(由 Google 翻译)在这里参加弥撒是一次非常令人沮丧的经历。
首先说好的方面,应该说教堂的外部很漂亮,教堂内部10英尺以上的一切也很漂亮。这是圣路易斯最古老的教堂之一,有着丰富的历史。此外,两位教区居民热烈欢迎我来到教堂,我听说这个教区社区为穷人和无家可归者做了很多工作,这很棒。
但这里的糟糕之处确实很糟糕。这座教堂的内部已经被彻底毁坏了。从布局上仍然可以明显看出,这座教堂曾经非常美丽,可能看起来有点像它的子教堂,宏伟的圣弗朗西斯德萨雷教堂,距离酒店大约五分钟路程。但在某个时候,有人产生了一个可怕的想法,要把它变成一座全面的教堂,现在在以前突出的祭坛前面(背对着)有长椅,美丽的高坛几乎隐藏在视线之外,肯定是疯了。还添加了单调的地毯,使这个地方感觉不像主耶稣基督的令人敬畏的寺庙,而更像是祖父母的客厅。此外,礼拜仪式——如果可以称为礼拜仪式的话——非常糟糕。这并不可怕,仅仅因为许多礼拜仪式都很糟糕,比如糟糕的音乐或糟糕的讲道,但相反,它感觉草率到我什至不确定它是否是一场有效的弥撒。他边走边编造一些事情,甚至询问群众在弥撒期间插话的祈祷意图。这感觉不太像是我在那里代表弥撒的神圣牺牲,而更像是我正在参加一个一个老人之家的祈祷小组刚刚举行了圣体圣事。
教堂昔日的辉煌显然导致了人们在这里做弥撒时的糟糕经历。一位迎接我的教区居民告诉我,这座建筑里的音响效果多么美妙,当然它们一定很好,但一想到这个曾经充满雄伟的格里高利圣歌的地方,香火如何,就更令人心碎。虔诚的祈祷和对主的神圣赞美诗,现在回响在一些老人的喧闹声中,唱着 20 世纪 70 年代写得不好的歌曲。从彩色玻璃和装饰华丽的天花板上可以看到内在的美感,与下面的东西形成鲜明对比。
总的来说,这座教堂现在似乎是一个悲伤的纪念碑,纪念美国和其他地方许多美丽的教堂所遭受的“破坏”和糟糕的礼拜仪式。也许有一天,可怕的整修工作可能会被撤销,而不同的人群可以修复这个美丽的空间。后面没有长椅,高祭坛前有一个有趣的圣坛屏风遗迹,还有浸入式洗礼池,也许适合未来的拜占庭式会众,在经过巨大翻新的圆形长椅后,可以为这座建筑注入新的生命。设置被删除。无论如何,如果你想寻找一种真正的天主教体验,目前荣耀主耶稣基督,我会去别处寻找
其中包括一些照片,其中一张照片显示了教堂在灾难性翻修之前的样子。
(原文)
Attending Holy Mass here was a greatly disheartening experience.
To start with what was good, it should be said that the exterior of the Church is beautiful and everything above 10 feet within the interior of the church is also beautiful. This is one of the most historic churches in St. Louis with a rich history. Additionally, two parishoners welcomed me warmly to the church, and I have heard that this parish community does great work with the poor and homeless, which is great.
But what is bad here is really bad. The interior of this church has been absolutely butchered. It is still obvious from the layout that this Church was once very beautiful and probably looked something like its daughter church, the magnificent St. Francis de Sales, some five minutes away. But at some point, someone had the horrible idea to turn this into a church in the round and now there are pews in front of (and facing away from) the formerly prominent altars and the beautiful high altar is tucked away almost out of sight and certainly out of mind. Drab carpet was also added and makes this place feel less like an awe-inspiring temple to The Lord, Jesus Christ and more like your grandparents' living room. Additionally, the liturgy - if it could be called a liturgy - was terrible. It was not terrible merely in the way that many liturgies are terrible, such as in terms of bad music or poor preaching, but instead it felt slapdash to the point that I am not even certain it was a valid Mass. It seemed like the priest just sort of made things up as he went along and even asked the crowd for their own prayer intentions to interject during the Mass. This felt less like I was there for a representation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and more like I was attending a prayer group at an old folks home where the Eucharist just happened to be consecrated.
The evident former splendor of the Church contributes to the bad experience one has at Mass here. One of the parishoners who greeted me told me how wonderful the acoustics are in the building and certainly they must be good, but it just makes it all the more heartwrenching to think of how this place, which was once filled with majestic gregorian chant, incense, pious prayer, and sacred hymns to the Lord, now resounds with the clamor of a few elderly people singing badly written songs from the 1970s. The inherent beauty that could be seen in the stained glass and magnificently decorated ceiling contrast terribly with what lies below it.
Overall, this church seems to stand now as a sad memorial to what has happened to so many beautiful churches across the US and elsewhere with its "wreckovation" and bad liturgy. Perhaps one day, the horrible renovation may be undone, and a different crowd can fix this beautiful space. The lack of pews in the back, an interesting remenant of a rood screen in front of the high altar, and an immersion baptismal font could perhaps suit a byzantine congregation in the future which could breathe new life into the building after the monstrously renovated round pew setup is removed. In any case, I would look elsewhere if you seek to find a truly Catholic experience that currently glorifies The Lord, Jesus Christ
Included are some photos, including one photograph of what the church apparently used to look like before the disastrous renovation.