Ej Barracoso - Church Visit #2

Western entrance prior to Mass

Before the altar, after Mass had ended

Church name: Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

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

Date Visited: April 18, 2016 - 5:30 PM

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

As I rounded the corner on to Benton St. in suburban Naperville, the silhouette of the southwestern spire with the cross furnished at its pinnacle loomed over trees and I figured I was at my destination. It had been a while since I had seen a church with as much architectural prowess as Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Etched arches on the entrances depicted characters of the Bible; multiple signs of the church from the cross to the chi-ro strewn about the walls and steeples; stain glass windows running from corner to corner of each wall; all had deliberate intentionality when adding it in to this church. It appeared that as much thought and devotion was put into this church as any given E. Orthodox church, who are known for receiving deep ministry from their home church buildings.

Aside from the obvious Latin discourse and the away-facing priest and clergy, the intentionality of the art and architecture were aspects of Sts. Peter and Paul from which I could not peel myself away. This happened also in my visits to E. Orthodox churches as part of a class on E. Orthodox theology: complete and total captivation by the artwork presented. Perhaps this stems from being a so-called "visual learner"; however, I'd be remiss to not attribute at least part of it to a lack of visual stimulation at the protestant churches I have attended since high school. 

As I had mentioned in my last journal entry, Church of the Resurrection is an Anglican church with charismatic tendencies. Yet, even though Rez is Anglican (typically a high-church denomination as I have observed), visual ministry is not one of its most energizing characteristics. Though their was certainly a language barrier, I believe was ministered more in this visit to Sts. Peter and Paul than to my visit to St. Michael in downtown Wheaton, quite possibly due to the visual stimuli of and within the church building.

What aspects of Roman Catholic Theology did you notice expressed in the service?
One thought that further developed from my last journal entry was the Catholic Church's focus not just on the Cross and the death of Jesus, but on the Passion narrative as a whole. Again, it's difficult to step away from the art and architecture of this building. Along the inside walls were mounted paintings of Jesus in the Passion narrative. The whole story was unfolding on the sides of the sanctuary as I could witness the confrontation in the garden of Gethsemane, to Christ's carrying of His Cross to His own death. 

Walking around after Mass to examine these paintings allowed me to remember that similar paintings exist in the Catholic churches I attended as a child with my parents. So, not only were crucifixes the focal point of the Catholic churches I have attended during the span of this class and also of the churches I grew up in as a child, one is drawn into this climactic juncture by the narrative of Christ's passion. If the Crucifixion of Christ is the sharp end of the sword of Catholic soteriology, then the passion narrative is the edge that one can follow from the hilt to the tip.

What aspects of Scripture or Theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
Something I was able to reflect on during Mass was how unimportant the sermon was in light of the Catholic liturgy. In my protestant contexts, and even at Rez, the pastor and the sermon are so central to one's experience on Sunday mornings - to many, that is why they go to church: to receive words of encouragement and/or exhortation to focus on during the week until they return to hear their pastor speak once more. Apart from the homily, the next prominent aspect of ministry in my protestant contexts is the musical worship of the church. These are the big two, so to speak.

But, I've noticed that in Catholic churches, the whole liturgy is key to ministering to any one individual during Mass. It could be the responsorial psalms, the Scripture readings, set times of prayer led by a deacon/deaconess, or another facet of Catholic liturgy - the breadth of Catholic liturgical ministry is truly one of its greatest strengths.