St Stephen Catholic Church

You can listen to the Podcast version of this episode here.

This morning I was up before the sun so I could attend my first Catholic mass. I've been looking forward to this - by most "history of religions", the evolution of Christian faiths usually goes Roman Catholic Church -> Everybody Else (well, except for the Greek Orthodox Church, which has their own history that that parallels the Roman Catholic Church).

Still, I had heard from some people that a Catholic mass was full of ritual. I also learned:

It's full of a lot of standing and sitting.

I arrived St Stephen Catholic Church about 45 minutes before 8 AM mass. Just myself, two nice ladies who pointed me a place to sit, and a gentleman who was setting up some books.

Over the next 45 minutes as more people filled in and the seats filled up, there was almost complete silence. In other religions I've visited, people visit with friends, there are many introductions and socializing before services begin.

In the run up to the Catholic services, there was almost near quiet. Even as the church continued to fill, people would come in, kneel before the statue of Jesus on the Cross, make the sign of the cross on their bodies, then take their seat. Almost all of these knelt, hands pressed together, or holding a rosary.

The chairs had a clever addition - a fold-out kneeling mat in the back, so you could pull down a cushion, kneel upon it, then flip the cushion back up again when you were done.

I regret there wasn't more time for me to ask more questions. Who was St Stephen? Just what are "saints" in the Catholic church?

Sadly, some of these questions would go unanswered this time. Instead, I waited in the reverent silence.

At 15 until 8, they started the prayer. A gentleman - not the priest - stood in front and read from a prayer book. I looked through one that was offered to me - nearly 2000 pages, with prayers set for every day of the year. This started my first exposure to the rituals in the church. The gentleman would read, and the people would respond. Sometimes they would read with him, sometimes he would speak alone.

The more religions I sit in on, the more I am fascinated by how groups build community. Some do it by increasing the social networks - something I've seen done in the LDS church, which assigns members to visit each other to make sure that everyone has what they need. In other religions, there are ways for people to meet each other to express new friendship.

Sitting in the Catholic church, I could see how the idea of shared ritual and belief could be just as binding. Everyone knows what to say, when to say it, and that is what binds them together. I imagine you could go to any Catholic church in the world, and even without understanding the language, the pattern of Mass would be the same.

The opening hymn sounded modern. I was expecting something very old and stoic, but instead the music had a clearly modern style.

When my contact Father John - a cheerful and bright priest from India - took the stand, people stood. He invited them to pray, and he would speak, the audience would respond in one voice. They would sit. Later, he would speak again, and so would they. Later I nearly jumped from my seat when as one people started pulling out their kneeling mats, the sound of wood clacking against the tiles surprising me.

Of course, being the only person who was just sitting, I stood out like a sore thumb. Stand up, sit down, stand up, kneel - and I'm sitting there just taking notes.

When Father John gave his actual lesson for the day, he stepped off the podium and stood just in front of the people. He taught about the energy that Jesus brought in teaching the people, energy so strong that people could not understand it. Later he counseled the young people to control their own senses.

As it turns out there were so many people in the audience as teenage would-be Catholics were there for "confirmation". Turns out you don't just get to be a member of the Catholic faith by showing up, or even by being baptized. There's a whole procedure for showing that you're ready to belong to the Catholic church and hold to its teachings.

I actually like that idea - that in order to be a full fledged member of the faith, you have to be old enough and actually commit to the life.

After the lesson came the blessing of the Eucharist. Out came a big golden cup and container (or, at least gold colored). Father John proceeded to bless the wine and then the bread. Five people came up to partake, each handed a host and given a drink of wine. At first I didn't understand why just five.

That's when everybody started coming up to the front, each in a neat, orderly fashion. Sadly, I had situated myself right in front of them, so nearly everyone in my row had to walk past me.

Yeah. Sorry about that!

I did find the rituals and repetition to be fascinating, and beautiful. Bells rang, people stood, everyone knew where to stand and where to go.

Afterwards, I had a chance to talk with Father John, but only for 15 minutes. I still have so many questions about the Catholic faith, and while he did recommend a multi-volume "History of Christianity in India", I feel like I've only scratched the surface.

Expect the podcast version of this report to be aired February 8th with my interview with Father John.