momma and i arrived from cincinnati, after turning onto that street after getting off the denver exit from the ba, and we found parking in the lot across the street from the east facing entrance to the church.
even before entering the door, i'd seen the catwalk rafters out front, similar to those i saw on a trip to new york city, with those around the church functioning for an ongoing renovation project on the building exterior.
then, once inside, upon settling into a pew seat and seeing the bench and kneeler were about the same as i recollected from attending church there more regularly while going to school in the adjoining building and on sporadic visits since then, i'd mentioned to moms that graphic panels on each side altar of the church, along with the relocation of the fr. stanley rother bust, were new features of the church design i'd not seen since previously attending church at the cathedral, and then i'd recognized too that the stations of the cross around the church perimeter also had a fresh paint scheme.
further, the mass service in and of itself was nostalgic in that many details, including the altar decor, server cassocks, and use of incense, reminded me of the primary time period, or glory days, so to speak, of going to and serving at mass at the church, and the priest celebrating mass represented to me a ideal balance between recognition from experience within the diocese of tulsa and someone with whom i've have limited enough interaction as to not allow previous encounters to detract from present engagement. all in all, it was a beautiful mass service, with synergistic deacon and nun participation and leadership, a consummate performance from the altar servers, and a display of poiseful celebrant presence. read more