Jacob Wentworth- Church Visit #2

Jake Wentworth- Church Visit #2

Church name: St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Church address: 36 N. Ellsworth Naperville, IL 60540

Date attended: November 2, 2015

Church category: Tridentine Mass

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

I went to an evening mass at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church that was entirely in Latin. This was my first experience with a Latin mass and I was feeling quite out of place since I have no experience with the Latin language. The Mass started with the Priest and choir singing and chanting several different lines in Latin. I especially found it interesting that the main Priest had another lesser priest on either side of him when he was at the table where he prepared Eucharist. The three priests would sing and chant Latin lines, they would walk back to three throne-like chairs then return to the table for Eucharist, and they would consistently bow throughout their rituals. For all of this, the only language spoken was Latin, which is why I was so perplexed when the head Priest started to preach his sermon in English. I was kind of glad he did because up until that point I was lost as to what was going on. After the sermon, a different priest opened this golden chamber in the back of the stage to bring out the parts of the Eucharist. During the Eucharist, people lined up kneeling across the front of the church and the priest came by and placed the bread chip into their mouth. I do not remember ever seeing anyone drink any wine however.

Outside of the majority of the service being in Latin, the way the Eucharist was observed was very different from my personal experiences. When I take communion at my church the pastor usually makes everyone aware of what communion is what its significance, but he does not take the time to go through rituals of blessing over the parts. Also, my church uses pieces of bread and grape juice instead of bread chips and wine unlike of the Catholic mass. Finally, we usually dunk the bread in the juice or have individual cups of juice instead of the community wine cup.

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?

Although it was very difficult for me to understand what was actually taking place during the service, I did have a reverence for the service since this was literally the same service that has been taking place since the earliest parts of the Catholic Church. Observing the sculptures of Peter and Paul on the sides of the church along with stained-glass windows with pictures of Jesus and his disciples while the service was taking place made me feel like I had gone back in time. The way each Priest took such fine detail to every action made me think that my Christian brothers and sisters have been doing these same rituals for hundreds of years. I couldn't understand what was being said during the service, I gained a respect for the Catholic Church that they are so careful to stay true to the beginnings of Christianity.

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?

 

In modern day Christianity there are so many different denominations and different kinds of churches in the United States and across the globe that sometimes I feel like Christians have been disconnected from our history. While there are new songs that I really enjoy singing in Church, there is something about singing an old hymn like "Amazing Grace" or "How Great Though Art" that has a certain reverence to it. It makes me think who else in the Christian faith could have sang this very song in the past hundred years. Could I be singing the same song that  my great, great grandparents sang? This same idea of having a respect for Christian traditions in the church was one of the main things I walked out the the Tridentine Mass with. Sometimes it is nice to see where our faith has been over the years, even if I can't speak the language. With that being said, I can't find myself regularly attending a Tridentine Mass because I would become more frustrated in not knowing the language than I feeling refreshed from gathering together with fellow believers.