Glad Tidings of Liturgical Beauty and Joy: Hey, That's My Church He's Talking About!

In St. Ignatius’ eighth rule of discernment he admonishes us that when we are in desolation we should comfort ourselves that we “will soon be consoled.” And so it is that on the final leg of our vacation trip home we encountered a jewel of Catholic worship in Dallas, Texas. As God in His providence obviously provided, we selected a parish purely based on our interest in the beautiful architecture and convenience of location. He had much more in store for us than we could have ever anticipated.

The church Dan Burke talks about in his National Catholic Register article is our parish church, St. Thomas Aquinas in Dallas. Of course, we love our church but it was really wonderful to read such an appreciative article about it. Faithful liturgy is the keystone to any great parish, right?

I'm glad the 7:30 a.m. with organ and cantor was so good. However, one of the glories of our parish for me is that there is a wide variety of music, depending on which Mass you attend.

Imagine all that Mr. Burke describes but with a full choir of volunteers so good that they have inspired envy among those with paid choirs. That's the 11:30 a.m. Mass.

Then there's the Saturday vigil Mass at 4:00 on Saturday, with an all-men's choir that features Gregorian chant. And a lot of Latin too. I have to use the handout for that one every time.

I'll even give a shout out to the 9 a.m. Sunday Mass which features more modern music (not too modern, mind you) that has a very good folk choir. It is not to my taste but the music director has a light touch that makes the music shine in a very non-folksy way.

Here's a YouTube link of a rehearsal that gives you an idea of the full choir.

Here are a few photos of the church.

Altar (The angels only come out for Christmas and Easter. They live in the church office otherwise.)

Nativity Scene

This shows the church from the choir loft. Not in holiday garb, but with the choir in their black garb for a formal concert.