I went to St. Christopher’s parish today just for a change. The Church is beautiful and traditional- a crucifix is at the center above the tabernacle, there are altar rails (with padding!), and artwork is in the sanctuary. Statues of Mary and Joseph are on either side of the sanctuary, and the high altar is covered by a baldacchino! The Mass itself was pretty good, there were only a couple of annoying things: the Psalm was changed to take out “Him” in reference to God which just sounded silly, before Mass a woman asked everyone to introduce themselves to someone around them, and the priest began Mass by saying “Good morning, thank you for the air conditioning”. Other than that it was fine. I was struck by how the traditional architecture and the size of the Church made the priest and deacon seem to be only a part of the picture rather than the center of everything. In my Church and many others the priest is at the center and there is no artwork or anything to focus on during the Mass so your attention is drawn to the priest. I don’t understand how priests today feel they can start the Mass by making small comments about the weather, etc.. This really takes away from the ritual. It was brought home tonight when I watched Inside the Actor’s Studio with guest Martin Sheen. The whole hour was interesting and filled with references to Catholicism. I know, I know some readers are thinking ‘commie, pinko, liberal wacko Sheen, but he came across as intelligent, serious and proudly Catholic, and not flaky as I thought he might. The show started right off with reference to Sheen’s Spanish and Irish heritage and Catholicism. He talked about serving Mass and his favorite prayer at the beginning of Mass: “Introibo ad altare Dei. Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.” James Lipton continued with “Judica me Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta..”, --two old altar boys spitting out the latin with smiles on their faces and a reverent tone. I have always loved that prayer at the beginning of the traditional Latin Mass! Now that is the way to start a Mass! Sheen was a graduate of Chaminade High School, the one in Dayton, Ohio not the one I attended. He spoke of taking the name Sheen from Fulton Sheen and later returning to the faith. Influenced by Day, Berrigan, and “liberation theology”, Sheen is definitely a liberal Catholic but a serious and devout one. The audience at least got to hear a positive and intelligent reference to Catholicism throughout the show. I also learned that Sheen played a Catholic soldier in The Execution of Private Slovik , the first one shot for desertion since the Civil War.

I grew to like James Lipton over many months of watching this show. He is a good interviewer and even his silly questions (what sound do you like? what is your favorite curse word?) make for some interesting responses. At first he can seem a bit over the top egotistical or whatever but he really seems to be passionate about the "craft" of acting and it makes the show and its guests more interesting.