Visit to a Catholic Church: Saint Mel Parish - Essay Example

Visit to a Catholic Church: Saint Mel Parish I. Introduction & Field Information The ceremony I chose to attend was a Catholic Mass. Having a Protestant background I was somewhat familiar with Church services, but had never experienced the intricacies of the Catholic Mass, to which I am highly curious as to their sociological function and importance. The church I visited was the Saint Mel Parish, where I went to on November 21, 2010. It is located at 20870 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills. This essay examines the elements of a Catholic Mass from a sociological perspective. In addition to the sociological analysis it discusses and examines the various religious significance of the rituals in the mass. II. Appearance and Visitors St. Mel Parish has a very clean and appealing outward appearance, with well attended to landscape architecture. The building itself is white, and there is a number of surrounding shrubbery, and stained glass inside on the windows of the building itself. When I entered the building I was greeted by individuals at the door who passed out programs for the upcoming service. The service itself was attended by individuals of all ages, with a majority of the people there being in an older age group – 50 and up. There were also individuals of all ethnicities in the crowd; however, the majority were Caucasian. III. Church Service 1. Opening Rituals In attending the Catholic Mass there were a number of elements that I found unique. I entered the Cathedral for the 9 AM Mass at around 8:45 and took my seat near the middle of the church. In examining the surroundings I noted that it great part they seemed nearly identical to that of my experience in Protestant Churches, namely a pew structure facing an alter towards the front of the church. There were elaborate chandeliers and also stained glass containing religious imagery. In attending Protestant church services I was aware that there was an established structure, however the the Catholic ceremony seemed even more highly structured. The mass I attended began with a hymn – Holy God, We Praise thy Name. I believe in the context of the ceremony the hymn serves a number of purposes. Structurally, it functions to signal the beginning of the church service, as when the church members are singing and participating in this ceremonious aspect the clergy members (the individuals who will conduct the church ceremony) enter. In the choice of hymn, Holy God, We Praise thy Name the song functions to establish the overarching purpose of the ceremony, namely the praise of God; in effect, this sets the tone of the rest of the service. Another purpose for the incorporation of the hymn in this context seems to be that it immediately involves the audience in the ceremony. While large portions consist of elements where the audience are observers, in immediately involving them in the ceremony it functions to balance out the less active portions of the service and preserve audience interest. 2. Liturgy As the clergy members have entered, the church service commences. The priest states to the congregation, “In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” to which they respond Amen. The priest then states, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The congregation members then respond, “And also with you.” The priest then commences with a prayer that asks for forgiveness. While I am familiar with similar prayers from my own experience in Protestant church services, this prayer was unique in that it also called upon saints such as Mary to grant forgiveness. For instance, the priest states, I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord, Our God. In these regards, this is a clear difference not only in terms of the Catholic church service, but also in terms of the Catholic religion, as the increased emphasis on the importance of saints is a major distinguishing features of these religions. In terms of contrasting the hymn with the act of confession, it seems that the church service functions in this regards to balance the more uplifting aspects with the more solemn aspects of forgiveness and salvation. The next significant movement in the church service is constituted by readings from the Bibles. In the service I attended the specific passages explored were from the Acts of the Apostles. The passage concerned a miracle Jesus performed along with his apostles. Rather than specifically attesting to the nature one should live their lives, it was clear that the passage functioned more to pay testament to the power and holiness of God. After the priest was completed with the passage, the church commenced with another hymn – I Will Praise Your Name. This song functioned in the context of service to involve the audience again and break up the static elements included in the priests prayer and the subsequent reading. The hymn itself was similar to the verse from Acts as it served as a testament to the glory of God. After the song the priest commenced with another reading, this time from the 2nd letter of Timothy to Paul. This passage interrelated Pauls life and the events that took place in it to his eventual preparation for death and salvation. Again this verse was accompanied by a song, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, even more upbeat that the previous songs to add a spark to the service. This song was followed another reading from Acts. After this reading the priest commences to discuss the thematic significance regarding the three chosen passages, indicating that the passages and indeed the service as a whole is thematically interrelated. The pastor notes that the interrelated thematic aspects of the previous passages read is that they all constitute instances where Jesus or his apostles have been chained or restricted from disseminating their message. In terms of individuals lives this is intended to refer to how the contemporary church is chained or restricted in many ways from disseminating its message. Its notable that while many people turn to religion or similar spiritual pursuits in an effort to gain a moral direction for their lives, in this church service at this point very few time has been dedicated to discussing moral elements. Instead, the church service has in great part functioned to attempt to confirm the congregation members belief in the supernatural entity of God. It seems that this is a rarely acknowledged aspect of church services, namely the considerable emphasis on confirming individuals beliefs, rather than exploring why they believe them, or even considering specific aspects of morality; while such aspects do occur in this church service (the priest discusses the importance of love in our daily lives), I am left to question why a service would need to confirm the very foundational elements of their belief system with such regularity. Ultimately, this segment of the service constitutes a significant portion and functions as the sort of core message of the Catholic Mass. This section is concluded with a lengthy prayer that includes, I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. The congregation members recite this prayer. It appears that in the context of the church service the prayer functions to constitute a concluding element for this portion of the church service, and add increased emphasis on foundational elements of the Catholic faith, namely salvation through God, the Father almighty. The church service then included a group prayer that goes out to specific individuals in the congregation and their family members. This is followed by another hymn that engage the audience and break up the aspect of the service where they were inactive receptors. 