Second Sunday of Lent Evening Mass - Saint Vincent DePaul Parish and School - Salt Lake City, UT - March 16th, 2014

       My visit to Saint Vincent DePaul Parish and School was the perfect evening. The Parish and School are off the highway and are three buildings. The School, Holy Room and Chapel/Church where the services take place. It was a clear day and quick drive to get there.

         Outside the Holy Room is a statue of Vincent DePaul who was famous for the caring of orphans of children. It is because of this he's always seen holding a child. Next to the Holy Room is the Bell and Chapel. Outside the Chapel is a statue of Mary and a woman bowing to her.

    Saint Vincent DePaul is one of the simpler Catholic Churches I've been too outside of the UW Catholic Newman Center and some of the Churches in Romania and Peru, which I liked. It had a simple zen to it that was beautiful.

      The one thing that put me off from the experience was the prayer, which was mostly a call to bring people back to the fold. "Any sinners please consider rejoining the communion of Christ," and the prayers were very much targeted only at the Saint Vincent DePaul community, with the exception of a prayer to end wars. It was here that Ukraine, Venezuela, Syria and Sudan were in my thoughts and prayers.      

     As to why it was a perfect way to spend the day...it was a place that was peaceful and easy for reflection. When the Mass began there the readings, which were focused on the Transfiguration, in which Peter, James and John were present when Jesus was with Elijah and Moses and where God says, "This is my Son of whom I am well pleased." The priest spoke on this, and how Christians are pilgrims heading to that perfect place that the apostles experienced in that moment...that they are pilgrims being guided by God. He dealt briefly with the problem of evil (problems that happen aren't God's fault - free will), but that God can make possible growth in those times. He then described how the Eucharist is a part of that being both physical and spiritual food of God that can allow for a taste of that moment the apostles had with Jesus.

     After the sermon was a moment of silence, where I thought about the power of story. Whether the resurrection happened or not, it is pretty cool how a story inspired so much. The music was perfect too, the main singer reminded me of my mentor Lupe when I was in choir at the Catholic Newman Center at UW. I must say, I have not been to a Catholic Church that didn't have great music here in Utah. 

    After the sermon ended one of the women greeted me and gave me a calender and bulletin, since I was curious. I think I'll probably be visiting here again.