Garvey McKee - Church Visit #2

Church Name: St. John Cantius Church
Church Address: 825 N. Carpenter St. Chicago, IL 60642
Date Attended: October 30th, 2016
Church Category: Tridentine Mass

1. The church sanctuary in St. John Cantius church was, without a doubt, the most beautiful room I have ever been in. Everything, from the icons on the walls to the domed roof, was completely breathtaking. Throughout the service, I found myself getting lost observing my surroundings.

The particular mass we went to was the Extraordinary High Mass, and it was surprisingly short.  It started with the Priest (and a few others) coming down the center aisle sprinkling incense in the air. I thought this was interesting because I have only ever seen a bride walk down the aisle of a church in such a way. Throughout the mass, the congregation sung several hymns (all in Latin) and then concluded by taking the Holy Eucharist.

My experience at this particular Tridentine Mass was far different than anything in my regular context. The songs I am used to singing are contemporary and always in English, and the sanctuary in which we worship is rather plain and not decorated with statues and icons. However, near the end of the service, the priest gave a 10-minute sermon (in English) and even commented on the current political atmosphere. That was something I did not expect to find in a traditional Latin mass.

2. Following my Orthodox church visit, I received a tour of the church from one of its congregants. Throughout the tour, she emphasized several times that the church service I had just witnessed was the oldest form of Christian worship in the world. Following this Tridentine mass, I received another tour from a member of the church who told me the exact same thing. Knowing that the church did in fact originate from the Greco-Roman setting, I was a little bit hesitant to accept her words as the truth, but it was interesting nonetheless.

3. Being immersed in Latin and ancient tradition was fascinating. I have been to many English masses in my life (coming from a majority Catholic family), but seeing the mass in its traditional form was very illuminating. I think it is easy to forget that there are other Christians in the world who worship in many different ways, and it is important to be reminded of that (Augustine would attest to this).

Although I do not consider myself a Catholic, nor do I agree with much of their doctrine, I always enjoy going to mass from time to time. I enjoy the tradition and liturgy because it makes me feel closer to the ancient Christian community. I often get lost in my modern contemporary church and feel as though they have lost sight of a lot of the valuable traditions of the past, so attending masses such as this are good refreshers for me.