after we sat down in pews, the priest began reciting certain creeds and pausing to hear the response from the congregation. this didn't seem too different from our recitation of the apostles' creed, but in a different and more elongated format. but one conspicuous difference was that this seemed to take the place of worship; there was no other form of "opening worship". after several rounds of this we sat down and the priest began to talk. he read the Lord's Prayer and then read a short story relating to it, following it up with a comparison of his own. and then, to my complete shock, it was over. the sermon had only lasted about 15 minutes at the maximum (and honestly, that was probably due more to the priest's slow manner of speech than the actual length of what he read). i was completely taken aback because i hadn't heard a message that short since i was in the church's pre-school program! after that, there were more recitations of creeds that i couldn't quite catch, and then hymns were sung during the collection of offering. the hymns were beautiful, accompanied only by voice and (i think) organ. then, the whole congregation got up row by row to take Communion. i took the wafer and brought it back to my seat, not really caring that the lady had told me to eat it right away; i wanted to reflect and prepare my heart before i took Communion, and the four of us who were Asian stuck out like sore thumbs in this all-white church anyway so i didn't care much if i was breaking "tradition".
that's the crux of what i concluded from that mass. for me personally, it was hard to find Jesus amidst the man-made traditions and rituals. it seemed like it would be very easy to slip into the routine of coming to church for the service every Sunday, never once stopping to think about the significance of those actions, and completely missing an encounter with the living God. part of it is probably that it was different for me and that i have been used to being given time to pray and meet with God personally (my friend told me later that often Catholics come early to the service and pray on their own before mass) so it was more difficult for me. but it really made me think: even within our own church community, how often do we go through the motions of going to church and church activities - but completely miss Jesus? this morning, i felt like my spiritual senses got a little keener and i was praying for the spirit of discernment between my opinion and the truth. but regardless, it was a blessing because i really approached that service seeking to find God, determined to meet with Him on His holy day.
on a completely different note..
i went to a new jersey beach for the first time today and it was so much fun! it was so blessing to fellowship with the girls, especially since sunny and i did a devotion and prayed together early in the morning after we woke up. it was a time of fun and sun and it was just what i needed to rejunevate myself in preparation for this week :)
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