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Contents © 2006
by Jim Holman.
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ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
May 2006

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All SOULS, ALHAMBRA

A Small, Reverent Parish

"All Souls" is today an uncommon name for a Catholic parish, although it was not so in the Middle Ages. But despite the rarity of the name, the Los Angeles archdiocese has a church so-called, All Souls, Alhambra (17 South Electric Avenue, at the corner of Main Street), where I attended the 10:30 a.m. Mass on March 19, the Third Sunday of Lent, but also St. Joseph's day.

Built in 1938, the church is in the art deco style, then cutting-edge but now venerable. Diorama-like stations of the cross, altar rails, a tabernacle atop the surviving high altar, side altars to Our Lady and St. Joseph -- the church is a jewel. Recently, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has begun there; and the reverence this devotion implies was reflected in the genuflections made by the numerous parishioners as they filed in. The church was almost full, with a cornucopia of nationalities -- Anglos, Hispanics, Portuguese, Italians, Filipinos, and Vietnamese.

It is rare, in this column that I comment on the "atmosphere" of a congregation. The word is used here because I cannot think of another way to describe what I saw at All Souls. It was comfortable, family-like.

Prior to the procession, a suited commentator stood at the lectern and reminded us that we were about to engage in the worship of God. A cantoress took his place and announced that our gathering song would be "Remember Me O Lord." As this was sung, Father Modesto Lewis Perez processed in, preceded by three altar boys in burgundy cassocks and white surplices, a suited lector clutching the Gospel-book, and a lectoress. They bowed toward the tabernacle, reached their appointed places in the sanctuary, and Father Perez reminded us once more of our being present to worship God. He led us in the Confiteor, after which the cantoress led the congregation in a sung Greek Kyrie with English tropes.

The lectoress read the section from Exodus dealing with the Ten Commandments, followed by the Responsorial Psalm (to which the response was, "Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.") The lector took his spot and read from the first chapter of I Corinthians, in which St. Paul speaks of the foolishness of God being wiser than the wisdom of men, seeing that Christ Crucified is "a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles."

Following this reading, Father Perez took the Gospel book and moved off with a couple of the altar boys to the right side of the sanctuary in a way reminiscent of the Tridentine Mass' Gospel procession. There he read John 2:13-25, in which that Apostle relates Jesus' casting of the money-changers out of the temple and then saying how, if they tore the temple down, He would rebuild it in three days (speaking, actually, of His own body).

The pastor returned to the sanctuary and stepped outside the altar rails into the nave to deliver his sermon. "Today is St. Joseph's Day," he said, "and today we are all Italian, the way we all were Irish two days ago!" He began the body of his talk by saying that "the image of Jesus in this passage of the Gospel is embarrassing. We like to think of Him as loving, and forgiving. Yet here He is, driving people out of the temple." Father went on to say that, for different reasons, people have problems with Jesus crucified. Nevertheless, if we are to follow Him, we must not be embarrassed by how He chooses to manifest Himself. Moreover, we are part of His Mystical Body. As we revere Him in the Blessed Sacrament by genuflecting, so we should revere ourselves by not sinning.

The offertory hymn, sung by the cantoress, was the haunting Panis Angelicus. The celebrant used a silver chalice, although a large cruet of wine was employed. He prayed Eucharistic Prayer III. At both elevations, a number of people said out loud, "my Lord and my God!" The Our Father and Lamb of God were traditional tunes sung by the congregation, and only three extraordinary ministers of communion appeared. The cantoress led us in "The Glory of these Forty Days" during communion, many of the congregants receiving on the tongue.

When the last communicant had received, Father Perez made a few announcements, and the sanctuary party recessed as it had come in. Those who remained applauded. Although curious about the state of coffee and doughnuts in such a family-like parish, I was instead ushered into the spaghetti lunch for St. Joseph's day in the neighboring parish hall.

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