C
ConfusedTim
Guest
I recently travelled to Paris for a holiday with my 20 year old daughter. The flight there was over 14 hours and so I downloaded a few podcasts for the journey. One of the ones I listened to on the plane was “Letting go of your expectations; be prepared to be surprised” by Father Johnathan Meyer. He’s a greater speaker and well worth a listen.
When we arrived in Paris, my plan was to go to mass in the Sacre Ceur at 10 pm as I thought this would be a great experience for my daughter and me. For those of you who have never been to Paris, the Sacre Ceur is a stunning church that is built on the top of a hill. It is beautiful inside and from outside you get a panoramic view of the city. However, by 5;45 were both feeling very tired and we decided to look online for an earlier mass. We found a local church called Notre Dame De Clignacourt (it’s not the main Notre Dame that was on fire last year). The website said that mass started at 6 pm and so quickly we got our coats on and ran round to the church, reaching the front door a few minutes after the scheduled start.
It was a miserable, rainy and dark winter evening and my expectation was that the mass attendance would be low. Apart from the weather, I was under the impression that the French people had lost their faith. After all this is the place that at one time in its history guillotined nuns and priests! So when we walked in I was not surprised to see 20 or so elderly people kneeling. My heart sank a little as this scene was worse than I had expected. I know that I shouldn’t worry about others and whether they go to mass, but I am afraid I do and can’t help it. On the positive side, the church building was fantastic. It was a few hundred years old, ornately decorated and had frescos on the ceiling.
Glancing at the alter, I quickly realised that the mass hadn’t started and that it was a Eucharistic exposition. A few minutes later the priest removed the Eucharist and everyone started to leave. We tried our best “broken” French to ask some of the old people what had happened to the mass and was told that it would in fact start at 6.30.
As we sat there waiting, two young people brought in a musical keyboard and speaker and began to set it up. Then, slowly at first, more and more young people (age 20-30s) started to arrive and sit all around us. Before long the church was full of young and very reverent people. The two people setting up the keyboard were now also joined by about a dozen others and music and singing started. Then a young priest came to the alter and I could see that he was full of zeal and spoke passionately during his sermon. I had no idea what he was saying but it seemed to engage all those around us.
I reflected on the podcast that I had listened to on the plane and how much I had been surprised by what God had done. This was the best mass I had ever been to and my daughter thought the same. Everything from the building, to the priest, music, etc. was perfect. It also showed me that the church is far from dead. God will exceed your expectations!
When we arrived in Paris, my plan was to go to mass in the Sacre Ceur at 10 pm as I thought this would be a great experience for my daughter and me. For those of you who have never been to Paris, the Sacre Ceur is a stunning church that is built on the top of a hill. It is beautiful inside and from outside you get a panoramic view of the city. However, by 5;45 were both feeling very tired and we decided to look online for an earlier mass. We found a local church called Notre Dame De Clignacourt (it’s not the main Notre Dame that was on fire last year). The website said that mass started at 6 pm and so quickly we got our coats on and ran round to the church, reaching the front door a few minutes after the scheduled start.
It was a miserable, rainy and dark winter evening and my expectation was that the mass attendance would be low. Apart from the weather, I was under the impression that the French people had lost their faith. After all this is the place that at one time in its history guillotined nuns and priests! So when we walked in I was not surprised to see 20 or so elderly people kneeling. My heart sank a little as this scene was worse than I had expected. I know that I shouldn’t worry about others and whether they go to mass, but I am afraid I do and can’t help it. On the positive side, the church building was fantastic. It was a few hundred years old, ornately decorated and had frescos on the ceiling.
Glancing at the alter, I quickly realised that the mass hadn’t started and that it was a Eucharistic exposition. A few minutes later the priest removed the Eucharist and everyone started to leave. We tried our best “broken” French to ask some of the old people what had happened to the mass and was told that it would in fact start at 6.30.
As we sat there waiting, two young people brought in a musical keyboard and speaker and began to set it up. Then, slowly at first, more and more young people (age 20-30s) started to arrive and sit all around us. Before long the church was full of young and very reverent people. The two people setting up the keyboard were now also joined by about a dozen others and music and singing started. Then a young priest came to the alter and I could see that he was full of zeal and spoke passionately during his sermon. I had no idea what he was saying but it seemed to engage all those around us.
I reflected on the podcast that I had listened to on the plane and how much I had been surprised by what God had done. This was the best mass I had ever been to and my daughter thought the same. Everything from the building, to the priest, music, etc. was perfect. It also showed me that the church is far from dead. God will exceed your expectations!
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