I usually don’t go to the early masses. For one, I like to sleep in. For another, most of the people seem like they’re still half asleep. But I had places to be on this Sunday and I had no other choice. I was excited to go to this church because I had heard about it several times. So I followed my GPS and I pulled into the parking lot. From here though I didn’t know where to go. None of the buildings were distinctly church-like. Luckily, someone else pulled into the parking lot behind me and I was able to follow them where I needed to go.
The fountain with the outdoor church in the background
I walked through this large courtyard, past an outdoor church area (where I almost wished Mass would be held instead of inside), a fountain, and a school. Most Catholic churches in LA have a school attached so I knew I was headed in the right direction. Side note: the school had a really beautiful painting of the California Missions on the side of the building. It’s customary for every grade school kid in California to write a report about one of the missions at some point in their education, so it was nice to see a great painting of all of them on the wall.
The California Missions painting on the side of the school
I continued through the courtyard and eventually came to the end. It was a large open area. To my left was a cafeteria/food stand area where women were chatting and preparing food. Obviously the church wasn’t that way. To my right was a building that looked like a large party hall with an open door. It didn’t look like the entrance to the church, but it was really my only option so I walked over. Lo and behold, it was the church.
The inside looked as nondescript as the outside. It literally looked like someone took a large party hall, put some pews and an altar inside and called it a church. (Turns out there was a front door and I came through the back. Though the front door was pretty tucked away and if you weren’t looking for it you might pass right by it.)
The interior of St. Anne's
Along one of the walls was a shrine and piled around it were flowers and candles of all kinds. This was an interesting and welcome addition to the church; it felt as if this church held some special significance because of the shrine’s presence.
The church was very quiet but quite full. It almost seemed as if everyone was still trying to wake up, but of course, maybe that was just me projecting. In any case, it was a chill crowd. No one was too loud ever during the Mass and not many people sang when it came time to do so. As far as the music went, it was pretty simple: a couple cantors, a piano, an acoustic guitar, and a violin playing mostly traditional songs.
The wall where the shrine sat, piled with flowers.
The priest was African and had a strong accent but you could still understand him. You might have missed a word here and there, but it wasn’t a problem for the most part. For his homily, he talked about the history of the book of Isaiah and how it was believed that there were actually three authors that wrote the book of Isaiah. The Isaiah writing this particular Sunday’s reading (read all the readings from this Sunday HERE) was written from captivity. The entirety of the Jewish people were living under the captivity of…Babylon? The Greeks? I can’t remember. The Jewish people were held captive a lot. ANYWAY, this Isaiah author, the priest said, was writing words of comfort to the Jewish people and urging them to be strong and trust in God.
The mass unfolded pretty normally. Nothing too exciting to report. It was still Mass, and it was still beautiful, but a Mass at St. Anne’s felt like the Masses I’ve been to a million times before. There WAS an announcement that there would be a taco bar after Mass, but I had to head to a meeting so I was sadly unable to indulge.
All in all, St. Anne’s was pretty standard. It had some unique things to look at and experience, but the experience as a whole didn’t make too much of an impact. I do think that if I return and attend a Mass that’s not so early there might be a little more energy, but I can’t say for sure. I definitely hope they make use of their outdoor church space; I would most certainly return for that as I would love to have Mass outside amongst God’s creation.
In any case, I think I’d only go back to St. Anne’s if they did have an outdoor Mass. Not to say that the church wasn’t lovely, the people weren’t kind and welcoming, or the worship was bad. It just wasn’t quite my cup of tea. Though I am glad I went. And I might be back to visit and learn more about the shrine.
I arrived super early, because I had left my house out of boredom and the errands I did before going to church did not take long at all. Mass started at 5:30pm and I think I rolled into the parking lot around 4:45pm. I tried to kill some time on my iPhone playing games, but it was dying a quick death. So I sucked it up, accepted that going into church 40 minutes early was just going to be down right awkward (because it’s an unwritten Catholic rule to arrive 5 to half a minute before Mass starts), and went into the church.
The first thing that stood out to me about St. Agatha’s, and it happened before I even got through the doors, was that it had a simple crucifix made of thick bent wire hanging above the door. You see, Catholic Churches are usually about the drama of the spectacle. How elaborate can we make this, and so forth (at least in my experience). But this crucifix was so simple and so delicately fashioned that its beauty just struck me. No embellishments were needed to emphasize what that crucifix stood for.
