A long, long time
ago, back before I went to seminary, while I was still a Normal Person, while I
was working in a large windowless building at the Navy Yard (which as of this
month has just been completely demolished, by the way) I used to remind my
buddy Mike about Holy Days of Obligation.
He was a regular Mass-goer at his parish in Alexandria, but never saw
the Holy Days (HDO’s, as we called them in those days when we had an acronym
for everything) coming. So I would
mention them in conversation; he would smack his forehead, and then make it to
Mass.
Well, I blew it this
time. Last weekend I completely left out
of the announcements the Holy Day this week, the Solemnity of the Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin Mary! It is not as if
I forgot about it; in fact, right before I typed up the one lonely
announcement, I printed out the intercessions for the Holy Day Mass. I am
desperately sorry that I failed to put this important day on your “to do” list
early in the week!
August is not a time
for making big news or big announcements, usually, especially in our political
city. But I would like to draw your
attention to the arrival of our new parish Music Director, John Henderson. John is graduate of Catholic University’s
music program, currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Peabody
Conservatory in Baltimore. He comes to
us from just down the road at Christ the King parish, and has also played at
Saint Matthew’s Cathedral downtown.
Perhaps as important as any education or experience in music, however,
is that he is a southerner – from Pensacola, Florida (where people are
southerners, not displaced yankees, by the way).
John is eager to work
with our music program, about which apparently there is a very good “buzz” in local
church music circles. One of his main
goals will be to integrate and give strong direction to the all the talented
folks who work so hard on our liturgical music, who have been under short-term
leadership for a full year now, since Richard Fitzgerald announced his
departure.
John is also eager to
launch a very important addition to our music program: a Parish Youth
Choir. The choir will include our young
people from across the parish community, including those in our parish school,
as well as those in other local schools and home school. This is something that I have been trying to
initiate for several years, but had to postpone because of the changes of the
past year. Watch this space for news!
I want to thank Eric
Lewis, who joined our program last fall and took over as Interim Music Director
during the winter. He has done a fine
job of leading our choirs and musicians not only in music but in prayer. He plans to continue singing with us as he
pursues his degree in conducting at CUA.
He has made rich and delightful contributions to every Mass in which he
has participated, and I am very glad for his continued presence as much as for
his fine tenor voice.
I should also draw
your attention to Al Hart, who helped lead the 9:00 Mass choir, and accompanied
it (and a few other Masses, when there was a pinch!) on the piano. Al is a man of many talents who seems to be
able to do anything musically, and to have done it all at one time or another
in his varied career. He also has the
deepest bass voice of anyone I have ever met from outside Russia.
During that interim,
we have also been blessed to have several excellent musicians accompanying us
on our fine organ: Terry Manspeaker, who played most of our 5:00 and 11:00
Masses; and Paul Campbell, Katie Yeago, Matt Mueller and David Knupp, who
played on an ad hoc basis; all
maintained the consistently high level of musicianship we have grown to expect
here. I thank them all, and I know they would be
grateful for your prayers.
Monsignor
Smith
