A Requiem on the Palos Verdes Peninsula

This past Lent, the Brothers and a couple of Chorus Breviarii members sang the chants of the Requiem Mass for the father of Frater Jon T. Velasco. The Mass (New Rite due to the difficult situation post-TC) was offered at St. John Fisher Catholic Church, located in a prominent spot on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. This was possibly the first Chorus Breviarii / Brothers event outside the Dioceses of San Diego and San Bernardino in half a decade or more. Our drives north began quite early, about 6 a.m., since we needed to avoid the worst of the morning rush hour both in San Diego and Los Angeles. Once we got off the traffic-choked highways onto the city streets, our drives took us past some classic California storefront designs. While driving along these streets, Frater Tom Gray recalled previous events we had at St. John Fisher, as well as at Ss. Peter & Paul in Wilmington. Fratellino's drive took him up the PCH, where he enjoyed breakfast at the Hot'n Tot Coffee Shop with Chorus Breviarii Murrieta organizer Ken Onoda.

The ascent from the flat Los Angeles basin up to the top of Palos Verdes is a wonderfully scenic drive. A rugged and prominent piece of land towering over the flat floodplain to the northeast, the Peninsula is ecologically and geologically similar to the California Channel Islands, and it likely used to be an island itself. There are some fantastic views of both the ocean and the Greater Los Angeles area atop this almost-island, with some great lookouts available along the northern edge of the parish property. Being Los Angeles, however, these views of the city are a bit whited-out with smog. Fratellino and I took pictures by some trees lining a nearby road.

The current church building for St. John Fisher is very modern and round, with a walled-off Blessed Sacrament chapel, a petite non-rectangular sanctuary with a small altar, and a sound-absorbing ceiling. A statue of the parish patron is located toward the back of the right-side pews.

Fr. Peter Adrian Miller, O.Praem., chaplain to the Pala TLM community, offered the Mass ad orientem and in black vestments. The Epistle and Gospel were identical to the traditional readings for the Traditional Mass of burial, with the addition of the Maccabean lesson from the Traditional Anniversary Mass due to the N.O.'s requirement of an Old Testament First Reading.

We sang Anima Christi as a votive chant following the distribution of Holy Communion to the faithful, and following the In paradisum, we sang Cardinal Newman's "Lead, Kindly Light" as a final hymn.

Following Mass, we joined Frater Jon T. and his family for lunch, where we enjoyed good food, good company, and beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean.

Through our pious supplications, may God grant rest to the soul of Meynardo J. Velasco. +R.I.P.

Remember, O most sweet Jesus,

that no one who has had recourse

to Thy Sacred Heart,

implored its help, or sought its mercy

was ever abandoned.

O Heart of Jesus! be Thou my joy,

my peace, my repose

in this world and the next.

Our views at lunchtime.

The 7-Eleven at the end of Hawthorne Boulevard
(LA County Road N7) plays crime-deterrence music
(classical music) from its loudspeakers.

Courtesy: Fratellino

Courtesy: ronscout / Vaticanguard