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2006 ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
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Contents © 2006
by Jim Holman.
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ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
July/August 2006

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ST. KEVIN'S, KOREATOWN

More Joy

The church of St. Kevin, at 4072 Beverly Boulevard in Koreatown, testifies to the architectural richness of Catholic Los Angeles during the interwar and immediate postwar period (it was blessed in 1956). An interesting mixture of Spanish, Romanesque, and Art Deco elements, St. Kevin's sanctuary remains intact, with altar, side altars of Our Lady and St. Joseph, communion rails, and beautiful stations of the cross. The Chapel of All Saints in the rear is crammed with statues of saints dear to the Latinos and Filipinos, who make up the parishioners. When the church was built, of course, most of its flock were Irish -- even as late as thirty years ago, when I attended catechism classes at St. Kevin's, the Irish Import Shop was a block away.

Father Melchor Villero, his two priest assistants, and one deacon who staff the parish are members of the Missionaries of Jesus, a new, primarily Filipino order that originated as a breakaway group (over "matters of leadership, administration and mission orientation") from the Belgium-based Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (the Scheut Missionaries) in 2002. Recognized by the Church hierarchy of the Philippines, the Missionaries of Jesus were given St. Kevin's by Cardinal Roger Mahony, as well as the equally lovely Precious Blood, in Los Angeles, the following year.

The parishioners filing in for the noon Mass on May 21, the sixth Sunday of Easter, were nearly all Filipinos. Those passing the tabernacle bowed to it. Filling up the church to about three quarters of its capacity, the congregation found seats while the youthful guitar, keyboard, and drum ensemble prepared at the left front (although well back from the sanctuary). They struck up a processional hymn very much in the 1970s Carpenters style, as a band of altar boys, in surplices and faded purplish cassocks, preceded the pastor into the sanctuary.

The "Lord Have Mercy" was sung, with spoken tropes, after which the "Glory to God in the Highest" was sung to a sprightly tune I have not heard in at least two decades. A suited lector read Acts 10:25-6, 34-5, and 44-8, in which St. Peter encounters Cornelius the Centurion and is so impressed by the faith of the officer and his household he orders them all baptized, despite their being gentiles. After the responsorial psalm, a skirt-suited lectoress read 1 John 4:7-10, in which the evangelist urges us to love one another as God loves us. After the Alleluia was sung, Father Villero read the Gospel of John 15:9-17, in which Christ Himself orders us to love one another, saying that greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

Leaving the lectern for the center of the sanctuary, Father Villero explained to us that Christ's command to love everyone "applies to everybody, whether they are Catholic or not. You do not have to be a Catholic to be a good person." However, as Catholics we are called upon to be "emissaries of joy. You should not feel forced to go to Mass," said Villero, "because you should not feel forced to be with someone you love. But even though we are called to be emissaries of joy to the world, sadly, the Church has often not done this. Too often, she speaks of Hell and the devil and sin. We need to speak more of joy." Father continued to say that we must love everyone and show solidarity with the marginalized.

When it was time to ready the altar for the liturgy of the Eucharist, the offering was taken up, while the ensemble sang a ditty reminiscent of the style of John Denver. When an altar boy placed the gifts on the altar, he bowed to the congregation -- a common sight these days. I wondered what it meant. Is it a remnant of the time when the ministers of the sanctuary faced the tabernacle, or is it in reference to Christ living in each of us?

Once the altar was duly arranged, Father recited the offertory prayers. The "Holy, Holy, Holy" was sung with gusto, followed by Eucharistic Prayer II. Though a glass pitcher was used to hold the Precious Blood (an archdiocesan custom), numerous metal goblets were used for communion. Father bowed to the Sacred Species after consecrating them. The Our Father was sung to a tune I remembered from high school, with almost everyone raising his hands. After the "Lamb of God," everyone stood, except one old Anglo in front of me, who knelt.

The communion line processed from rear to front, in keeping with another of the Cardinal Mahony's liturgical directives. Most received on the hand. When all had communed, Father read the announcements, including one concerning the upcoming feast of St. Kevin celebration on June 3. The sanctuary party recessed to yet another tune from the immediate post-conciliar era, after which the congregation applauded. Outside, I found coffee, Mexican pastries, books, and many other things for sale.

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