Being baptized and raised in a Catholic church, my religious life has always been very structured and focused. This seemed to work well for me, because I worked well with strict structure, rules, and guidelines. I followed instructions well, and I appreciated all the traditions within the church. I've always been skeptical of other churches and denominations, and wondered what they did at Sunday morning service. I just knew they did not do the same things as a Catholic mass.
This morning, instead of attending regular mass, I turned on Sunday Mass on Channel 11 (to fufill my Catholic Sunday obligation), as I got ready to instead, to attend Sunday worship at the United Church of Christ in town. All my life, I've never strayed from the Catholic Mass, and if I had attended another church's service, I don't remember.
I really enjoyed the UCC Sunday worship. As a Catholic, I had been successful in staying faithful to the Catholic church. As a Christian, however, I had failed to accept other denominations. I was always trying to figure out who was "right" and who was "wrong" in religion. However, this morning confirmed that as Christians, we're all very similar. We love the same God, and are all called to love each other. We all live by the Bible. The reading at Sunday worship was actually the same as the Gospel reading in the Catholic Mass. The message at Sunday worship delivered the same moral as the homily in the Catholic Mass. Though they were different churches (UCC & Catholic), the people in both churches were all Christians, hearing the same message. We're all united under one God. I would like to continue to more worship services, outside of the Catholic church, to expand my faith & understanding. In the Catholic Mass, I could feel myself falling into "going through the motions." By switching it up, I think it will help me refocus on why we really go to church - to grow closer to God and worship & pray together. It will help me focus less on structured religion (which of course, can be a wonderful thing too), and more on a relationship with God.
