Sunday Mass

Today began with a group of us attending mass at the local church in our neighborhood, Santa Maria in Trastevere. What an interesting experience it was to see the similarities and differences between Catholicism in Rome versus Salem, Ohio. First of all, I woke up early, because I knew that it would be good to arrive before all the seats were full. Secondly, I wasn’t sure how well dressed churchgoers would be, but I assumed it would be more so than in America. When I arrived, I saw that my expectations were incorrect. People walked in at the last minute, and many of the members of the congregation wore jeans, t-shirts, and other casual attire. The ring of a bell signaled the start of mass, and everyone quickly rose as the priest, deacons, and altar servers entered. From this point forward, the mass may have been in another language, but every aspect of the mass was recognizable to me, and I felt comfortable reciting parts in English. One of the greatest things about being Catholic is that the mass is universal. When the priest initiated the giving of peace, all of those around me graciously shook my hand and offered me the peace of the lord. It was a moving and powerful sign of the universality of the Catholic faith. The particular mass we attended happened to be the low mass, which meant that the major portions of the liturgy of the Eucharist were spoken and not sung. Even so, the main hymns, along with the psalms, were all recognizable to me. Our teacher, Ms. Dalton, who is also Catholic, made a good point about the Alleluia psalm before the Gospel. She remarked how she had never understood the purpose of this prelude to the Gospel, but after seeing mass today, it made much more sense. During the time that we sing Alleluia, the priest processed up and down the aisle carrying the Bible, before ascending a spiral staircase to read the Gospel from an elevated box on the lefthand side of the church. Such an observation really reminded me of how easy it can be to attend mass without truly understanding and appreciating each aspect of the service. When I head home, I will surely be more attentive to this in my own church, as I continue to learn more about this ancient tradition.