I visited Italy last year with my choir. I actually wasn’t sure that the tight schedule would allow me to go to Mass, but turned out, we were going to be singing at the local Catholic church after one of the morning Masses, and the choir leaders were fine with me going alone since I was an adult.
Firstly, it wasn’t just the Sunday morning Mass. I arrived early to find that Mass was just finishing, and thought I had missed it…no, there were three Masses in a row on Sunday mornings. Same priest, and each time the church was packed. I hadn’t even thought the town we were in was that big.
The Mass was the same structure as in English, but although I knew roughly where we were in the Mass, I barely understood a word of what was said. In fact, the only time I understood anything properly was when the woman I was standing beside accidentally bumped my arm, and whispered, “Scusi”.
But I have to say, I really enjoyed Mass. I was a little confused about the route for the communion line, so I didn’t receive, but apart from that I felt really comfortable being there by myself.
On a related note, let me just share this with you.
A few nights before, the priest had let us into the church after closing so that we could practice. As I walked inside, everyone else in the group was gasping as they looked around, because it was just so beautiful. The place was empty and the electric lights were out, but the whole church was lit up with candles, and there were beautiful statues and flowers in alcoves all around. I genuflected, and then decided to light a couple of candles while I was there (I like to do that if I’m in a new church). I remember hearing someone behind me when I lit them whispering, “What’s she doing?” to my best friend.
When I got up, people were taking photos of everything while we waited for things to be set up for the practice. Suddenly, people in the group were asking me, “Hey, is is okay to take photos?” I just said, well, I’m sure it’s fine - there’s no one else here that’d be disturbed by it, so as long as the priest doesn’t object, you’re fine. It occurred to me that I was the only practising Catholic (or at least openly practising) in the choir, and that therefore I’d become the source of authority on what could be done in the church. It reminded me of when we’d sung at a Catholic wedding Mass, and the conductor had recommended that the rest of the choir followed me (standing, sitting, etc.)
And as I looked around the church taking everything in while I waited, it suddenly hit me…this was my church! This beautiful church, with all of its statues and candles and flowers that everyone was in awe of, was my church. There were about thirty other people there, all of them taking pictures or standing around slightly awkwardly not sure how they were meant to act or what things they were ‘allowed’ to do, and I had just walked right in like I owned the place and had gone to light candles without missing a beat. I was hundreds of miles from my home town, and yet I was as much at home in that Italian church that I’d never visited before than if I’d been in my local parish church just streets from my house. And I realised all of this as I stood there, and my heart just felt so light.
What a beautiful faith we have.
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Freiheit. I just looked really lost - nobody cared. They were nice, both countries. I have found people to be very supportive in those situations, both in the US and abroad.