This week I finally had a chance to check out a Catholic mass! After a quick visit to the bookstore to buy candles, a booklet on hell, and some rosary beads, we made our way to the chapel. So here is the breakdown:
ATMOSPHERE: 10/10 candles
The atmosphere was wonderful! It was like stepping back in time to the middle ages. I felt like I was in a Knight's Tale or in 16th or 17th century Europe, simply magnificent. The building itself was constructed in 1899 and in Spanish Gothic style as can be seen in the pointed arches. It seemed very archaic, as well it should, the Catholics boast the oldest (tied with the Eastern Orthodox Church) denomination of Christianity and this was the oldest Catholic parish in the state and one of the most traditional; they kept to their roots here. I have always been interested in the Catholic faith, to me it always seemed so archaic and mysterious, so full of ceremony, ritual and custom. The art and architecture were captivating, so full of symbolism and meaning. One thing I got to observe about Catholic tradition was that everything has a meaning, there is nothing there in the church that is superfluous. Every image, carved stone, candle, and object has some symbolism behind it.
Even the doors here in this church have meaning, there are three entry ways, each representing one of the holy trinity, the father, the son, and the holy ghost. You enter through the second and (largest) door which represents Jesus, the son. They believe that only through Jesus can you reach salvation, the door is also the larger of the three because that is the main door through which people enter and exit the Church here.
I was also quite taken with the stained glass here, it was very beautiful and on all sides when you were in the main chapel. Each window had an important figure on it with their accompanying symbols, tokens, signs, and so forth. Intricately designed and colored to take in the light and bring a story to life! St. Patrick, St. Paul. St. Joseph, and of course Jesus and several windows for the Virgin Mary were all situated neatly, and extravagantly along the walls to watch over and inspire the reverent worshipers.
SERVICE: 9/10
The music was traditional and the whole gathering was heavily ritualized. There was a lot of standing then sitting, then kneeling then standing again and sitting... it was a very active service and I really felt like I was a part of it, I felt drawn in and immersed by it, having little time or opportunity to take notes. I prayed with the congregation as I happened to know one or two of the prayers by heart. In fact, I even went up during communion and was blessed. While everyone else was partaking of the bread and water/wine I crossed my arms over my chest, bowed my head and the priest said a short prayer as he swiped his thumb over my forehead. It was an interesting experience, after the Mass I even had the priest bless the rosary had I bought bought.
You could definitely feel how sacred this place was to these people, I noticed that there were many of the congregation that were Hispanic and had possibly directly immigrated from Mexico where the Catholic presence is high. There were Spanish translations for much of the material and on all of the signs around the church, which is not an uncommon thing in downtown Ogden. The service held my attention and I was never bored, in fact I was almost disappointed how short it was, there was just so much to look at and to be captivated by that I stayed after the service to take more pictures of the interior:
Some signs and holy water. The holy water was also found in several marble bowls throughout the church.
This is me in front off the Tabernacle. The golden door there in the middle is where they put the bread and wine/water and they believe that it actually turns into the literal flesh and blood of Christ, this is called transubstantiation.
COMMUNITY: 6/10 candles
I knew before coming that I should not expect the unabashed warm welcomes and boisterous "howdy doody's" commonly seen in baptist churches like the one from last week. Catholic churches are different in that people start praying in private the moment they enter the building. It is a quiet, sacred, spiritual affair for them and pleasantries are best reserved downstairs in the lounge and book store, or outside after Mass. The people were very friendly, however I sometimes felt like there were some whispering about the strange visitors. I also witnessed a crabby-looking woman who seemed to glare at everyone. I was new to the whole formal ceremony thing so I was always self conscious about the signs and motions i was doing. I was obviously an outsider and the people in the pew in front of me and to my right had noticed. So every time they would lean to whisper to each other I felt like I was their topic of conversation. I caught myself once getting mixed up doing that cross thing you see Catholics do (forehead, sternum, left, then right shoulder). I had went right to left and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw one young woman talking to her neighbor making the same incorrect motion. Aside from that brief bit of awkwardness (and possibly paranoia on my part), the people were kind and warm to us when we did actually get a chance to talk to them. However for the most part, the people kept to themselves in private worship.
MESSAGE: 10/10 candles
The sermon portion was very short due to the fact that most of the Mass was singing (beautiful) hymns, reciting prayers, and ritualized ceremonies. The only take home message that I caught was:
"Greatness is often found in unexpected places"
Really the sermon was more like a "thought for the week" sort of deal, but, this week it happened to be a 10 candle winner! This is a wonderful message that we can all live by. Don't underestimate someone or turn them away because they are of humble origins. The priest brought this message together with stories of how Jesus came across some of his apostles. Some were fishermen, some came from places no one in the world in those times wanted to live, Jesus himself came from one such place of Nazareth (I am paraphrasing the story of course). Greatness can be found anywhere, you just have to look. Now I will admit that when he tied god into this my skeptical side went on a tangent when he said:
"God is everywhere and he speaks in a small voice. You can only find him if you look for him"
I was thinking to myself "well sure, it's like ink blot tests, people can extract anything out of anything depending on how they wish to interpret it," or "yeah that's called presuppositional apologetics, starting with the answer and looking for things that fit the model to explain it" but that didn't devalue the massage, it only made it Christian.
OVERALL: 9/10
I thoroughly enjoyed myself, not much more to say. I think that based on the cultural and artistic merit alone, everyone should attend a Catholic Mass at least once.
(Tune in next week when we visit a lively Pentecostal Worship and feel the touch of the holy spirit!)
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