Because I
often work on weekends and planned a trip to California over 2 Sundays in March
I chose to remotely attend a church service online. I attended a Catholic Mass
on catholictv.com. The worship was much about reverence for God and remembering
what Christ did for us on the cross. Even on the set for an online service the
decorations and attention to detail was beautiful, almost as if a small chapel
were built so that they could allow people to attend a real mass in the comfort
of their home. I’m sure they are catering to individuals who, for many reasons,
are not able to attend a service in their own location.
The culmination of the service was
the Holy Eucharist or communion where we were able to partake in and remember
Christ’s redeeming work on the cross by taking His body and blood into our own
body. This sacrament was explained and taken with such reverence and ritual.
Since it was an online mass, there was an option to read/recite the following
prayer for the viewers at home: “My
Jesus, I truly believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the Holy
Eucharist. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You. Since I
cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into
my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unit myself wholly to
You. Never let me be parted from You.”
I am drawn
to tradition and the ability to predict what is coming next and therefore enter
into it fully. I love liturgy and recitation. I also appreciate that everyone
everywhere reads the same portion of scripture, as well as that the mass always
includes the Old Testament and the New Testament and the Holy Eucharist so that
it is never far from our minds what Jesus did on the cross in order to bring us
into relationship.
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