St Cyril of Jerusalem

I am a new parishioner at St Cyril’s of Jerusalem Church. I attended the noon Mass on Sunday, January 24^th, and was immediately stunned at the empty pews! Then, Mass began and I was enthralled with the amazing choir, only to be completely dismayed by the Priest, who I later learned is the Administrator. He told the congregation that he would provide the football score later during the Mass (which I had on my DVR so of course it ruined the game, which further disturbed my experience but not because the game was ruined, but if I can wait and watch it later, why is a Priest talking about A GAME during Mass?). This ruined the experience of the choir and the reverence that Holy Mass deserves. It got worse when the woman who angrily screamed the readings nearly burst my eardrums! Then, the Administrator Priest provided a 20 minute begging for money tirade, even waiting for the ushers to hand out pencils so people could contribute via envelopes provided. This was his homily!!! He neglected to mention the March for Life 2016 which had just occurred on January 22^nd, the 43^rd anniversary of Roe v Wade, in addition to addressing the reading. Is he Catholic??? Thankfully, the choir was beautiful. We went home & I later went to a different parish to fulfill my obligation because I am not sure this counted or was valid. There is a part of me that really hates to review a Priest/​Church but after stewing over this since Sunday, I decided I have an obligation to warn others. If you want to hear a great choir, this is the place. Going to Mass should bolster your faith! You shouldn’t be forced to listen to a Priest begging for money instead of presenting an appropriate homily.
I’ve heard that St Charles has a wonderful Priest and beautiful choir. I think we will attend Mass there this coming Sunday. (This review was edited. Out of respect for the Catholic Church I retracted specific names.)

This is a nice place. I stopped by because I was in the area and figured I would pay this place a visit. I met Father Larry and he seemed like a very cool guy. I would recommend anyone to stop by and check it out.
In response to Laura W. Comment…
It’s a shame that your friend didn’t explain to you about receiving the Eucharist (not just a «wafer») beforehand. But here are some articles that may help explain why certain people cannot receive Communion, even certain Catholics…
Who can receive Communion…
Can non-​Catholic Christians receive communion in …:
It will also state who can receive Communion on the very first page of the missalette (the book in the pews)
Bottom line
Great place, check it out!

I love St. Cyril’s noon mass on Sundays. The choir under William Beck is magnificent, the pipe organ is famous, and although it’s a thoroughly modern post-​Vatican II liturgy, the mass responses are all in Latin, with the congregation invited to participate. I think of it as a «real» mass, with a real feeling of reverence and mystery (and incense) often lacking in more happy-​clappy kumbaya churches.
Poor Laura W. The parents of the First Communion kid ought to have explained to her what was going on at communion and why it’s such an important celebration.
It’s not fair to down-​rate the church because of her ignorance. No, non-​Catholics are not permitted to receive the sacrament because they don’t understand what they’re actually doing. It’s a 2000-​year-​old rule. The eucharistic minister did the right thing, although perhaps he could have been a bit less rude about it. I’m surprised the priest didn’t give directions for non-​Catholics ahead of time. They usually do when there are a lot of Protestants in the crowd.
Laura, «eucharistos» is Greek for «thank you.» So you had the right idea.

I went to a Communion on Sunday for my daughter’s best friend. I hadn’t been to St. Cyril’s before and thought it was beautiful! The service was lovely and the visiting Bishop was a wonderful speaker. I really enjoyed myself and was tempted to return. However, that warm fuzzy feeling was sucked out of me when I went up to receive communion. The deacon gave his blessing and then I received the wafer, however, I did not say «amen,» I said, «thank you» instead. He stopped me and said, «you’re not supposed to say thank you, you’re supposed to say amen.» Then he proceeded ask me in a snarky manner, «Are you Catholic?» I replied that I wasn’t and he grabbed the wafer out of my hand. Informing me that I cannot take Communion because I’m not Catholic… Very Christian, don’t ya think?

This church lends out it’s property for a lot of good causes as well as the day to day church activities.