Okay, Then

Looks like the Solemn High Mass held at the Cathedral on June 1 (above) will indeed be the last one there for quite some time. According to incoming rector Fr. Chuck Durante in the June-July 2018 High Desert Catholic:

“The only actively assigned priest in our diocese trained in the Latin Rite, as far as I know, is Father Loy, who celebrates it at the Holy Spirit Mission. So, for those people who remember the Latin Rite and long for it, or those younger people who desire it, the Holy Spirit Mission in Washoe Valley would be the place to go for the Latin experience. The rubrics of the Latin Rite are completely different, and though I might be able to pronounce some of the words in Latin, I wouldn’t understand what I was saying very well, so I could not really pray it. I would just be saying words.”

Still, HDC's farewell interview with Fr. Jacob Carazo, which also delves more into the 32-year-history of the Friars in Reno, is worth the read.

I know I put one of these memes into our year-end post, but considering the almost certain closure of the doors of the Cathedral to us, here's another one:

KEEP CALM

and

TRUST KATHY 

And, more importantly, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

A Farewell To Friars

As Fr. Jacob Carazo prepares to hand the reins of St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral to Fr. Chuck Durante, we need to thank Fr. Jacob for allowing us to sing at the Cathedral as long as we did, continuing the run that started under Fr. Francisco Nahoe's rectorship. Fr. Jacob, Fr. Tom Hamilton, and Fr. Paul Fazio (all of the Conventional Order of Franciscans Minor, OFM Conv.) will be leaving for California by the end of the month; we have sung at Masses served by all three.  Here is a photo from their farewell Mass (how did we not sing for that?) featuring all the Friars who attended:

Thus ends 32 years of service at STA by the Friars, who have been the most prominent and consistent supporters of RPC's mission in recent years.Today was Fr. Paul's final Sunday Mass, and he commented that St. Thomas Aquinas was his favorite assignment in his more than 40 years as a priest. I'd like to think it was at least partly because of the Gregorian chant we provided for him both as a choir and as individual cantors (Kathy and I).

We will miss the Friars, their spirituality, and their affinity for sacred music. Their imprint on the Cathedral and northern Nevada will not soon be forgotten. For them I offer the following:

St. Maximilian Kolbe Prayer

Amidst hate and imprisonment, you brought love into the lives of fellow captives and sowed the seeds of hope amidst despair. You bore witness to the whole world by word and deed that “Love alone creates.”

V.  Pray for us, St. Maximilian Kolbe.

R. Help us become worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, You inflamed St. Maximilian the friar and priest with love for the Immaculate Virgin and filled him with zeal for souls and love of neighbor. Through his prayers grant us to work strenuously for Your glory in the service of our sisters and brothers, and so be made conformable to Your Son until death.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

A side note: The Shrine of St. Anthony, bucolic home of the OFM Conventional province in Ellicott City, MD, was spared damage from the terrible floods that hit the historic part of that town in late May. Fr. Masseo Gonzales, a.k.a. "El Padrecito," studied as a brother in Ellicott City; having served at STA, he is now in Guadalupe, CA. Fr. Masseo maintains a small but important spot in RPC lore as the one who made me aware of Fr. Francisco's arrival and his love of sacred music in the Liturgy. I connected Fr. Francisco with Kathy, and the rest was history. [ETA: Okay, Kathy says there was a little more to it than that, including a recommendation from Dr. William Mahrt.]

Where The Road Will Lead Us

(Of course, it's been said Highway 50 between Fallon and Ely isn't even the Loneliest Road in Nevada.)

This is a different sort of year-end post for us because between now and September when we resume, we do not know exactly what will happen. The Friars are leaving the Cathedral, so our relationship with that parish remains to be seen. At least we do know our rehearsals will continue in our current location. As I was often told in the Defense Department, "Stand by to stand by."

This was a good season in which we had help from several new and returning members, while others suffered through various maladies, some temporary, some rather chronic. We did have the honor of singing at Fr. Joseph Walsh's First Mass as well as the Friars' last Mass for First Friday, a Solemn High Mass. We also sang on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day.

Thanks be to:

• Kathy, which goes without saying.
• All those who sang with us throughout the year, with special mention to those who often sang two and even three times a Sunday.
• The pastors who allowed us to sing for them.
• Our family members who had to do without us on Tuesday nights until now.
• Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Cecelia for their intercession and inspiration.
• Our benefactors, known and anonymous.

So I leave you with this encouragement in these uncertain times:

Your webmaster, who occasionally remembers how many beats a half note gets,
Paul

Climb Every Mountain

Retired Air Force Colonel and avid skier and hiker Gwen Linde says she's climbed pretty much every mountain in northern Nevada, so she's moving to the largely unconquered ranges of Utah; she's pictured above in the Italian Alps in a photo by Alberto De Giuli. We in RPC will miss her dearly, as will the St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral community. She is more than worthy of her own special farewell from us.

I have used many of her photos of Masses, weddings, and other occasions. She has been active in pro-life and religious freedom campaigns in northern Nevada, and created the Reno Catholic Network website as a repository of homilies, retreats, and other talks from the Cathedral and elsewhere, as well as Kathy's talk on why we have chant at Mass and our 2013 Gregorian chant workshops. She has helped promote many of our Masses, coordinated our singing schedule with the Cathedral, and frequently brought us the Eucharist in the choir loft. Other service she has provided has included being a personal assistant to the Friars; for example, she had to take Fr. Paul Fazio to the DMV four times to get his car registered (hey, don't blame me!). She has a heart for rescuing cats, and has been active in politics including the campaign to protect religious liberty.

Gwen's 26-year Air Force career deserves far more mention than I can put here. She's flown and trained pilots in everything from fighters...

...to C-130s, including landing those on the ice in Antarctica. And you think landing at Reno-Tahoe is difficult?

In fact, Gwen was one of the first women in the Air Force allowed to fly aircraft of any sort. She still flies small private planes as well. 

Finally, here she is in Chile with President George W. Bush in 2004.

And as if all this weren't enough, Gwen has a doctorate in geology and has authored several papers on the strata of northern Nevada (hey, that rhymes). 

So Gwen, we thank you for your immeasurable service to our country, to our region, and to Regina Pacis Cantorum. Utah doesn't know what it's in for!