Quantum Mass and an Hour in Heaven

One of the unexpected bonuses of having joined the Catholic Church is that I have been able to go to Church any day, anywhere in the world that I've traveled (and I've traveled to every continent but Antarctica... so far...).

As you may know, the official Catholic Church service is commonly called the Mass, as long as it is a eucharistic celebration - i.e. the bread and wine are consecrated and served as Christ's body and blood.

Now, the fact that there is this service of communion as part of every Catholic Mass, on Sundays and on weekdays as well, is quite different from what most Protestants experience. When I was growing up, we only had communion a few times a year, and only as part of the Sunday church service.

As you might imagine, this led to some confusion for those Protestant friends and relatives who attended our wedding, which, like any full Catholic Wedding, was a Mass, and therefore included communion. Those who weren't already Catholics were, of course, not able to partake of the elements of the eucharist, but they were invited to come forward and receive a blessing instead if they wished.

Afterwards, word got back to me that some of my relatives were upset that we'd included communion in our wedding, as it seemed to them to be a rather in-your-face assertion of our Catholicism which made them feel excluded. I hope they are reading this now, and understand that it was not done to offend them, but rather as part of a true, full Catholic wedding, which, like every other Catholic Mass, includes the eucharist.

In any case, I have no regrets about any mass I've ever attended - each one is an hour in heaven, putting me in the physical presence of Christ, and peeling back the curtains of time to bring me to the very moment of Christ's ultimate sacrifice in a mystery that makes quantum physics seem simple by comparison.

It often occurs to me that, when I go to mass and sing or recite the Gloria (a hymn/prayer that begins with "Glory to God in the highest" in English, the first word in the Latin version being "Gloria") and other hymns of praise, I'm joining my voice with those of the heavenly choir described in the Revelation when all of creation is giving God praise.

So, whether in Sydney (Australia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Warsaw (Poland), Paris (France), London (England), Nuremberg (Germany), The Vatican, Jerusalem (Israel), San Diego (California, US), St. John's (Newfoundland, Canada), or anywhere else I've had the blessing of participating in a Mass, and whether in English, Latin, Polish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Philippino, or any other language I've had the pleasure of following along, knowing the order well enough that I was able to take part even if I didn't speak the local language: in all of these cases and places, I've spent an hour in heaven - in some ways, the very same hour each time, while in other ways, each was a unique experience of blessing to last a lifetime.

(Copyright (c) 2011, Reg Harbeck, all rights reserved)