Today is the feast of St Benedict, the founder of the monastic order which bears his name. The archdiocese has two St Benedict churches, but one has a name at least partially subsumed by the new parish name (they have multiple worship sites, so it’s still St Benedict Church but it’s St Mary Magdalene Parish). It’s also pretty far away in Blue Island. The other St Benedict Church, in the North Central neighborhood of Chicago, is closer, but it’s some place I’ve been to Mass (many times in fact) and I want to privilege churches that I’ve not been to on this project. But practicality won out and I went to the closer St Benedict.
Back in the 00s, I was a lot more involved in music ministry and playing out and I led a young adult choir for a special Mass at St Benedict which led to my subbing for the organist one weekend and playing in an orchestra the music director had put together. There was some possibility of my getting a job as assistant music director, but that didn’t come to pass. All this leads to the fact that the weekday Mass today had no music. It was fairly well-attended, at least in part because it was the feast of the parish’s patron saint since a number of the worshippers stopped in the side chapel where there is a statue of St Benedict along with his image in stained glass.
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