It's probably correct to infer from the recent changes at Atonement that Fr Lewis doesn't intend to play to the same sorts of people who watched this podcast. Regarding the image on the triptych, another visitor says, "I always thought that Image of God in the triptych looked like Henry VIII in a tiara."
A San Antonio visitor commented,
It appears that Bishop Lopes, Fr. Lewis and the whole new regime at OLOTA have a new vision. I do agree that the present folks running the show at OLOTA are hell-bent on removing the last remnants of "anything" Fr. Phillips. Whether this new paradigm will be successful or not, time will tell.Another visitor commented,There is no doubt that OLOTA is losing parishioners. As I understand it donations to the parish are down. I have not heard anything lately concerning the school enrollment. There is the uncompleted construction on the new school building and, of course, the never ending long term debt of the parish. The parish gave up the Latin Mass and chased most of the folks that attended this Mass away.
Now with the renovations going on in the church, it's anybody's guess how many more parishioners will leave. But, I have to admit the new regime is brave. We will see where all this ends up. As a last thought, my wife and I have installed a stained glass window and a statue in OLOTA. I know of many people who over the years have made very expensive and beautiful donations to the parish. I wonder how they feel about the changes.
It was mentioned that the High Altar Triptych and other items will be stored for future display and that a new archives area will be built somewhere in the parish. This may or may not happen, but I don't think it will come to pass in our lifetimes. I am not sure how these items will look or display in a Medieval restaurant.
First, there is no Canon Law against standing on the Mensa when renovating, doing maintenance or dismantling. Clearly the Blessed Sacrament was not present and the altar was stripped of cloths, candlesticks, etc. They were also taking it down for restoration and removal. Anyone who thinks this is a Canonical crime would be wrong. I posit, if the Mensa is sanded during restoration using a power tool, should the altar have to be re-consecrated? I would question if the Lady Chapel altar was re-consecrated after it was moved to OLOTA.The subtext I'm beginning to read with all these comments is that it might even be a good idea to take the weepy grandiosity, the faux-medieval nostalgia, and the swooning pedantry out of the ordinariate, but then, exactly what do you have left? And of what might be left, can't you find it maybe more easily with a mildly conscientious investigation of local diocesan parishes?Working in churches for a good part of my life, sometimes the only way to access lightbulbs in altar towers, turrets and behind or above statues is to strip the cloths off of the altar and climb up there. I've helped move marble statues, needless to say 3/4 men standing on the Mensa moving a life size Saint Monica is quite the sight. But there was no other way. 4-5 foot tall bronze candle sticks cannot be moved using just a ladder, you've just got to take your shoes off and climb up.
. . . Those who viewed this and were unaware were in tears and assumed vandalism (removing an altar is quite the bit of vandalism gone un-noticed). That says more about some peoples deductive reasoning than I care to say. Those folks could have said, "Hey Joe, what's going on here?", but they chose to weep or assume vandalism. But parishes are odd places. Sometimes they are great except for the parishioners themselves! Again, that closet lefty Fr. Lewis going and changing things.
Parishioners have their own emotional attachment to things. I personally think that they are doing something interesting by swapping the altars. Unfortunately, clouded with emotion people react poorly. This will surely be felt at the parish level where some will end up leaving a parish that seems to need more parishioners, not fewer. That being said, neither altar is particularly noteworthy. The Gothic altar reminds me of dozens, if not hundreds of old altars I've seen across the United States, I mean you could order these things out of catalogues at one time.
And the chapel looks rather. . . dreary. The triptych is. . . Well. . . There is a bit much going on and while it may be lovely in person, does not seem to photograph well. If I were celebrating mass regularly there as pastor, I wouldn't want to look up at it every day either. Sometimes more is less.