Here's the wire cross, just simply placed above the front door.
I passed through the doors into the small foyer of the church and, still feeling awkward about how early I was, I decided to browse the pictures on the walls and the pamphlets that were displayed. There was some history on a couple different saints which was a lovely read, but what I was most interested in was that fact that every single sheet of paper in the foyer had information on some social justice issue. There were advertisements for a supply drive going to help those in a local prison, there was information on how to sign up for various social aid programs through the city of LA, and everything was in both English and Spanish. I feel like you don’t see that in a lot of Catholic churches. Usually it’s just prayer books and the church bulletin. I love that from the second you walk through the door of St. Agatha’s you know this is a community that wants to do everything in their power to help fill the needs of their community.
The interior of St. Agatha's
To be honest, I waited in the foyer long enough for someone to go into the church proper before me. I thought that once one person went through the doors to the main church it was ok for me to do so. So I got in the church and was surprised by how small it was. I’m very used to large churches with vaulted ceilings and religious decor, but this church was different from what I was used to. It honestly felt like I had just walked into my grandmother’s basement. Not to say that it felt old and moth-bally, but that it felt warm and comfortable and like home. Homely, if I had to pick one word. You just know that the building is filled with a lot of love.
The next thing I noticed was the stained glass windows. They had the same impression on me as the crucifix outside did. They were made for these large colored shapes and weren’t really detailed in the slightest but they were absolutely beautiful.
I sat down and spent the next half hour taking in my surroundings. There was a pianist playing very nice ambient keyboard music before the Mass. People started arriving and this is when I got my first glimpse into the most unique Catholic community I have encountered. First off, nobody talks in hushed voices before the service. As people arrived, they greeted each other and caught up with friends in normal conversational volumes. Even the priest came out to the pews before Mass to chat. Some people even went up and down the center aisle, saying hi to people they knew and welcoming the people they had never met before.
I have never seen a community that wandered around a church the way these people did. Pews were not barriers here. Some people may have started off in one place, but then moved to a new place before Mass started to be closer to a friend, and then ended up standing in the middle or side aisle during the course of the Mass because they wanted to stand instead of sit during the homily. Comfort and community trumped “what you’re supposed to do” at this church.
One of the awesome stained glass windows.
The congregation ended up being a small group when it came time for Mass; I’d say less than 50 people including the choir. Before the start of Mass the priest, accompanied by the amazing gospel choir, said a short prayer/sang a short song to focus everyone’s attention and to get everyone in the spirit of the worship. Then the priest, lector, and altar servers came up the center aisle to prepare for the opening procession (no secret back alley way to the back for this church!) And Mass began. The crowd was alive! How can you not be when there’s a gospel choir leading all the songs? People clapped to the music, they swayed back and forth. The priest even danced around the altar with the gospel book during the Alleluia! They definitely made worship something to be enjoyed.
Whenever the congregation was spoken to directly during the Mass it was referred to as “family.” “Family, please join us in singing…” and so on and so forth. The lectern was behind and in the middle of the altar which I thought provided a fresh and powerful significance to the word of God. I particularly appreciated the priest using the Hollies’ song “He’s Not Heavy, He’s My Brother” to explain how Jesus’ burden is a light burden to carry (a song that I was happt to add to my Spotify playlist after this homily). He even evoked images of an oxen with a perfectly fitting yolk to get us to picture what Jesus was saying. (Find the readings for this Sunday HERE). At the end of the homily, there was a sign of the cross from the whole congregation. I liked that that simple motion helped us recognize that the homily is part of the prayer of the Mass, not the best time to zone out and think about your own things (As I tend to do, and I’m sure others do too. Admit it to your sins!)
There seemed to be an energy at this Mass that is rare among Catholic churches these days. The people were happy to be there, they enjoyed the prayer and worship, and best of all, they enjoyed doing it with each other. I’m happy that I got to spend an hour (ok, hour and a half, because I was way early) in this small community and I look forward to going back. I highly recommend this church; you can feel The Spirit working here, and you will definitely have a fun time. It’s a unique place, a place that breathes life into the Mass and leaves you smiling and connected to God.
