Immaculate Conception (week 4)

In addition to striking a better balance between timely and lengthy posts, I'm also working on the balance between participant and observer at mass.  I was only half kidding about the reporter's notebook.  

Immaculate Conception is kind of yellow church, 2 columns of pews, and has this stained glass and columns versus linoleum floors thing going.  I made a rookie mistake of sitting behind a column.  

I went to 5:30 mass today.  I was heading into direct sunlight on the way over and was meet by a fall night when I left.  The "Praise Band" takes care of music with a violin, drums, guitar, piano.  And I can't be sure because I didn't see it, but I am pretty sure I heard another tambourine.  

Much of mass tonight was spent discussing the new Roman Missal.  It's a good thing I started going back to mass now, because if I waited a few more weeks, I would feel very lost.   The changes in wording, we were told, will make mass more beautiful, poetic, and lyrical.  The changes will also break us of our rote memory style of prayer.  (Where would I be now without rote memory?)  All Saints' Day this week, Advent starts in four.  Where did the year go?

I had the happy surprise of running into an old friend tonight.  That reminds me that part of going to church is being part of the community.  I realized I wouldn't have it by church hopping, but I didn't think I would miss it.  

The readership has spoken...

Hello everyone!  I'll be staying in my own back yard this weekend with Sunday afternoon mass at Immaculate Conception.  I've never actually been to mass there or inside the church.  As you'll remember, Sunday afternoon mass is my favorite.  And I'm tired.  I will also be working on striking a better balance between timely and more thoughtful (longer) posts.

St Joseph Taneytown (week 3)

I've made it to week three!  I think I'm hitting some sort of stride here, but it wasn't without stumbling blocks.   This was the first busy weekend I've had.  There were festivals and long runs to attend to.  I felt like I was fitting (cramming?) church in.  There really are no excuses for missing mass when you are Catholic.  You can go Saturday afternoon.  Or Saturday evening.  Or early Sunday morning into the afternoon.  Or Sunday evening.  Or if you live near a Catholic college, late Sunday night.  

After a busy and tiring Saturday, I couldn't drag myself out of bed for the predawn trek to Taneytown. 8:00 mass was out,  but I made it to 10:00.  And made the first new stop on the tour.   St. Joseph's is red brick church on a busy street.  It's small and bright.   There are two columns of pews, maybe 15 rows each.  It was a full house this morning with welcoming and friendly people.  Fittingly, today's homily was about making time for God.   

And there was a tamborine.  All in all, a good day.  As for next week, I'm open to suggestions.   And company.  

#2 CMOQ

It's been a fun week, 52 weeks wise at least.  I've had fun chatting with friends about this new project, I've expanded the fire and brimstone scale (see below) and I've spent a good amount of time wondering who I know with an Android.  It was good to have Sunday morning plans.  But I've also spent some time this week freaking out.  What was I thinking?  Where do I get my crazy ideas?  What if I can't do this?  Is it wrong to take a reporter's notebook to mass?  (I didn't.)  Nevertheless, it was on to Cathedral as planned for 9:15 mass this morning.
 
I picked Cathedral because it is the church where I was both baptized and confirmed.   I haven't been there in eleven years.  It's both everything and nothing like I remember.  I've always found it beautiful but intimidating, remember it as dark and still.  Today it was bright with an undercurrent of chatter and kneelers banging up and down.  Marble echoes.  It was sixth and seventh grade mass this morning, but I don't think there was too much deviation from a regular Sunday.   There were Gather books!   (I probably haven't held a Gather book in eleven years either.)  Today's message: What world do you live in?  Kind of an imagine the impossible, what are our kids going to think when we tell them we didn't have flying cars in our day sort of thing.

In my later mass attending days, I was pretty solidly a Sunday afternoon mass person.  Though I covet sleep, I was rather drawn to Sunday afternoon mass as the transition from weekend to work week.  I found today that Sunday mornings might be rough for a while.  On the plus side, I realized when you go to a different church every week, you can wear the same clothes and no one will notice.

Next week will bring some unchartered territory, yet to be determined.  When I pick, I'll be sure to post.

Amanda's doodles on church evaluation:
Dress code:  from flip flops to tuxedos

Music: from electric guitars to Gregorian chant (tambourines are somewhere in the middle)

Homily: from butterflies to pitch forks

Week One

I don't know how it happened, but here I am, someone who considers herself a practicing Catholic but who doesn't attend mass.  I know it's absurd.  It's not as though I have renounced Catholicism or chosen another faith tradition.  I still believe in God.  I still pray.  Going to mass used to be part of my routine.  It was easy.  And then suddenly it wasn't. I don't know how to go to church anymore.   And it's not getting better.  I could blame shift and weekend work.  I could blame the many changes in the parish I used to call home.  Neither of those things seem fair.  So here I am, embarking on a one year journey of faith.  I hope you'll join me.

The plan is simple: 52 churches in 52 weeks.  I'll be announcing my destinations like a concert tour and collecting Sunday bulletins like baseball cards.  Sound gimmicky?  It is.  I need this though.  I'm not sure how else to turn around the past four plus years of spotty attendance.

I don't want to turn this into the Yelp of Baltimore area churches.  Incidentally, there are three well reviewed parishes on Yelp, followed by a listing for a pub.  Maybe I should check that out too.   I don't want to offend, just reflect.  So if you have a favorite mass, church, homilist or choir, please let me know.  I'm open to suggestions.

I kicked off my voyage with St. Pius X.  It is the place I most consider my parish these days.  It seemed fitting on the one year anniversary of my sister's wedding. It is the church where both she and my parents were married.  My sister has joked that I rate masses on a likert scale from fire and brimstone to kumbya. I call this one a wash.  As I left the church, I wondered how to journey forward when it seems I might already be home.

Next week, I'll be at the Cathedral of Mary of Queen for 9:15 mass.