Rachel Thomson - Church Visit #1

Church name:   Our Lady of Mercy

Church Address:  701 S Eola Rd, Aurora, IL 60504

Date attended:  9.19.2015

Church Category:  More Liturgical (Catholic)/+10 mi. away

Evening mass at Our Lady of Mercy was significantly different than the worship services I am used to attending.  The service consisted of a structured and rehearsed schedule of standing up, listening to recitation, singing, sitting down, listening to written prayer, standing up, recitation of creeds, singing hymns, sitting down, and a continued procession of combinations of the following.  Although there is a format and general flow to the services I usually attend, this experience was very much heightened in that regard. In addition, the “vibe” of mass at Our Lady of Mercy, characterized by what seemed like either apathy or reservation, was vastly different than the emotionally charged experience I normally have every Sunday.  This curious apathy manifested itself in an almost complete lack of singing, wearily-read scriptures and creeds, and a general sense of duty bringing the congregation to mass.

I definitely found the liturgical and ritualistic practices the most appealing part of the service.  I could feel the rich history of the church in the traditions and symbolic gestures made by the priest throughout the service.  I was reminded that although the church is a fallen entity like any other, God is still present with her and faithful to her.  Practices such as the washing of the communion cups in holy water and the recitation of the Nicene Creed helped me to place the church in time and to also show awe and respect for the God that is constant throughout time.  In addition, mass at Our Lady of Mercy gave me a corporate perspective of worship, almost necessitating unity with the congressional recitation and prayer.

As mentioned before, the most disorienting aspect of the worship service was the general sense of apathy.  From the body language and facial expressions of most in the congregation, I detected little interest in the message given by the priest or in any aspect of the service for that matter.  Judging from the large amount of people who were eager to leave before the last song, it appeared that most were “checking the box” and had no intention of applying the message on Christ’s humility to their daily lives.  Even the priest read in such a way devoid of any passion or conviction as if numbed by years of unresponsiveness. This was saddening and disorienting because I recognized the rich value liturgy in the Catholic Church.  My experience with mass at Our Lady of Mercy has no direct bearing on the Catholic tradition as a whole, but was upsetting all the same.

As mentioned before, the observance of rituals illuminated the importance of the church’s history throughout time.  In my current church, there is a strong and needed focus on growing the body of Christ by reaching out to those in our immediate community and context that might not be familiar with the personal and all-loving God that we serve.  I absolutely love the mission of my church and find importance in the theology of loving neighbor, but Our Lady of Mercy also illuminated the importance of looking not only out to others but back to the history of the church, and the journey she has been through.  It brought to mind the conversation from class involving our place in culture.  In some ways, I think a fault with this Catholic Church is that they have not adapted well to their current cultural context, possibly resulting in some of the boredom and apathy mentioned previously.  On the other hand, I also recognized the universality found in the Catholic Church due to the similarities of liturgy and rituals throughout culture and time.  Perhaps this serves to unite the body of Christ in the way that other traditions may not be able to. Although I was not familiar with specifics and may not agree with all that they confirm, I was impacted by a place laden with such symbolism and theological depth.