A Group of Apostles

Also in Louisville, I attended my first Catholic Mass on my own. I was blown away. I would like to spend some time discussing the details of Mass and why they are so special later, but I will keep things shorter for now. Every single phrase and gesture has meaning – deep meaning. I had trouble following, but from just the one mass I remember taking away two special things.

First, an altar server carries a crucifix held high on a stick to lead the procession of altar servers, lectors, and the priest, up to the front. This was one example of the incredible respect for God, Jesus, and Jesus’ act of sacrifice on the cross for us that I learned was a natural part of Catholic life. Watching the robed procession, I felt as though I could be watching the early apostles. As if they were carrying the cross through ancient streets, ready to tell people what this symbol was all about.

The other takeaway was the response to readings from the Bible, especially the New Testament. After a reading, the crowd would say, “Thanks be to God!” and for the Gospel, we sang a song (Alleluia), stood up, and said, “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ,” when the reading was finished. Besides being respectful, to me this showed how excited Catholics were about the Word of God. They were thanking Him for it! Yes, thank God for the Gospel! While the words do not save us, they tell us the story of salvation, and without these words, we would not know of what Jesus did! Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!

After several weeks of attending mass and observing this and many more “rituals,” I told a friend, “I would think Catholics were crazy if they didn’t love Jesus so much!” Although both Catholics and Protestants can be both hot and cold, I think Catholics are more notorious for being cold to their faith. However, if you attend Mass, you know there are some people left in both the church leadership and the masses in general who completely get the Gospel story. As such, with Jesus as the center of everything, a Catholic Mass is as passionate and fired up about Jesus as any gospel revival meeting.