The Catholic Church

The believers bless themselves with the Holy Water, a noticeable gesture that recalls back to their early baptism into Christ, indicating they are members of the Church and that they represent the Body of Christ. While genuflecting--an act of kneeling with the right knee--the believers make the sign of a cross. To me, such act comes across as a sign of reverence to the Blessed Sacrament and a remembrance that Jesus Christ, their savior died on the Cross, to bring salvation to the world; an ultimate faith these believers follow deep in their heart.

The Mass is a formal and official worship service of Catholicism. Attending the Mass is considered to be a Catholic's obligation and a way of receiving the Holy Eucharist and fulfilling the Third Commandment--to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. I seat myself on a pew along with the believers and once again gaze at the magnificent yet lavish architecture, which I strongly believe is a reflection of their faith towards God. Fourteen Stations of the Cross portraying the Last Hours of Christ are placed along both walls of the church. These images provide another symbolical notion that invites the believers to be reminded about Christ's sacrifice for their sins. The priest and his attendants soon proceed towards the altar and we are asked to stand as the Penitential Rite begins. According to the faithful beside me, the rite is simply a confession of sin at the start of the Mass. I notice too, that the floor of the sanctuary (where the altar is) is elevated, a theological impression that there is a line between the people and the holy front of the church.

The priest makes an opening prayer of adoration of God and then there was a brief moment of silence. I sit down with the others while a designated reader formally initiates the first reading of the Bible. The booklet that I was given prior to the start of the Mass gives me clear guidance throughout the Mass and I felt at ease with the structured process. The choir, situated beside the sanctuary, then participates in the singing of a chosen Psalm from the Bible (neatly printed on the booklet) and the believers quickly join in as well to make it more interactive. Later, the second reading is given and the selected reader ends the reading with "The Word of the Lord."

The believers and I, who have been sitting, are required to stand for the Gospel Acclamation. Standing shows respect, especially since the Gospel Acclamation contains the very words of Christ. Before reading the Gospel, the believers make the cross on their forehead, mouth and heart again. This I see is a way to mirror the Deacon when he receives blessings from the priest: "May The Lord be in your mind, on your lips and in your heart." The Deacon then incenses the book and officially proclaims the Holy Gospel. Based on the sole observation of their dress code, an attendant of the priest (a deacon) can be differentiated from the priest by the way he wears his stole. A priest wears his stole around the back of his neck and hangs down the front, while the deacon wears it over his left shoulders. The extravagant robes of priests in the Catholic Church lead some Christian denominations to think Catholics exorbitant, but Catholics themselves see it as a way to differentiate the priest with the common people. The priest is the head of that church and thus needs to show authority during his preaching. Novelist, Mark Twain once said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."

With the end of the Gospel readings, the priest relates the day's reading to the daily lives of the believers. I find it quite interesting to see how the church simplifies the meaning of the traditional gospel so that believers, particularly the younger generation, can understand the gospel better. Subsequently, the Profession of Faith occurs. The believers recite the Creed and the words "We believe" reaffirm the teachings of the church--their belief in God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son of God whom by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary. The last part of the Liturgy of the Word is the Prayers of the Faithful, whereby the priest leads the believers in the prayers. During my visit, the priest directed prayers to the Pope about current issues around the world. For the believers, it is a way of applying their faith, to offer prayers to God for the salvation of the world- in particular the Pope because he is after all the supreme "padre" of the church.

Everyone sits again as the altar is prepared to begin the second part of the Mass--the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Attendants with baskets pass by each pew to collect monetary offerings from the believers and then the offerings, along with the bread and wine which are brought from the back of the church, are placed on the altar. When the altar is ready, the priest starts his prayers quietly. The believers kneel again (genuflecting) to show their humility and adoration before God. The priest then picks up the bread and recites a prayer loudly to show that with these words the bread is changed into the Body of Christ. Later, the priest pours wine into a golden chalice and adds a few drops of water as though to epitomize the union between Christ's divinity and humanity. He holds the golden chalice high (symbolizing the elevation of Christ) to recite another prayer indicating that the wine has been transformed into the Blood of Christ. This exact moment is known to be the holiest throughout the Mass, as the bread and wine through consecration is changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Once that is done, everyone bows reverently and afterwards the priest symbolically washes his hands as if to ask God to cleanse away his sin, just like how the priests back in the old days will ceremonially wash their hands before a ritual sacrifice. The accustomed tradition of the Catholic Church to have chalices made of pure gold is also another point made that lead some believers of other denominations to view the ways of Catholicism as excessive.

Then comes the "Our Father" prayer, another Christian prayer where I notice some family members extending their hands out to hold their families' hands. In this particular prayer, the holding of hands seems to be optional because not everyone was doing it but I see how it actually makes people feel closer to God. "Peace be with you," say the believers to each other before the start of the Holy Communion,