Day8 Visiting Another Parish
June 18, 2023•200 words
Today I went to Mass at a parish that is not my usual parish.
The universality of the Mass makes me feel at home whatever parish I'm in. I've been in Mass where I did not know the language. I know where we are and what we are doing because it's always the same Mass. Usually when I go to a Mass in a language I don't understand, I knew ahead of time that I wouldn't understand the language. In that case, I read the scripture ahead of time or bring a missal with me so I can know the readings.
If they are preaching in English (the only language I understand), I do like listening to a preacher that I haven't heard before (or haven't heard often). I listen carefully to a preacher that I am not familiar with. Sometimes it takes a little effort for me to follow his reasoning.
Church buildings are always interested to me as well. The parish that I went to today had a statue that was dressed in fabric clothes. I always find that to be a touching custom. (In my parish, we don't have any statues that we dress in clothes.