Anna Erickson - Church Visit #2

Church name: St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Church address: 36 N. Ellsworth, Naperville, IL 60540
Date attended: October 30, 2016
Church category: Tridentine Mass 

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

We attended a Sunday night latin mass in Naperville. As we were walking from the parking lot toward the church, I was astonished at the church building's beautiful exterior. I was reminded of this during class on Tuesday as we discussed that we are embodied worshipers; our faith is not simply a product of our brains' engagement with truth and doctrine. In my experience on Sunday, the sense of awe and reverence that this majestic building evoked was one of the reasons this service felt so beautiful, despite my unfamiliarity. This process of recognizing that the building's beauty was so different from the ordinary habits of my day was the moment that my heart was being prepared for worship. It seemed like my experience as a worshiper began in the parking lot, because the exquisitely massive beauty of the building's exterior pointed so clearly to the majesty of God himself. The church I grew up in was equally as large as this church, but I do not remember ever being so struck by its beauty. This may be partially because of familiarity with that church, but I do think the beauty of the building contributed as well. 

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?

This service helped me enter into what it would have been like to worship as an early Christian in the West. Experiencing worship in Latin, while still recognizing parts of the liturgy such as the Lord's prayer and the Nicene Creed, allowed me to see the continuity of truth being proclaimed from the time that the Latin mass was most widely used to the present. It was interesting to compare this service to the Orthodox church visit. These two traditions seemed to be similar in the most fundamental ways, but I feel less qualified to notice differences between them than someone who is a member of either of those traditions. This visit further showed me my ignorance of traditions other than Protestantism, and I am hoping to visit again to further understand what was happening and participate more fully as a worshiper, rather than only focusing on noticing obvious differences and dwelling in the aspects of the service that made me uncomfortable.

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?

At this service, I saw a student from Wheaton who is in orchestra with me worshipping there with his family. St. Peter and Paul is his home church, and I would like to talk with him more about his experience as a Catholic Christian at Wheaton. Seeing him there helped me recognize my limited degree of fellowship with Christians who are not Protestants, and attending this service challenged me to think of myself first as a credal Christian, rather than primarily as a member of my denomination. I think I have a lot more to learn from traditions other than my own, and I would like to commune more with the entire body of Christ, not just the Protestant part.