Before attending the Spanish mass at Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, I had a few expectations. My first expectation was that the majority of the mass would be different from the ones I usually attend on Sunday. I thought the prayers and the order of the procedures were going to be very unlike. My next expectation was that it would be very difficult to follow along with the priest. I assumed that since the mass was in Spanish, I would not be able to understand what was happening. My last expectation was that common followers of that cathedral might look at me and our whole class out of curiosity. We were their guests and unprepared for the amount of experience we were about to gain. To my surprise, my expectations were not met, but in a good …show more content…
Both began with an entrance song and ended with a closing song. Everything in between was almost identical. The differences that stood out to me the most were Holy Communion and the collections. In English masses, people receive the Eucharist in a synchronized manner. People move pew-by-pew and wait until it’s their turn to join the line to the front of the church. I’ve notice that in the Spanish mass, Communion was done differently. Instead, people received the Eucharist whenever they were ready. Some wanted to sing, pray, or reflect a little bit first. People were able to choose when they received the Eucharist, which I believe is a very good idea. Also, the collections were done differently. In English masses, there would be a person on each side of a pew extending a collection basket for everyone in that pew to donate something. The collectors would then move onto the following pew. In the Spanish mass, collections were not donated in the same manner. Baskets were placed at the front of the church before the altar. People then proceeded to walk towards the altar to place their donations in the baskets. Lastly, our class and I were not treated as strangers. We were welcomed by both the priest and community. Even though they knew we didn’t understand everything in the mass, everyone still thought of us as equals and children of
Also, pre-1962, a Catholic Mass was very different. In a catholic mass prior to 1962, a priest would speak to the congregation in Ecclesiastical Latin and it was not practiced in the local languages. The people were not encouraged to participate. Practices such as Benediction, Novenas, and Rosary were practiced by the family as a whole. Benediction was on Friday nights where the whole family would attend. The novenas would be attended by children prior to important schooling events (held by the school itself) and the rosary was a family ac...
This experience was really out of my comfort zone. It was hard to be an outsider and not prepared for what was to come and not speaking one of the languages used to understand the entire service. This service learning project gave me the opportunity to try a new church and gain a deeper respect for a different religion. Everyone at the service was very educated on speaking the sacred texts and participating in the rituals practiced. I hope to have gained a better understanding for those who are new to religions and are nervous to come to a worship service. I will make more of an effort to be welcoming and accommodating to those who are new to our church.
The Catholic Church in the novel is very traditional. Antonio’s church practices old rituals, such as the children attend catechism classes before their first communion. Antonio and his friend Florence are late to one of the classes. This causes Antonio to receive a warning and Florence, a punishment. Florence is required to hold his arms outstretched in the middle of the aisle for the entire class. “”Let us pray,” Father Byrnes said and knelt. We followed suit, kneeling on the rough splintery knee boards of the pew. Only Florence remained standing, holding the weight of his arms, which would become numb
Upon arriving at the meeting, Tom H., the apparent leader of the meeting, came up and introduced himself to me and asked if I was a student. I don’t know if I stuck out or it was the notebook I held that gave me away. There were eighteen people in attendance, which I thought was a pretty large group. There were nine women and nine men. The meeting began with a moment of silence and the Serenity Prayer.
The offerings of bread , wine and other gifts are brought to the altar. The next section is the Eucharistic Prayer. The Communion is the fifth and probably the most important part of the Mass. It starts with the Lord's Prayer ( Paternoster ) and ends with the Communion for the Clergy and Congregation. Communion is where the gifts of bread and wine are blessed and then received.
The Roman Catholic Church was trying to find a way to have the communities be part of the church through attending services once a week. During this time of French history, going against the Roman Catholic Church could have lead to imprisonment or even death. But, it shows just how one woman was able to take Miguel De Molino ideas and translate them into her own life. Through her book, one is able to practice Quietism, as the Spanish theologian had wanted other people to practice. A Short and Easy Method of Prayer also shows how ideas spread further and wider at the turn of the
...t also with acceptance as one of their own, although I never wore a Tallit or Kippah. This was a very peculiar position since I have never been so accustomed to this sort of kindness. By the end of the Jewish service, not only did I respect and appreciate their faith much more, but, in a way, I began to grow a love for it as well. While I felt no negative feelings towards the service, the most positive aspect would, most definitely, be the warmth I felt from everyone inside the Synagogue and from the presentation of the building itself. At first glance, I was not able to fully appreciate the decorations in the room, but the longer I observed I began to realize each decoration represented something significant. Overall, if I learned anything important this day it is that one thing holds true: I can still appreciate ideas and concepts even if I do not agree with them.
