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.