Catholic

Why can't Catholics make up their minds whether they want to sit, stand or kneel?  I would have thought that they might ask for people's preferences at the door and then just sit, or stand, or kneel for the whole service. I am intrinsically lazy, therefore I do not want to be bobbing up and down for the whole Mass.  This whole up and down thing of course affects the older members of the congregation.  Poor old things take ages to stand and then they have to sit down, then kneel and so on.   In the Masses I have attended it is the oldies who are far more likely to try and kneel.  When they do creak down to floor level it is almost impossible for them to get up by themselves so their fellow parishioners have to drag them upright.

I used to go to Mass years ago and I could never figure out the responses.  Evidently after you have been going to Mass for years and years these become second nature.  Let me say now that I am fascinated. There are responses and crossing oneself, tapping and kissing or what I imagine to be tapping and kissing.  My absolute favourite is the 'Peace be with you.'  This is the  part of the service where the Priest says, "Peace be with you."  The congregation answers, "And also with you."  That is nice to give something back to the Priest, who let's face it has given everyone Communion and done most of the talking.  Everyone says 'Peace' to each other and then either shakes hands or kisses everyone around them.  I am not one for kissing really but a nice handshake between relative strangers is nice.  

I love the Catholic Mass.  I love the ritual.  I love that the Mass has not changed and that people now are still making the same responses and standing and sitting and kneeling just as people have done for a couple of thousand years.  Of course the Mass is now in English, or German, or Italian and so on rather than in Latin. I do have a missal that has half of the page in Latin and the other half in English to make it easier to understand exactly what the Priest is saying. 

I especially love Communion.  Everyone stands up and in a very orderly way goes up to the Priest who gives them a wafer and says, "Body of Christ."  They respond with an 'Amen.'  I take it there is a special way to hold your hands where the Priest places the wafer.  Then they line up again and to get a sip of Communion wine with the words, "Blood of Christ," and they respond, "Amen."  For those of you who are health concious the rim of the chalice is wiped with a sacramental cloth to clean away the germs.  The thought is also that as the chalice is cold that it will cause the germs to die.  Perhaps God protects those who drink his blood.  Who knows!  

I always feel sorry for the tiny little kids who can see Mum and Dad and older siblings going up and getting a potato chip from the man in the pretty frock when all he gives them is a pat on the head.  Mums are just as likely to have a small packet of chips in their bags for just such an occasion.  Maybe I should do that as well. Although I am not so easily fooled as a little kid. 

My favourite Mass of course is Holy Thursday.  I find it particularly moving and infinitely sad.  This is the time that I feel the closest to being a proper Catholic.  While other might like the Christmas Mass it is Holy Thursday that does it for me every time.  Even though Easter Saturday Mass takes forever I do enjoy it.  I am in awe of people who have been non-Church goers their whole lives becoming part of the Catholic community.  One day I might just take a leap of faith and become a real Catholic not just someone who flits in and out of Mass without making a commitment.

My favourite Church is in Melbourne.  It is St. Francis Church in Elizabeth Street. I believe it is the oldest Catholic Church in Melbourne and possibly Australia.  The atmosphere is beautiful.  They have about seven Masses on a Sunday just to accommodate all the Church goers.  At times the Church is so packed that there are people standing across the back of the Church and down the aisles as well.

I find Mass particularly peaceful and soothing. It is a beautiful and even though I am not a Catholic I respect those who believe.  With a "Peace be with you," I always leave the Church uplifted and indeed peaceful.