THE youth of Alexandra Hills parish enjoyed their first rock Mass on May 12.
It was part of a series of rock Masses being celebrated in the Redlands area.
After two successful efforts in St Luke’s parish, Capalaba, the celebration was tried in St Anthony’s parish, Alexandra Hills last month.
Parish priest Fr Paul Rooney celebrated the Mass, accompanied by drums, brass, guitars, clarinets and singers.
One of the organisers, David Jorna, said the church was “packed”.
All the preparation work for the Mass was done by the young people in the five Redlands parishes – St Rita’s, Victoria Point; Star of the Sea, Cleveland; St Luke’s, Capalaba; Mary MacKillop, Birkdale and St Anthony’s, Alexandra Hills.
Fr Rooney said it was a great chance for the young people of the five parishes to take ownership of the Mass.
“They say the Masses these days are not meaningful to them and don’t reach them,” he said.
“This is a step in the right direction because in their eyes, it’s not a Mass just for the ‘oldies’ in the parish.”
One of the musicians, Luke Laws, wrote the entrance song, called Alive with Love.
The Gospel was accompanied by a modern dramatisation, organised by Damon O’Brien.
After the Scriptures, the lights were extinguished. David Jorna, who is the chaplain at Carmel College, Thornlands, used a hand mirror to speak about reflecting God’s love to others.
“We have to take the light of Christ and use the mirror inside of us to reflect the light to everyone else,” he said.
“We have to use our inner mirrors to shine our light into dark places.”
The next rock Mass will be at St Luke’s parish, Capalaba in July.
