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February 4, 2008
It was the best of masses, it was the worst of masses . . .
Sant'Andrea del Valle is one of my favorite churches in Rome - certainly my favorite of the big Baroque basilicas - here's a nice site with lots of images. I could have sworn I'd already posted a picture on flickr - goodness knows I've taken some! It is the home in Rome at least of the Theatine Fathers, an order with very little presence in America - though they seem to have a parish in Denver. I went to mass at Sant'Andrea on Sunday. Ack!
On the one hand, I understood almost every word the priest said. He spoke slowly and enunciated beautifully (not that most Italians don't - Italian is sometimes like birds singing - but it's often too fast for me!). It reminded me of my favorite news show - the news summary for the deaf with a split screen, one side sign and one side spoken clearly and slowly for the lip readers. THAT I can always follow.
The problem was that he said so many, many extra words. It was slow, deliberate, and so catechetical I could scream. We are the church. We are the poor in spirit. We are a people of the beatitudes. There was talking before mass started, talking before each reading, a long homily, and instructions during the canon. A very low mass took 80 minutes. Lets just say that by the end I'm not sure my disposition was such as one would like to have at mass.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at February 4, 2008 6:58 PM