Thank you all brothers & sisters, what a wonderful vacation I had, spending it with Lord Jesus Church and outdoor in the mountains, that really helped me concentrate and refresh myself, it started with a visit to the Church near my hotel which was a Baptist Church, I have searched the nearby area but I couldn’t find a Catholic one, I only found Protestant & Anglican Churches, so in order not to miss the first Sunday, I attended the service at that Baptist Church at 9:30am, when I entered the Church I’ve noticed that there isn’t a single cross anywhere inside the Church, and no pictures or statues of any sort!, then the service started by the Church Minister which took from him around one hour to finish, he quoted one verse from the Bible and he elaborated more on it, and there where some musical plays during that service by one group, however when I’ve finished that and while I was going out of the Church I asked one lady from that Church on where I can find a Catholic Church, and she pointed me the direction, then I headed there, and the moment I saw the Church it sparked a joy inside me, I approached it and I read the name to discover that it was even a Cathedral one, I was so happy to discover that there was another Mass to begin within 30 minutes, so I entered and attended that Mass, there was all sort of pictures, statues, and there was an alter in the middle and some confession rooms in the corner.
After I have finished the Mass, I visited the Priest office, and I spoke with the Priest assistance, and he told me its necessary to take the RCIA class in order to understand Catholicism well, but the problem that the class was due to start in September, so there was no chance for me to attend it.
So far I have learned some basic things about the Catholicism from the Masses that I have attended, which are:
- The Sunday Missal (prayerbook & Hymnal).
- The Entrance Antiphon.
- The Opening prayer.
- The Responsorial Psalm.
- The Communion Antiphon.
- The Eucharist.
I wish I had the chance to participate in the “Eucharist”, particularly after I discovered that its only a piece of bread and no alcohol was involved, but I was told not to do so by our fellow posters here in this forum, in addition to the advice by the Priest assistance, I understood that I only should do that when I’m ready to be baptized, and I can’t be baptized till my flesh stops being a Muslim.
Also by coincidence, I have attended a marriage ceremony on Saturday, it seems Saturday is a day for marriages in Christianity!, I was going to the Cathedral, and I saw people with neat suits and cameras inside the Cathedral, I didn’t enter in the beginning, but when I saw some other people were entering and sitting at the back, I did the same thing, that was interesting to witness such marriage in Christianity.
One of the most interesting things that I’ve discovered in the Catholic Cathedral is the holy water, that really was an interesting discovery for me, therefore on daily bases I was taking with me an empty bottle to fill it with the holy water to drink from it throughout the day, specially when I was going mountains hiking.
Moreover, there was a statue of Lord Jesus in that Catholic Cathedral, and I saw people just putting there hand under it where the flowers are and whispering something then leave!, what’s that practice?, what they say!, I myself have kissed it, and I see no reason why not, since in Islam we kiss the black stone in Kabbaa.
One thing I didn’t feel comfortable with, is where some Mass members where gathering contributions during the Mass ceremony, I don’t know if that was specific for that Cathedral or its general in all Catholic Churches!, but personally I think money contribution should be separated from the religious rituals.
I’ve discovered that there are some common rituals between Catholicism and Islam, maybe Muhammed took that from the early Christians who were in arabian peninsula at his time, the first one is kneeling like what we do in the Islamic prayers, I have witnessed three Catholics who were assisting the Priest during the Mass kneeling for few seconds during that Mass, the second common thing is the incense, I have seen them using incense in each Mass, the same thing applies at our Islamic mosques (particularly now in Ramadan).
I really felt the holiness coming from that Cathedral, and I really liked that there are daily Masses (morning & evening), however, the leaving moments were really hard for me, since I really loved that Cathedral, but what to say, that’s life, today is the first day of our Islamic fasting month (Ramadan) here in Saudi Arabia, although I’m fasting this month but all my heart and feelings are with Lord Jesus.
P.S., When I was sitting alone in the mountains, I was thinking of you fellow brothers & sisters, I was remembering our arguments on this forum, and where we agreed and disagreed, sometimes when I see how the secular world have gone astray, I tend to lean towards Islam, but when I separate the religion from it, I tend to lean towards Christianity.