slow and measured, with style and class

Mass with the German Benedictines at their outdoor altar at their Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish was, week, so German and so Benedictine. Exactly at 9:00 a.m., exactly, exactly, the twos servers and the priest presider appeared at the back of the people gathered, and we all stood. Mass was all in German. Arabic last week, German this week, and next week, back home, chances are good that it will be English. Same Mass, same cadence of of the spoken word, just different languages. Even though outside the monastery church, summers it is too hot in the church itself, everything was elegant and Mass-worthy, crisp and ironed, classy and honorable, that is,so Benedictine and monkish. One thing I noticed about the presider. The chasuable that he wore, the way he used his arms and hands, the tone of his voice, his inflection and the deliberate pace of his speech, drew no attention to himself and sort of deflected everything toward God through the ritual of the Mass. That was so Catholic and was so right.