I went to a Parish, not just a Church

6.15.2009

I went to a Parish, not just a Church

I told you that it would be unlikely that I would be able to write a Blog post every single day…sometimes life gets ahead of me and for that I apologize. But I promise to write on this medium as much as I can, especially when interesting thoughts or quips pop in my mind.

While this is not a Blog that focuses solely on religious events or beliefs, I am yet again writing about the church. However this time I will try to be less cynical than my previous tirade (although I think I had good reason).

Today I write about a church parish. No not a chapel where students gather for mass or a Basilica where every time you attend you could technically call it a pilgrimage. I am talking today about a parish, where the priests know the names of most of the parishioners and most of the parishioners want to shake hands with the priest after mass. Today I am talking about a place where you see the elders of the parish seated in their traditional Sunday seat while hearing the cries of last week’s newly baptized baby in the vestibule. Indeed it is in this place where a priest’s homily enriches the spirit, where music is not only sacred but also uplifting.

Why am I so interested in writing today about what it is like to be in a parish? Because I have missed being a part of one, a fact that I did not realize until I attended St. Matthew Cathedral’s 5:30 p.m. Mass this past Sunday. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the Campus Masses in St. Vincent’s and the Basilica services in the Great Upper Church of the Shrine. While both of these places preach the same gospel on a daily basis and say the same prayers over the Eucharist as St. Matthew’s, they are certainly not the same. Going to St. Vincent’s for me is like going to the Student Center. After all, the faces that you see are those of your friends, all reasonably the same age. You hear no babies crying nor do you see the “elderly” in their traditional weekly seat. While seeing friends in the pews may appear to be a great benefit, for me it ultimately results in too many distractions. In fact, I sometimes find that I know more details about the clothes that the members of the congregation are wearing after mass than the weekly scriptures.

The Basilica on the other hand is so grand and august in and of itself it is very difficult to feel a personal relationship with your priest let alone your neighbor. While the Basilica has its share of babies crying, there are no parish picnics, there are limited smiles by the priest, and the music, white it is very sacred, it is also without a question a little boring. Indeed the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a magnificent church but it is not a parish.

All I have to do on Sunday is look out my window and I see a church but on Sunday I went to Mass at a Parish. Fr. Greenville, the celebrant for my mass, reminded me a lot of my former Pastor Daniel Venglarik before his passing. Fr. Greenville was intellectual, a great orator, and above all deeply spiritual. The Contemporary Music was uplifting and the smiles from the parishioners were refreshing. The bulletin (something that the Basilica does not have) reminded me a lot of what I was missing in my home parish of St. Charles: Golf outings, refreshments after mass, etc. 5:30 p.m. Mass at St. Matthew’s was definitely a great experience.

Will I go to St. Matthew’s Cathedral every week? Probably not simply because of the convenience of the Basilica and St. Vincent’s. However when I do go I know that I am attending Mass at Parish and not just a church and that is something that I deeply enjoy.


Joe St. George