John Neumann Catholic church on Sunday with my friends. The outside of the church has a big cross hanged on top of the building, which is similar to all the Christian churches I saw before. Without mentioning this church is a catholic church, I would not be able to distinguish the difference between Christian and Catholic churches. When I first walked in the church, the interior was beautiful, but I was shocked when I saw a lady kneeling down pew kneeler. Then a group of people who were wearing whites vestment walked with a big cross on their hand, and there was one person who wore green vestment walked in the middle. The mass starts with a song, then a speech, then they talk about the book section. However, I have always heard the rumor that Catholics discourage Bible reading. This mass has proven this stereotype was incorrect. Catholics actually do read the bible and they also discuss about it during the mass. For the most of the time, they discuss the bible reading and sing. Also, as you can see in my Cultural Plunge picture #3, there is a photo of the mass schedule where listed the bible reading assignment for each mass. Towards the end of the ceremony, the priest told people to hold hands and pray, and they also ask everyone to introduce themselves to the people around them. Towards the end of the mass, there were people pass a basket around to collect money. I was a little to confuse about this process, but I believe this basket would be use for some good
First off Catholics believe that they are receiving the very Body and Blood of Christ Himself. At the Last Supper Jesus said, "This is my body which is given for you" and offering His disciples the cup of wine said, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." In the Gospel of John they read: "Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (St. Louis Parish para 1).” When receiving communion and the person ahead of you is receiving Communion you offer a simple bow of reverence with your head and then step forward. You receive Holy Communion either in your hands or directly on the tongue. If you receive in the hands you should take care that they are clean (as a sign of reverence) and place one hand over the other and raise them up high, forming a throne with our hands to receive Jesus. As the priest places the host in our hands and says "The Body of Christ" you should respond loudly and clearly "Amen (St. Louis Parish para 5)." Also, one major point in Catholic Communion is with non-Catholics. Non-Catholics are not permitted to receive Holy Communion. The very action of receiving Communion says that the church believes it is the Body and Blood of Christ and that we share in the whole life of the Catholic Church. Inviting non-Catholics to Communion can be an obstacle to one day reaching full communion by blurring the differences in belief among Christian denominations.
At last I arrived, unmolested except for the rain, at the hefty decaying doors of the church. I pushed the door and it obediently opened, then I slid inside closing it surreptitiously behind me. No point in alerting others to my presence. As I turned my shoulder, my gaze was held by the magnificence of the architecture. It never fails to move me. My eyes begin by looking at the ceiling, and then they roam from side to side and finally along the walls drinking in the beauty of the stained glass windows which glowed in the candle light, finally coming to rest on the altar. I slipped into the nearest pew with the intention of saying a few prayers when I noticed him. His eyes were fixated upon me. I stared at the floor, but it was too late, because I was already aware that he wasn’t one of the priests, his clothes were all wrong and his face! It seemed lifeless. I felt so heavy. My eyes didn’t want to obey me. Neither did my legs. Too late I realised the danger! Mesmerised, I fell asleep.
Although the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church ultimately had more differences which ended up causing their split, they once had quite a few a similarities. The churches shared “many of the same prayers and liturgies” (“Eastern Orthodox”, 2001 para.1). Both the Eastern and Western churches had a difference in opinion in defining and numbering sacraments but they did agree on what the seven major sacraments for their churches should be. They also agreed upon that the male clergy should consist of bishops, priests, and deacons.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of learning more about a new culture and participating in their cultural events. My original fear of being an intruder went away when people would be friendly and introduce themselves to me. I was surprised to enter the prayer room and see that people were sitting on the floor because I am used to people having a chair to sit on. I was also nervous about sitting on the floor for a long period of time because my body is not used to it and I am not as youthful as I once was. After about thirty minutes, I started to get really uncomfortable, but I continued to sit because I did not want to be offensive by standing. I was surprised to see volunteers cooking meals for the guest because that is not something that I am used to seeing at a
Episcopalians go to church every Sunday, and it’s setting and how the service is carried out is as formal as the Catholic Church. Episcopalians go through their liturgies, readings, song and prayer just like Catholics and receive the Eucharist also. Unlike the Catholics they don’t believe in transubstantiation (wine and bread becoming the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ). Episcopalians respect the Eucharist for all it symbolizes (Jesus Christ dying for follower’s sins), but they do not believe it is the actual blood and body of Jesus. Episcopalians receive the Eucharist about every other week (Havens), and kneel down before the cross when they do so. Episcopalians celebrate Seven Sacraments (same as Catholics) which are: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony and Holy Orders (Beaven). The most holy time of the year for them is Lent which leads up to Easter. Another really important time for Epi...
As I was attending mass, I noticed, it was very organized. There was a lot of sitting and standing, where I found myself struggling to understand. I noticed that they read some passages from the bible and sang a lot of psalms and hymns. The only thing that was familiar to me was the Eucharist.
The Mass is celebrated in order for us, his followers, to receive God’s grace within a place of worship. The Mass serves as a form of intimate unification between God and all of his worshippers and disciples that make up the Mystical Body of Christ. This is only possible