Last Sunday morning I attended my first Catholic Mass. I have grown up going to a Evangelical, non-denominational church but within a fairly Catholic culture. Growing up in the Boston-area there are many practicing Catholics, or people who go to Christmas and Easter Mass. I have several Catholic friends and family memebers that have Catholic backgrounds, but I have never fully experienced a Catholic Mass. After studying about Catholicism and liturgical churches, it only seemed right to visit one at some point. It wasn't until visitng Holy Family Catholic Church in Gas City, Indiana last week that I had this experience.
Going into the service, I had some idea of what to expect. I went with two other friends; one who was as knowledgable as me and one who knew less than me. I was fortunate to have done some studying over the years about Catholic history and structure. I knew about chanting and hymns, I knew the structure of Mass, I knew the role of the priest, I knew the sacraments and communion, and I knew it was a lot of standing, reciting, sitting, and kneeling. However, I did not know how doing all those things would feel, and then how it would feel being surrounded by that. There were definitely moments when I felt uncomfortable. I wasn't sure what I should say, why I was saying it, and how to sing along to the chants and refrains. I think I was expecting to be uncomfortable to the degree that I wouldn't be able to recieve anything from the service. However, I was pleasently surprised by the Truths and beauty that was interwoven throughout the whole service.
Throughout the service, the Word was highly emphasized. Whether that was through chanting a Psalm, reading the Gospel, the sermon, or during communion they showed a high reverance for the Word of God. The service was very intentional in all that they did, but it would also feel strangely meaningless at times. Meaningless in that it we would do these acts and say these creeds, but we did not know the reason why. For example, the priest would say phrases during his prayers that were unfamiliar to me, and it never was clear what he meant or why he said what he said. However, when the priest was not reading directly from the litugry during his sermon, the service started to feel familiar. His sermon was a lot like what I would hear at my home church or at a campus chapel service. He hooked our attention with a funny story, drew lessons from a Bible story, and challenged us to apply the message to our lives. However, it was only about ten minutes long. There was a lot more to fit into the service so looking back the length of the sermon makes sense, but I was so confused in the moment. I think that generally describes my reaction to the service. I was confused or uncomfortable in the moment, whether it was kneeling through all of communion or seeing everyone around me recite some ancient text, but reflecting back on the service, things make sense.
I appreciated my time at Mass on Sunday. It definitely made me think and reflect on not only the service but God's character and what I believe in general. Even in the midst of obviously standing out in the congregation, I felt welcomed after the service by the memebers of the church and by the priest. They were open and comfortable with us asking questions and genuinely showed care in their worship. Visiting this Mass has made me more excited to visit other liturgical churches in the future!
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