3. Communion At this point the service enters the portion of the service wherein the communion ritual occurs. In introducing this ritual the priest tells a ritual speech and prayer that refers to the nature of the Eucharist. This is the Last Supper, wherein Jesus and his apostles shared a final meal before Jesus was taken into custody by the Romans and eventually crucified. In foregrounding this ritual with a prayer the service functions to establish the purpose of this ritual. In terms of the Catholic Church communion is a highly complex ceremony, that indicates the individual congregation members are consuming the blood of Christ, in effect communing with his existence, and coming closer to him in mind and body. The ritual itself is intended to mirror the same ceremony that occurred during the Last Supper. In the service I witnessed communion was commenced as the priest first drank from the chalice and ate the cracker. He then announced to the congregation that the communion proceedings would begin. Individuals in a line then walked towards the front of the church to the alter where the priest administered the wine and the cracker and grants them communion. During the time of this is going on the church began singing another hymn. In addition to communing with the body and blood of Christ, it seems as if this communion functioned to bring the congregation members themselves into communion with each other. In these regards, the congregation drinks out of the same chalice and eats the same food. It was ultimately a feeling of cooperation and shared experience. 4. Final Prayer The service commences after the communion with the priest speaking a few concluding remarks about the theme of the church service and announcing some of the various events that will be occurring within the church during the week. The priest then begins the final prayer for the evening. At the conclusion of the final prayer the priest states, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” The service then ends as a hymn is sung by the church choir and the congregation members exit. Its clear these elements function to add a concluding transition to the service. IV. Analytical Topics 1. Theoretical There are a great many messages that are contained within Catholicism. Perhaps the most central message within the Christian religion is the simple message of treating ones neighbor as they would themselves. After this central message there exists a number of other belief systems. One notes that the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament contain a number of moral proscriptions that individuals should follow in living a morally just life. In regards to specifically religious elements, a great amount of the Catholic message is that individuals must believe in God and ask him for forgiveness. Through this process individuals gain admittance to heaven, or the afterlife. In addition to these elements, there are a number of social beliefs that may not be directly related to the Bible, but have been interpreted to be the morally justified way to live. In these regards, Catholicism specifically argues that abortion is not morally justifiable. It also contends that God indicates sexual intercourse before marriage, as well as methods of birth control are sinful acts, as the act of sexual intercourse should only occur as a means of giving birth to a child. Uniquely, the Catholic religion has a Pope that is indicated to have a direct understanding of Gods wishes and is thus able to determine the proper way for individuals to live their lives. It is through this understanding that social beliefs are able to be advanced. 2. Practical The basic nature of the worship seems to be somewhat of a hybrid structure. In one sense, I recognize that when one discusses the Catholic Church it must be recognized that many of the traditions and processes of the service have considerable history to them, having gradually developed over the last 2,000 years. In this sense, I recognize that I am observing a very historical procession. In another regards, I recognize that this specific church has a modern twist to the service. For instance, the priest at times speaks in a colloquial way, and references are made to popular culture elements. While there were a great many senior citizens in attendance, I also recognized that there also were younger individuals that gave the service a more upbeat and modern feel. Still, the worship is generally very structured, with very little spontaneity. Its clear that the service follows a set pattern, as indicated by the program, as well as established by historical tradition. In regards to spontaneity, the service is somewhat spontaneous when the priest is speaking and examining the gospels selections for the church. The song interludes also allow for expression from the audience as they are able to sing in unison and voice their praise and worship. 3. Sociological The individuals in the church seem to be brought together on family, ethnic, and philosophical grounds. While I am not a regular member of the church, from a cursory examination it seemed that a majority of individuals attending the service were accompanied by family members. Similarly, the majority of the church was attended by Caucasian individuals. While it would be a stretch to indicate that this was a major reason that motivated these individuals to attend this church, it seems this, coupled with similar socioeconomic backgrounds and family ties are major factors that have brought these individuals together. Finally, it seems that the philosophical backgrounds of the church itself have also brought the individuals together. In these regards, the individuals belief in the Catholic sect of Christianity, as well as their embracing of the pace and perspectives of this particular church. While the last point is difficult to articulate without a long-term investigation of the specific church, it seems that there is a subtle distinction in tone that distinguishes it from other churches. The priest has a pivotal role within the church service. It is immediately recognizable that he is the key figure because of his elaborate robe, which sets him him apart from the other individuals and sets the tone for the service. He conducts and leads the service, by leading all the chants and messages, such as prayer; he also reads the gospel passages, and indicates to the parisioners the importance of the selected passages. He also administers the Eucharist, which further sets him apart from the other individuals involved. Read More