Return To Seattle: Day 5

The morning began, of course, with Sunday Mass.

Usually, when I travel, I look for either an Eastern Rite Catholic church, or a Roman church that offers the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). It may be a sign of getting on in years that I have lost any patience with novelty in Catholic worship. If some twit pastor wants to make the Sunday experience akin to watching a game show, and if his lackeys that pass for parishioners cannot get enough of it -- well, I have had enough of it, so they can have the rest.

The Seattle area is served by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), which administers North American Martyrs Parish, using the physical plant belonging to Saint Alphonsus Parish in Ballard. They give the choir the summer off, and the High Mass becomes a Low Mass. Personally, I could have done without the organist; not because they played an instrumental during the Offertory, but because they kept it up through the Preface, the Sanctus, and up until the Hanc Igitur (shortly before the Consecration). This made it difficult to follow the liturgical action from a distance, by obscuring any distinction amidst the various parts, thus impeding even interior participation.

Aunt Shirley decided it wasn't her cup of tea. I cannot say that I blame her if that was her re-introduction to it, but it's still mine. I had heard that these people were real tight-asses about anyone in the pews responding to anything, but those reports are somewhat exaggerated. And the people we met after Mass, who drove for over an hour with their six children, were very nice.

There was more writing during the afternoon, and in the evening, Paul let me take him to this great Japanese restaurant in the International District. This is a shot of the feast of the evening, followed by a lively discussion of Paul Ryan, the health care mandate, the origins of the power to regulate interstate commerce, the difficult choices in balancing the Federal budget, the pros and cons of tort reform, and why Obama is a big disappointment even for many liberals.

Who knew?