St. Michael Catholic Church
310 South Wheaton Ave.
Wheaton, IL 60187
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Significantly More Liturgical
I decided to visit an early morning mass for my first church
visit. Coming from an Assembly of God upbringing, this was an extreme contrast.
Upon walking in, I was greeted by the holy water at the door instead of a greeter, and then I
quickly made my way to my seat. It was the most different from my usual service
because of the structure. There seemed to be a specific ritualistic progression
from specific reciting to communion at the end. Our church has structure as
well but is much less detailed. The pastor had somewhat of a thick accent so I
could not really understand everything that he was saying, but it sounded like
portions were spoken in Latin. The majority of the service was some sort of
response to what the Father had spoken, which was much more participative than
listening to the pastor speak with an occasional amen. In addition, although
they sang songs, their praise and worship was starkly different than the lively
band at my church.
I thought it was interesting that they took communion, even
though it was a mid-week service. Furthermore, they did not take up an
offering, which my church does in almost every service we have. Especially
because they have services every day, I think it is respectable that they don’t
push offering in every service, although I believe it is an important practice.
I was also intrigued by how everyone bowed to St. Michael before leaving. I didn’t
really know what to think about it because I don’t know the Biblical basis for
the practice, but it was intriguing to experience. Overall, I really liked how
much everyone participated in the service because it helped people pay
attention and stay on track with what the Father was saying.
The most difficult part about the church service was that
throughout the service, it seemed as though everyone knew what to say and
respond to what the Father would say. I would just try and mumble along and
catch on because I felt extremely out of place. It was sad for me because I
really wanted to participate in the service but I didn’t know how. Because I
went to a morning mass, the sanctuary was pretty empty, so it was pretty
apparent to everyone who was there that I did not know what I was doing and
that I did not fit there. When I entered, I dipped my hand in the holy water
but did not cross myself because I didn’t know I was supposed to, and I felt
like people were looking at me. Overall, it was hard that everyone else knew
the rituals of the Catholic Church while I did not.
Something that was definitely illuminated for me during this
service was the value of commitment to devotion to God. The people who were
there probably come regularly, maybe even every morning, to come and meet God.
The content and structure of the services are pretty similar, which for me
would tend to get boring and repetitive. Visiting showed me how valuable
steadfast dedication to the Lord is and opened my eyes to the significance of ritual
and tradition. It was evident that they held God as someone who is so holy and
should be treated with extreme reverence. The sanctuary was beautiful, a truly
ornate place for the Lord to reside. I think it can be easy to get too caught
up in Jesus as a friend and forget about the respect that should be upheld in
his presence and in his house. I also loved how as a congregation everyone
would kneel in prayer. I think it is important for us to humble ourselves
before the Lord and get on our knees and pray, and that is something that is
neglected in a lot of other churches.
No comments:
Post a Comment