The heavens show forth your glory

11th June 2012   ·   0 Comments

By Fr. Jerome LeDoux
Contributing Columnist

It was a great day for a picnic – North Texas style. Even as late as May 20, the 89-degree temperature was not only tolerable but comfortable, given a refreshing breeze. Swinging off I-30 N, I exited Cooper N, driving until I wondered how much farther I had to go to Green Oaks Blvd. Most folks rarely say how far one must go to the next turn.

After a mini-eternity, Green Oaks hove into view. A left turn put immediately into my view a huge, elaborate mortar and stone gate on my right. Gingerly, I eased into the unknown territory, but – alas! – no one had said whether to turn or go straight. Of course, I made the wrong choice by going straight, but a frantic cell phone call remedied that.

Cars and trucks were parked all around that large portion of River Legacy Parks, a 1,300-acre urban oasis that follows the curves of the Trinity River in north Arlington, Texas. The Parks’ striking ecological diversity of bottomland forest, wetlands and prairie provides abundant habitat for countless birds, fish, mammals and native plants.

With hikers constantly parading to and fro, one got the flavor of a park system that beckoned to all lovers of the outdoors to come, connect with and enjoy the wonders of Mother Nature. Hundreds were around giving witness to their love and joy.

Sufficient spring rains had effected an extravagance of luxuriant growth sporting a half dozen or so shades of nerve-calming green, from the darkest green of hardwood trees to the light shades of some grasses. Prominent in the immediate area were stands of huge cottonwood trees. Unfortunately, a few picnickers were allergic to them.

Falling in love with the picturesque, spacious layout, I mused that it was indeed a great day for a picnic/Gospel/jazz Mass under the open skies of God’s creation. By any measure, especially by the sea of contented, expectant smiles, this was going to be a very unique and prized moment of heartfelt thanks, praise and celebration in our lives.

Nothing disappointed that gleeful expectation. The stiff breeze threatened to send the altar cloths and prayer/Scripture papers flying all over the place, so that anything light had to be anchored by makeshift paperweights such as glass dishes. However, the wind movement was just enough to make all believe that heavenly fans had been turned on.

And, of course, led by director Zenobia Collins, Our Mother of Mercy choir was not about to disappoint. Masterfully controlling his sound system, Anicetus Fernando alternated between his guitar, bongo drums and tweaking the volume and quality of sound for the music and spoken word. It was a joyful sound for the ages.

With the collective grins of Cheshire cats, the organizers of the lively, rousing outdoor pic­nic/Gos­pel/jazz Mass beamed their personal and communal satisfaction for all to see. One apparent thing of note was heightened attention and active participation by the motley outdoor congregation who were seeing worship from a different perspective.

While the majority of the 200-plus “church” were members of Our Mother Of Mercy, quite a number were family visitors or friends, swelled by some walk-ons from the ranks of hikers or passersby who decided to cash in on a handy Mass opportunity.

Children, of course, were entranced by the extraordinary venue for worship. But, on an occasion like that, all of us are children, reacting to scenic nature as the multitudes must have reacted to Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount or preaching to the crowd from the boat of Simon Peter along the shore of Lake Gennesaret.

There are always smiles during our Masses at Our Mother of Mercy Church in Fort Worth, especially during the homily, the rite of peace and Communion. This was only intensified by the intriguing circumstances of our picnic/Gos-pel/jazz Mass where an infectious spirit of oneness, sharing and joy pervaded our extended family at worship.

Plans for our outdoor pic­nic/Gospel/jazz Mass began with the 55th anniversary of my priestly ordination on May 11. “We have to do a follow-up from the celebration of your 50th anniversary five years ago,” said coordinator Judy Bell Thomas. That was an echo of the remark of Bishop Kevin Vann, “Double nickel, as we said of I-55 in Illinois.”

As I stood contemplating the people from the altar, I reflected, “What an obsolete, lonely figure a priest would be without a love-filled Faith Family around him!”

This article was originally published in the June 11, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper