Will Reeves - Church Visit #2

Church name: Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Church address: 36 N. Ellsworth, Naperville, IL 60540

Date attended: 11/1/15

Church category: Catholic Tridentine

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

The building itself was striking, with a towering steeple that seemed out of place in downtown Naperville. The sanctuary boasted a massive space, an impressive dome, and the stations of the cross lining the walls leading to front of the room. The people were surprisingly informal. Many were dressed in jeans, and most didn't exhibit the lofty aura manifested by the gold, Latin, and sacred images.  Aside from the English hymns bookending the service, the entirety of the mass was in Latin. A few priests coordinated from the front, while a voice would periodically respond from behind the pews (possibly playing the role of the congregation who couldn't speak Latin?). We alternated between sitting, standing, and kneeling, and ended the time with the Eucharist. With the exception of the Latin, it didn't seem unlike an ordinary Catholic mass characterized by a high reverence and strict order.

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

Similar to the Orthodox, the Catholic Church esteems history in a way Protestants don't. They profess the creeds weekly and venerate the saints, showing an appreciation for doctrine and history that isn't characteristic of Evangelicalism. The church is built on foundational beliefs and has always been a product of certain historical circumstances, and participating in a Latin Mass serves to connect the present church with that history. A deep understanding of these factors can greatly enrich Christianity. We would argue they over-stress the tradition, and they won't argue that we ignore it. The best approach is probably somewhere in the middle, and I'm reminded of this every time I engage with the other traditions. 

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

Regardless of how 'high church' a service is, there are certain elements that remind me of how normal the people actually are. It's easy to allow the room, the incense, the dress, and the Latin to create an environment that seems far removed from everyday life, as if the mass is a perfect ritual and the people stand, sit, and kneel in an overly mechanical way. Yet in this service, the priest awkwardly stopped to address an issue with his website, nobody really seemed to know the language, and a bulletin was provided that translated the Latin and explained the liturgical process in very simple terms. If you look beneath the surface, you can find a human element. The lofty mass was performed by real individuals, and the church understood that for most, much of the service wouldn't immediately make sense. In a way, it seemed like a group people trying their best to worship in the only way they know how to. It was encouraging to see Catholic worship in this light.