Church Review: St. Dominic

(Backdated from Monday evening.)

After a couple of tries writing this post, I finally have both the presence of mind and pictures to pull it for for real.  So here's my very first church review - if I can get this figured out, I'll be able to put a marker for the church on my map (see the "Map" tab if you haven't checked that out already) and link it back to the post.  We'll see. (EDIT: It works!  Squee!)

St. Dominic
630 E St. SW
Website

St. Dominic, you'll be unsurprised to learn, is staffed by the Dominican Order (also know as the Order of Preachers, from whence comes their Latin name, Ordo Praedicatorum, and its suffix, O.P., and as Black Friars, on account of their garb: black mantle over white habit).  The Dominicans are, of course, the same order as the infamous Torquemada, who ran the Spanish Inquisition, but 21st-century Dominican friars are a much tamer sort.  Those who preach here have abandoned the black mantle and now wear simple white habits, and the majority are far too old to plausibly call down the wrath of God on unrepentant heretics as their predecessors once did.  There's always at least one bent old friar sitting across from the presider at Mass and technically concelebrating, although this consists entirely of wheeling his walker over to the altar during the Consecration and murmuring along with the priest...

I'm am getting sidetracked, as I often do when talking about the Church.  How many intricate, fascinating, and vexing two-millenia-old theocracies do you come across on a weekly basis, huh?

Anyhow, a review of St. Dominic is what we're here for, and I shall deliver.

Location: This is the closest Catholic church to my apartment (there are some assorted flavors of Protestant closer, but that won't do me any good), so obviously it gets a 5 out of 5 for location.  In fact, all I have to do is take 4th St. straight north until I pass under the highway, and then hang a left and walk two blocks.  It's about fifteen minutes, and as I approach I see the photo above.

Aesthetics: Walking into St. Dominic you are first struck by the size - it is not a small church.  It doesn't feel quite as large inside as it looks outside (it's very long, but not all of that length is visible in the nave), but it's quite tall.  I reckon it may be just a trifle smaller than the cathedral in Green Bay where I was once a pontifical acolyte (it takes special training to serve a Mass for a bishop, believe it or not).  The principle feature of the church is its lovely stained glass windows, which are reminiscent of pictures I've seen of Chartres Cathedral, famous for its "Chartes blue."

I apologize that the quality isn't better, but I generally shy away from taking a camera into a church which isn't obviously a tourist attraction, because it looks like I came just to take pictures, which isn't the case.  With a camera in my phone, on the other hand, I can plausibly claim that I came for the Mass (which I did) and then was overwhelmed by the beauty of whatever I'm photographing.  Overwhelming these windows are not, but when you consider what they could be (American religious stained glass is somewhat lacking), they're not too shabby.

Unfortunately, the windows are offset by the altar.  Take a look at this and tell me what you see:

I'd like to direct your attention to the line of columns on the right and their style of ornamentation, and then the ornamentation in the sanctuary.  Now, if I tell you that the style of the columns is the style throughout the church, except in the sanctuary, what does that tell you?  Nothing?  For shame.  Here's what I've surmised.  This is a Dominican church, and has been for more than a century (check the history page on their website).  The Dominicans are conservatives, and this building dates from the late 1800s.  That little minimalist back altar, then, is obviously not original, and the stencilled pattern behind it isn't either.  Now, once more piece of information for your consideration: the Second Vatican Council.  Vatican II shifted the focus of the liturgy from the back altar (which, at the time, was the only altar) which was faced by the priest to a smaller front altar, priest facing the people.  And lastly, in the 70s and 80s there was a fashion among churches to go minimalist and modern, in an attempt to get the youth, who were leaving the church more than they ever had before.  So you put the pieces together; this is what I think happened:

Some church planner or something decided around about 1970 that in order to better appreciate the spirit and intentions of Vatican II, the church ought to be remodeled, and the (now unused) back altar be taken out.  In its place they put a small, minimalist back altar which serves no practical function at all (some churches have the tabernacle set into the back altar, but here it's off in a chapel on the altar's right, parishoner's left).  To fill the empty and blank wall space left by the excision of what was undoubtedly a large and ornate altar (perhaps like this picture from a church in Ohio before it was renovated), this planner ordered a dull stenciled arch pattern, which screams 1970s at me (hence my timeline).  It also screams "I'm not creative in the slightest!" at me, which is what bothers me the most.  The rest of the church is quite nice, and the big, empty space with boring stencils and a minimalist hunk of who knows what underneath those drapes is like a missing tooth.  No, more like a missing jaw.  3 of 5 for aesthetics, since that missing altar is what you spend your time looking at during Mass, not the windows or the side chapels.

Liturgy: From the Order of Preachers you would expect some excellent preaching (Savonarola, whose sermons inspired rebellion and the Bonfire of the Vanities in late 15th century Florence - he actually ruled the city for a few years before being excommunicated and executed, was a Dominican), but I have so far been largely unimpressed.  Perhaps this is because I am coming from a distinctly liberal church in Chicago where the pastor, a Carmelite, often struck a chord with me (social justice and ecclesiastical accountability were two of his favorite themes), or perhaps this is because these old Dominicans, who don't do much mission work, are less in touch with the surrounding community than my Chicago Carmelite, who did do outreach work, was (he is now working in the inner city in New Jersey, which only goes to prove me point).  There really hasn't been anything good or bad about the homilies, and I've been to Mass here every weekend since I moved and have heard several different preachers.  3 out of 5 for precisely middle of the road.

Music: Ah, yes.  I had wanted to talk about this.  I have quite a few thoughts on liturgical music, which I'll spare you, but suffice it to say that I am largely unimpressed with modern Catholic music, and St. Dominic, unfortunately, uses materials from Oregon Catholic Press (OCP), the foremost publisher of post-Vatican II Catholic liturgical materials, including music, in the country.  The vast majority of what is in OCP's hymnal is, in my opinion, either insipid, unsingable, boring, or repetitive, and sometimes a combination of several of those characteristics.  The [tiny] choir does a good job, and unlike other churches I've been in, the quality of the music is quite good, but the actual music being sung is generally uninspiring.  I'm also bothered by the choir's director, who serves as the song-leader as well, because his singing style can only be described as braying - very brash, loud, and not terribly pleasant.  I'm also opposed to what he does with some of his consonants, but that's neither here nor there.  The music isn't bad, but it's not good either.  3 out of 5.

Review
Location: 5
Aesthetics: 3
Liturgy: 3
Music: 3
14/20 (3.5)

3.5 sounds about right - St. Dominic is a bit above average, since the location is so good, but the music and liturgy are unremarkable.  Still, it's convenient, and I suspect I'll find myself going there often for that reason.  But I intend to explore other churches as well, to see what treasures I may be able to uncover!