Melodie Yu - Church Visit #2

Church name: St. Michael Catholic Church

Church address: 310 S Wheaton Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187

Date attended: April 17, 2016

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

As I followed others into the sanctuary, I immediately noticed a huge cross with Jesus crucified on it. Once entering, I noticed every person dipping their finger into this fountain of water, proceeding to cross themselves. They also kneeled, facing the cross, before sitting down. All around the sanctuary were pictures of Christ's passion, and sculptures of Mary and other apostles. Of one of the sculptures I saw, it had incense burning in front of it. Because I come from a low church background, this was different from my regular context. In my context, there is no bowing, kneeling, or crossing that is required of us. Although in my context, singing hymns and reciting creeds is also not usual, it was not unusual to me after being at Wheaton. The thing that was greatly different from my own context is the use of bells and chanting while preparing the Eucharist. There was not as much of those as in the Tridentine mass and the service itself seemed to not be solely for the preparation of the elements. There were more similarities to my own context in this Catholic mass than the Tridentine one. I noticed that many women were allowed to be apart of the service. The greatest similarity would have to be the homily/sermon, speaking of how to live our lives as Christians in a more perfect way.

What aspects of Roman Catholic theology did you notice expressed in the service?

Some aspects of Catholic theology that I noticed in the service was an emphasis on the essential need of works with our faith, and the devotion to Mary and the saints. The homily that was given was to encourage the congregation to have devotion beyond mere faith. The priest mentioned the passage in James that referred to "faith without works is dead". He also alluded to the idea that for love and faith to be authentic, it needs to be manifested outwardly. It was a clear theological statement that works is needed with faith. It was interesting to compare that to my own church's sermon later that day, emphasizing that there is nothing we can do in matters of works; faith is faith. There was also reference to Mary, although it did not occur often. The devotion to Mary and saints was expressed mainly in the artworks around sanctuary. As I mentioned before, there was use of incense around the large sculptures. This displayed great devotion to these people.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

Some aspects that the worship service illuminated for me is the respect given to God. One specific aspect that I have noticed before was the bowing of the head when acknowledging Jesus' death in the recitation of the Nicene Creed. This idea that Jesus is King is not as clearly perceived in my regular context. The Catholic use of images and physical acts of respect add to this idea. Their use of images and physical acts gives a greater sense that Christ is real. It is not the act of worshipping a figure but the use of an image to keep us accountable to recognizing that Jesus is not some idea in our head but the true, living God. The use of crossing, bowing, and kneeling are acts that make me love high church services. Such adoration and honor shown to Christ in these simple acts. It is as if it is a way to worship God with the entire body.