Catholic

“Heavenly Father, give us the discernment to make decisions that enable us to follow the path you have set before us. Enable us to trust that the Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us. Help us to accept our past, enjoy our present, and embrace our future.” Prayer of Discernment

This morning I virtually visited the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City Missouri for their Easter Vigil. Yes, it is already Easter. I can’t hardly believe it, the time has just flown by. Spring is finally here and my heart is immediately uplifted by the thoughts of new blooms on the trees and baby bunnies hopping around outside my back porch. It is my favorite time of the year!

My background with the Catholic church is well very limited. I have attended a few Catholic weddings in the last few years. They were nice, very traditional and yet somehow not quite as long as I imagined a Catholic wedding would be. This was very much appreciated!

Not that this much effected me but my mom grew up Catholic. Well, come to find out her family was only apart of the Catholic church for a few short years. She never much talked about her past brush with the Catholic church so I didn’t grow up with allot of knowledge about this religion.

My dad’s brother and his family were Catholic and two families that I have been a nanny for in the past have been Catholic. And really none of these connections sprouted much knowledge about this particular faith.

When someone mentions the Catholics I would say the first few things that pop into my head would be; long services, nuns, communion, rosary beads and the good old pope! Quite a colorful picture for sure. What can I say, it’s what comes to my mind.

I have to be honest, viewing this service was not the most exciting part of my day. I had to pause a few times for breaks before I finished most of the service. I was correct about at least one thing, the services are LONG!

This is no disrespect to anyone who is Catholic but boy am I thankful that I was not raised in a Catholic church. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open during our hour and fifteen minute (that’s when service ran long) Mennonite church service, so I can’t imagine the pokes and prods I would have gotten if I was made to sit for two hour services.

I may not have found much inspiration from the service that I watched, I’ll be really honest. It was long and my attention span is obviously not made for this kind of commitment But what I will say is that I have a new respect for all those who sit in those pews for service. I tip my hat off to you all, you are stronger and more dedicated than I am.

The service itself may not have moved me into wanting to convert to the Catholic faith but what I did really enjoy was all the singing. The bishops/priests sang beautifully! There were also women who sang as well, although I am not sure what their proper title would have been. During one song I just sat there and closed my eyes and took in all the beautiful notes playing over my laptop speakers. It was a bit meditative…

Also, this particular cathedral was just beautiful! The architecture and design was really breathtaking. To be honest, I wanted to partly just be there in person just to take in the setting. Wow!

All in all I am glad that I was able to watch the Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. It was a truly beautiful service, one filled with tradition and love for the Lord. I have a new respect for all those who practice the Catholic faith on a regular basis. May I be able to have just an ounce of your attention span someday.

And maybe someday I will be able to walk into this particular cathedral and find myself wowing at the beautiful architecture.