Chinese Church thoughts
Yesterday morning at Mass at the Chinese Church, I observed two things concerning Eucharistic practice here.
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had a Mass experience in the U.S. that for me was a strong argument for ad orientem. That Mass had an unfortunate LOOK AT ME approach from the priest. This morning, kneeling close to the altar in our tiny, crowded church, facing the same altar as the priest, it felt more like we were all focused together, intensely, in our own ways.
The other thing is that sometime during Communion, after I received, the priest stopped suddenly, and motioned off to the side. There was a little confusion and commotion. He raised his voice and pointed. One of the ladies in the choir suddenly appeared in front of the priest, and returned a host to him. She apparently had fetched it from someone. I don't know why the priest had determined to take it from this person (who I didn't see or notice receiving anyway), but I have never seen this before. I am guessing the priest saw this person just walk away with the host.
I guess where I am going with these posts, the ones about my experiences in the Chinese Catholic Church, is that I really want people who might otherwise not have this opportunity to understand what the Chinese Church is like. So often I have read about the situation in China before living here, and coming away with a belief that the "official Church" was a sham. I am not going to pretend that the situation in China is perfect, or even close to okay, or even downplay the courage of those who participate in the "underground church." However, even within the contraints of the Patriotic Association, the Church in China is full of believers, devoted believers, lovers of Christ. It is a lot of things, and could be a lot more, but it isn't a sham.
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had a Mass experience in the U.S. that for me was a strong argument for ad orientem. That Mass had an unfortunate LOOK AT ME approach from the priest. This morning, kneeling close to the altar in our tiny, crowded church, facing the same altar as the priest, it felt more like we were all focused together, intensely, in our own ways.
The other thing is that sometime during Communion, after I received, the priest stopped suddenly, and motioned off to the side. There was a little confusion and commotion. He raised his voice and pointed. One of the ladies in the choir suddenly appeared in front of the priest, and returned a host to him. She apparently had fetched it from someone. I don't know why the priest had determined to take it from this person (who I didn't see or notice receiving anyway), but I have never seen this before. I am guessing the priest saw this person just walk away with the host.
I guess where I am going with these posts, the ones about my experiences in the Chinese Catholic Church, is that I really want people who might otherwise not have this opportunity to understand what the Chinese Church is like. So often I have read about the situation in China before living here, and coming away with a belief that the "official Church" was a sham. I am not going to pretend that the situation in China is perfect, or even close to okay, or even downplay the courage of those who participate in the "underground church." However, even within the contraints of the Patriotic Association, the Church in China is full of believers, devoted believers, lovers of Christ. It is a lot of things, and could be a lot more, but it isn't a sham.
Comments