Mass Blessings
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Faith on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 7:30 PM
This weekend, the boys and I had the pleasure of attending the 10:15 am Chinese Mass at the lovely Ss. Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco. The church sits beautifully on Washington Square, its spires visible from many parts of the city. In our suburban home, we typically drive to and from Mass, so even being able to walk to Mass was a special treat.
But the most amazing blessing of all was worshiping with the church’s wonderful Chinese community. Honestly, we weren’t really certain what to expect when we researched the Mass times in advance of attending, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a welcoming community, a service conducted in both English and Chinese (including the wonderful homily) and a vibrant choir that sang in English, Chinese and Latin. Another special treat was watching the reverent altar serving team of five young people, including one young lady whose wheelchair was lovingly pushed by one of her fellow servers.
One of the greatest blessings of frequent travel is the opportunity to worship amidst the Universal Church. Although we miss our home parish community when we are on the road, I feel as though each of us are renewed and refreshed when we get a broadened peek at the Body of Christ in action.
Tomorrow, I will be jumping on board another plane to travel to Xavier University in Cincinnati for the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers conference. Since I’ve never been to that part of Ohio, I have yet another pilgrimage opportunity ahead of me! For anyone with recommendations on what to see and do in the area, I’d love to hear from you!
In the mean time, I begin this week buoyed and fortified by this past Sunday’s mass in San Francisco. Have you visited a new church recently or attended a different mass? How did you feel celebrating the Eucharist in new environs?
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