First Sunday of Advent
Today is the first day of Advent. Happy First Purple Candle Day!
We went to the English-language Mass today. It was an interesting experience for several reasons, but I think that, for me, the overwhelming impression of these last few weeks is, "Wow. So this is what it means to live desperate for Christ's company." Maybe it is more accurate to say this has been the lens through which I have viewed things here, between the Chinese parish in Nantou and the mostly-Filipino group that gathers for the English-language Mass.
(The desperation is not purely my own, though I wonder at times if some people in Nantou refer to Sunday mornings as the time when you might see some crazy white lady leading a child by the hand and crying. That has happened twice when I've gotten lost blocks from the church.)
For instance: A few weeks ago I mentioned that we sat next to some young women that ride the bus for an hour and a half to get to Mass. Today we were early enough for Mass that I let Myles play on the playground for a few minutes. A Filipino family was there, eating. The mother offered to share their fruit with Myles. She then apologized for eating so close to Mass time, but they had not had lunch yet. They, too, had taken the bus for more than an hour and a half, from Bao'an, a completely different direction than the women we met a few weeks ago. And if you think the family should have eaten on the bus, you have never been on a Chinese bus in Chinese traffic. They do this at least every other week.
I read a lot of Catholic blogs and some Catholic publications, and follow the various discussions and debates about matters pastoral and liturgical. Sometimes I even join the discussions. I have issues, too, with ad-libbed liturgy, and meaningless music, and desire for gravity when all I get is hot air in a homily. Right now, though, I feel so distant from all that, and it has made a HUGE diference on my perspective. I mean, you wanna talk priest shortage? The priest that is currently coming to Shekou for the English-language Mass says five Masses every Sunday in two countries (Hong Kong and PRC). You wanna talk appropriate music accompaniment for a liturgy? The choir director now has the music for all the parts of the Mass and the hymns on an iPod hooked up to speakers. He just scrolls through his playlist. They are mostly piano, though. You wanna talk about access to the sacraments? I went to confession today during Mass, the only time a priest is available to hear them here. He left his "post" at the start of the Kyrie and went to the back of the cafeteria where Mass is held. He was back there through the first reading, the psalm, the second reading, the Alleluia, and yes, even the Gospel. The Gospel was read by a parishioner. And then there was no homily. Does your head hurt yet? There was such a line, though. For people that travel more than an hour by bus to get here, or even those of us who can walk to Mass, this will be the only opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconcilliation until probably Easter. It will probably be the same process then. Yes, I am going to be back in the States by next weekend and could have waited for a more "proper" confession, but just in case.....
Randy refers to the hierarchy of needs with respect to my comparing my complaints about the Church in the U.S. and my amazement with what I accept here. In the U.S. we have the luxury of "knowing better." We have time and energy to discuss the crummy homilies, and the dumb hymns, and whether this bishop or that is great or not. Not that I think that the Church worldwide wouldn't benefit from this discussion or couldn't contribute to the conversation. But let me tell you, I am simply grateful that nearly every week I've been able to stand in front of a man who says to me, "Body of Christ," and I know that it is true, and I can say Amen. In that environment, all that other stuff matters a whole lot less.
We went to the English-language Mass today. It was an interesting experience for several reasons, but I think that, for me, the overwhelming impression of these last few weeks is, "Wow. So this is what it means to live desperate for Christ's company." Maybe it is more accurate to say this has been the lens through which I have viewed things here, between the Chinese parish in Nantou and the mostly-Filipino group that gathers for the English-language Mass.
(The desperation is not purely my own, though I wonder at times if some people in Nantou refer to Sunday mornings as the time when you might see some crazy white lady leading a child by the hand and crying. That has happened twice when I've gotten lost blocks from the church.)
For instance: A few weeks ago I mentioned that we sat next to some young women that ride the bus for an hour and a half to get to Mass. Today we were early enough for Mass that I let Myles play on the playground for a few minutes. A Filipino family was there, eating. The mother offered to share their fruit with Myles. She then apologized for eating so close to Mass time, but they had not had lunch yet. They, too, had taken the bus for more than an hour and a half, from Bao'an, a completely different direction than the women we met a few weeks ago. And if you think the family should have eaten on the bus, you have never been on a Chinese bus in Chinese traffic. They do this at least every other week.
I read a lot of Catholic blogs and some Catholic publications, and follow the various discussions and debates about matters pastoral and liturgical. Sometimes I even join the discussions. I have issues, too, with ad-libbed liturgy, and meaningless music, and desire for gravity when all I get is hot air in a homily. Right now, though, I feel so distant from all that, and it has made a HUGE diference on my perspective. I mean, you wanna talk priest shortage? The priest that is currently coming to Shekou for the English-language Mass says five Masses every Sunday in two countries (Hong Kong and PRC). You wanna talk appropriate music accompaniment for a liturgy? The choir director now has the music for all the parts of the Mass and the hymns on an iPod hooked up to speakers. He just scrolls through his playlist. They are mostly piano, though. You wanna talk about access to the sacraments? I went to confession today during Mass, the only time a priest is available to hear them here. He left his "post" at the start of the Kyrie and went to the back of the cafeteria where Mass is held. He was back there through the first reading, the psalm, the second reading, the Alleluia, and yes, even the Gospel. The Gospel was read by a parishioner. And then there was no homily. Does your head hurt yet? There was such a line, though. For people that travel more than an hour by bus to get here, or even those of us who can walk to Mass, this will be the only opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconcilliation until probably Easter. It will probably be the same process then. Yes, I am going to be back in the States by next weekend and could have waited for a more "proper" confession, but just in case.....
Randy refers to the hierarchy of needs with respect to my comparing my complaints about the Church in the U.S. and my amazement with what I accept here. In the U.S. we have the luxury of "knowing better." We have time and energy to discuss the crummy homilies, and the dumb hymns, and whether this bishop or that is great or not. Not that I think that the Church worldwide wouldn't benefit from this discussion or couldn't contribute to the conversation. But let me tell you, I am simply grateful that nearly every week I've been able to stand in front of a man who says to me, "Body of Christ," and I know that it is true, and I can say Amen. In that environment, all that other stuff matters a whole lot less.
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