "sanctuary" itself, the most notable sights are the free-standing bell-tower and the labyrinth at the center of the gathering space. "The labyrinth," says the pamphlet, "is a model of the journey of life with its many twists and turns. In the center, the Greek letters 'Chi' and 'Rho' symbolize Christ, the goal of our journey. The church and all of the auxiliary buildings are positioned in relationship to this design, to express in architecture and layout that Christ is the center and heart of our complex."

The "sanctuary" is roughly square, like a vast auditorium. The baptismal font is a large structure with a waterfall incorporated into it; as the water is heated, dipping one's fingers into it is a bit startling to the uninitiated. Light brown wood is the dominant color-scheme in the church. As the pamphlet tells us, "in the main body of the church, massive trusses meet overhead to create a space that is both majestic and intimate. The interlocking beams suggest the branches of the great Tree of Life and give us the impression of being in a sacred grove." This is perhaps as well, because the more usual church atmosphere is absent. The central worship space features a large corpus-less wooden cross to the left behind the relatively small altar table. Next to it is a massive ambo. There is no tabernacle anywhere near this assemblage; the tabernacle, built like a large television cabinet, resides in a small chamber with just enough room for it, three chairs, and prie-dieux. An ornate sanctuary lamp signals the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. This last, together with a small conventional statue of the Virgin against another wall, are the only items which distinguish this interior from one of the newer mainline Protestant sanctuary buildings. There are no Stations of the Cross. Although the front row seats have kneelers (the back ones lacking them all together) these are, apparently, never used.

When I attended 11 a.m. Mass at Saint Maximilian's on January 21, the congregation was mixed in age and primarily Anglo. After an announcer reminded us that it was the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, a cantoress led the congregation in a rehearsal of several of the antiphons, one of which went something like, "Your word is spirit and life." The procession then arrived, made up of a man in casual clothes clutching a Christ-less cross, four altar boys, concelebrant Father Tom Cooney (deputy head of the Augustinian order in Rome), and Father David Heney, the major celebrant.

Taking their places before the table, Father Heney told us to introduce ourselves to each other, and then announced Father Cooney, who received a round of applause. Father Heney then led us in the penitential rite, which was the Kyrie with more or less appropriate tropes. The readings were done by lectoresses, after which Father Heney read the Gospel and gave the homily. Father reminded us that inauguration day had just passed, and that the story in the Gospel (Christ's commenting on a passage of Isaias) constituted His inaugural speech in which He set forth His program -- freedom -- freedom from sin, from spiritual oppression, and so on.

The celebrants prayed the Third Eucharistic Prayer, during which the Precious Blood was consecrated in iced-tea pitcher -- a custom in the archdiocese. No one knelt during the consecration, everyone bowed. Father Heney himself copped a quick genuflect just before receiving. Almost everyone received in the hand, though there were a few holdouts. People filed up from the front row first, despite the cardinal's wish that those in the rear rows should process up first. The communion song was the ditty entitled "Bread of Life," which begins: "I myself am the Bread of Life, you and I are the Bread of Life."

At the Our Father, the whole congregation and the worship-space party all held hands, although the cardinal's directives order that at this point folk should hold up their hands without touching. The kiss of peace was predictably energetic, as was the traditional round of applause after the celebrants and their retinue departed.

Out in the gathering area, I managed to snag the last doughnut (maple) and a cup of cold coffee before leaving.

TOP