The prize for “best vacation church” goes to . . .

St. Patrick St. Anthony Catholic Church in Grand Haven, Michigan.

I sent my husband and kids off to the Musical Fountain because I wanted to think about, and write about, this church (well, and search yelp.com for a good spot for my husband’s birthday dinner; we’ll be trying out J.W.’s, so if anyone’s by chance been there, let us know!).

We went to the 10:00 liturgy, and grabbed what seemed to be one of the last available pews a few minutes before mass started (well, there was additional seating in a balcony).  And after the first hymn, I already heard something I’ve never heard a priest say before:  a thank you to the congregation for singing, because when you sing, it encourages those around you to sing, and God is tone-deaf and doesn’t care whether you can carry a tune or not; He just wants you to sing.  And, indeed, at all the hymns (which tended toward the traditional — How Great Thou Art, for instance — but with keyboard rather than organ), the congregation sang!  In fact, I found myself wondering whether the church was unusually full due to vacationers, since Grand Haven is a Lake Michigan beach destination — but, if so, the singing is all the more impressive.

So that’s already major points to their credit.

But then we get to the homily.  And the already very dynamic priest — well, the homily was unlike any homily I’ve ever heard.  Today’s gospel was from John,

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

and I have never heard a priest give a homily in which the topic mattered so much to him.  He had an assistant bring out the monstrance with the consecrated host inside, and he urgently wanted us to understand just how important the Eucharist is, what a great gift it is — it was extraordinary.  He talked about spending the week thinking about how best to share this message.  And when you consider that so many homilies are perfunctory and businesslike, or hesitant (deacons especially seem to be afraid of truly making any grand statements; what they say is more along the lines of “I read something that I thought might be worthwhile sharing”), and more than a little “meh,” this was all the more inspiring.

Now, Lutheran husband in tow, I wished he might have caveated his statements about receiving the Eucharist, perhaps added a comment about “even if, for whatever reason, you don’t receive communion, Jesus is still present in a special way with us during mass,” also in light of Francis’s recent comments about welcoming the divorced/remarried even though they may be unable to receive communion.  But still — wow.

They’ve also got perpetual adoration.  And they’ve got a festival coming up next weekend; my middle son wants to go to the Euchre Party on Friday night and I’m tempted to see if they have any treasures at the rummage sale.  And they’re in the middle of a big fundraising campaign for a new parish center with offices, meeting rooms, etc.  From all appearances, they’re a healthy and vibrant parish.

The church has faced challenges:  after all, they have the odd double name of St Patrick St Anthony because they were a merged church, due, according to the local news, to the priest shortage.   And  according to the Grand Haven Tribune, the beloved pastor has only recently returned from a 6-month leave after an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman.  (That article also reports that back in 2012, he was obliged to discontinue his prior practice of giving the children hugs — which was something we had witnessed on a prior visit and certainly seemed to be an indication of genuine affection between the priest and the children — because of fears someone would make a connection between this and pedophilia scandals.)   And one does worry — he’s two years away from retirement (that is, it’s my understanding that the Normal Retirement Age for priests is 70, not 65); there’s definitely a risk that this growth could be upended by a priest who comes in with new plans.

But this morning, I felt in a wholly different world from all the reports of the decline of the Catholic Church.  Instead, I was transported to a place where the Catholic Church was alive and well.