A "Different Perspective" - One the Sidelines During Mass

I know that I've been completely MIA on the blogging front for quite a while. I've had so many ideas to write about, and I finally decided tonight to take some time to do it. This is the first in a 3 part series of "Different Perspectives." I'll try to get the other 2 parts out over the next week or so. Hope you enjoy this one, and stay tuned...

About a week ago, our Sunday 5pm Mass was held in the gym instead of the main church. The congregation was set up facing the altar which was under one of the basketball hoops. Adam and I were running a bit late, so we had to sit in the bleachers, on the sidelines, facing the side of the congregation instead of the altar. We were both disappointed that Mass was being held in the gym, and I was particularly disappointed that we had to sit in the bleachers! Most of the time my body was twisted to face the altar to my left, so it was not very comfortable. Although we weren’t facing the front of the “church,” I tried to focus on what was going on in the Mass. I watched the lectors and deacon make Christ present to us by proclaiming the Word of God. I watched the priest make Christ present to us by consecrating the Eucharist. I looked directly at Christ made present in the Eucharist when the priest elevated the host for us all to see.

When I returned from receiving communion, after actually receiving Christ and making him present within me, and I sat down and looked straight ahead. I looked not at the ambo or at the altar, but at the rows of people directly in front of me. I looked at the chairs filled with bodies of all shapes and sizes, colors and ages. I recognized my friends in the congregation, and I peered at the faces of people I had never seen. I saw Christ present in the many young adults who attend our 5pm celebration. I saw Christ present in the families with teens. I watched the people as they sang the communion song. I watched one couple, probably in their sixties, and watched the man sing joyfully and passionately to a very contemporary song that many “older people” might not like (probably Matt Maher or David Kauffman or something similar). I saw Christ present in this man, showing us how music can touch our hearts and move us to be closer to Him.

Although sitting in the bleachers on the “sidelines” probably isn’t the best way to have full, active participation in the Mass, I was grateful for this different perspective. I know Christ is present in the Liturgy of the Word. We all know Christ is present in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. But sometimes we forget that Christ is just as present in the community of believers as he is in the rituals we participate in every Sunday.