619 10th St. NW
Website
Location: Located between DC's tiny Chinatown and the Downtown, and a block from the National Portrait Gallery (a 4 for Location, since I can to it in about 35-40 minutes, a pleasant stroll up 4th St., across the Mall in front of the Capitol, and then up Pennsylvania Ave., which would be even shorter if I took the Metro), St. Patrick is unassuming at first. But step inside and you see this:
Aesthetics: The church is bathed in golden light, with marble and stained glass flashing color. It's also full of statues - the last time I was in a church with this many statues I think I was in Europe. The whole picture exudes a feeling of opulence, richness - which is perhaps fitting for the oldest parish in the city, and also the closest church to the White House (though not to the Capitol - there's another that's closer). This church is not holding back in terms of art - in this photo of the apse you can see stained glass, painting (those narrow arches under the windows are saints, painted on golden backgrounds), marble (the altar and lectern) and wood (the pews). In addition, there are bronze stations of the cross, marble statues (both below), candles, and tiles. A 5 on Aesthetics for sure.
 |
| The statue in the foreground is, of course, St. Patrick, the church's namesake. |
Music: I had expected to be disappointed, as I usually am (alas), by the music, but was encouraged upon entering the church to see no piano or guitarist standing in the front of the church, and encouraged further when I entered my pew to see that the hymnal was hardcover and red (basically, when I see a paperback in a church pew it's battle stations) . And then, wonder of wonders, someone started playing the organ. Remember the organ? The only instrument we used to write church music for for the longest time, until somebody decided that the organ was just too hard to learn and to play (and perhaps to grandiose for our "enlightened" times) and a piano would do just as well instead? Well, St. Patrick has an organ - a pretty good one - and somebody who knows how to play it. Unfortunately, the acoustics are a bit muddy, perhaps because a sound system was installed for the priest and the cantor to use, and it may have upset the delicately-calibrated balance of the space. It was a rather sparsely attended Mass, so there wasn't a whole lot of singing going on either, but on the whole the musical situation is above average here. 4.
Liturgy: Of course, there has to be a skunk at the picnic (life wouldn't be any fun without a skunks at picnics), and this particular skunk wore vestments. Now, I understand, sir, that this might be your second or even third Mass of the day, but that gives you no excuse to roll your eyes and rush through the Mass parts like you've got some other place to be. Nor does it give you any reason to toss the host down so you can genuflect and get on with that pesky consecration. And then - heaven forfend - you have to give communion to the congregation - ach, the peasantry! I won't keep going because you can see what I'm getting at. Because he was actually capable of preaching (although I don't remember what he said, because I was too busy keeping myself from walking up to the lectern and punching him in the face), I won't let him drag the rating all the way to a 1, but a 2 is nothing to be proud of.
Review
Location: 4
Aesthetics: 5
Music: 4
Liturgy: 2
15/20 (3.75)
In sum, I have found a pretty good church that's tolerably close to my apartment and has good music. Today it also had a douchebag presiding, but I intend to give it another chance (the 10 am Mass has a choir!) because aside from the priest, it's a lovely place, and very conveniently located for post-church shopping. Because it's close enough to walk, I'll surely be back - and if I'm lucky, the skunk at the picnic won't.
No comments:
Post a Comment