Cade McDonald- Church Visit #2

Church name: St. John Cantius
Church address: 825 N. Carpenter Street. Chicago, IL 60642.
Date attended: 11/1/16
Church category: Tridentine Mass

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

We entered into the church and many people were dispersed throughout the pews kneeling. The priest was at the front of the church, there was a confessional type booth in the back, and there was an overall sense of quiet and reverence in the room. All around the church were images, such as Jesus hanging on the cross, a group of disciples, and more. At the beginning of the service, bells started sounding periodically, which is something I didn’t really understand as I had never heard bells like this in my own church context before. After the bells stopped, all the people went up to the front for communion. This is once again different from my own congregation as communion baskets are passed around the room. The priest continued to say things in Latin after communion. The priest and the people began praying something to me that sounded like a “Hail Mary.”

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

November 1st ended up being quite an interesting day in history to visit a Catholic church as a Protestant. 499 years ago, on October 31^st, Martin Luther nailed up his 95 Theses. As I sat through this Tridentine mass, all I could think about was the Reformation. I wondered about how much this kind of traditional Catholic mass compared to how the Church worshipped for over a thousand years before the Reformation. I thought about how old the Christian tradition is and how it seems to be really different than what I read about Jesus and the disciples. I questioned whether or not this is what Catholic worship looks like today all over the world. I was interested in how this liturgy became the norm, and why the Word of God did not appear to be central in the service. I was curious about how much the Catholic Church has changed over the last 499 years around the world and how different it looks.

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

Ultimately, this worship service made me realize how thankful I am for the Reformation. I’ve heard many pastors and scholars talk about why the Reformation was necessary and why it is not over, but I had never attended a Mass before. I understand that there are just as many if not more problems within the Protestant Church, and that I shouldn’t take the speck out of my brother’s eye without taking the log out of my own. However, I am so grateful to be a member of a church that is centered on the preaching of the Word and is clear on the gospel. I am so thankful for men like Martin Luther and other reformers who were bold enough to stand up to the problems within the Catholic Church 499 years ago. I want to recognize that many Catholics have a deep love for Jesus Christ and understanding of the gospel, but at the same time I am so excited to stand in this great tradition of the Reformation.