I have always wanted to understand how Catholics conducted their worship services. This prompted me to visit the Catholic Diocese of Orlando, a huge church that has a capacity of over two thousand congregants. The church has three services that are referred to as the ‘'mass'' with the first staring at seven o'clock in the morning, followed by a 10 AM services, and finally the last one that begins at exactly noon. I asked my Catholic friend on the best mass to attend, and he told me that the 10 AM mass was the most appropriate if I wanted to learn several Catholic doctrines because it was a complete service.
On 11 th March 2018, I decided to attend the second service at the Catholic Diocese of Orlando, a mass that begins at 10 AM. At precisely that time I was seated, and the church was full to its capacity. I was astonished to understand how Catholics kept time. One minute later, the priest (father, as the Catholics, referred to him) entered the church with a group of mass servers that comprised of young boys between the age of 12 to 15, five in number. They moved to the altar amidst an introductory hymn from the choir. The priest made some introductory remarks and asked the congregants to have a moment of silence to meditate their sins.
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The mass was very interesting, and the songs sung by the choir were moving. I learned that the Catholic follow a similar pattern worldwide because they referred to that particular Sunday as the ‘'fifth Sunday in ordinary time.'' They have three readings from the Bible, with the first reading coming from the Old Testament, the second reading coming from the Apostles, and the third reading is the Gospel from any of the books. There is a lot of sittings and standings in between events, something that I did not understand its rationale. The priest has a session of preaching according to the readings. However, I found this kind of boring because it was not only moving but the priest took an approach that seemed as if he was only teaching and lacked the charisma or authority of a preacher.
I also found out that the congregants were often engaged throughout the mass through reciting and the most common one was when the priest said ‘'the lord be with you'' and the congregants responded ‘'and with your spirit.'' Other than this, the crowd was largely passive and only a few engaged in singing or clapping. I came to realize that the final parts of the mass were the most important because it replicated the Passover and the last supper that Jesus had with his disciples. The priest recited a long reading from one of his books and asked the congregants to remember the misery of Christ. In the end, the people receive the holy sacrament just the way Jesus gave his disciples the bread and wine in the bible.
In conclusion, the experience was good, and I learned a couple of elements and doctrines of the Catholic faith. What I loved most about the experience is that the service followed a regular pattern that is easily understandable. However, I felt that the priest needed to do more with regards to preaching the word. Despite this, I would cherish the opportunity to learn more about this wonderful religion.
