Why I Love the Church

Ever since I first set foot back in a Catholic Church in January 2011, months before my reversion, I started looking at the Church through new eyes. Many of the things of Catholic life that had been pretty much meaningless as a child had new meaning. In the time leading up to my reversion and in the years since I have come to love many aspects of the Church.

The Mass

In my youth as a cradle Catholic I found the Mass absolutely boring. It’s not because it was in Latin and I couldn’t understand everything being said. The Mass I attend now here in Canlaon City in the Philippines is completely in Bisaya… of which I understand very little. But I’m blessed and strengthened after each service. What’s the difference? The Holy Spirit. Let me explain

Coming from my time as an Evangelical Christian and having come into what is called in that experience “a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ”. As Catholics we receive the Holy Spirit first in Baptism and later in Confirmation. The Apostles experienced something similar. The Lord breathed on them saying “Receive the Holy Spirit”. But they didn’t receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit until it was internalized to them on Pentecost.

The same is true for us. What the Church does for us in our Rites of Initiation is the same as what the Lord did for the Apostles. We come into the fullness of it when we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and the things of the Church are suddenly not external but internal to us…in our hearts. Then we don’t HAVE to go to Mass…we GET to go to Mass.

The Mass has been called “the most perfect form of prayer” and I couldn’t agree more. Each part of the Liturgy leads us up to the heart of our worship: Communion. The real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist is available nowhere else and we get to enjoy it any time we wish.

The Rosary

To many outside the Church the Rosary looks like simply repetitive prayers mostly offered to Mary. Nothing could be further from the reality of it. The purpose of the Rosary is to focus on different aspects and events in the life of the Lord, Mama Mary and the early Church. During my time listening to the Catholic Channel Sirius XM 129 there used to a show called “The Catholics Next Door” hosted by Greg and Jennifer Willits. They have an apostolate called “Rosary Army” which is dedicated to teaching people to love the Rosary. One of the tools that have is called “The Scriptural Rosary” in which the Scripture for each decade of the Mystery is broken down so that each prayer begins with a verse or part of a verse. It really is a good way to focus during the Hail Mary on the event the verse is talking about. By the way, you can visit their website and download the MP3s for each of the four Mysteries for free. I think it will help you come to love the Rosary as much as we do.

Along those same lines I have recently started to enjoy the Divine Mercy Chaplet which is prayed every day at 3 PM and uses the Rosary beads. I think the Willits also have that available on their site, but a really good one is available on CatholicTV.com where it is sung. However, that one is not available for download that I know of.

Songs

Part of the echoes of my childhood that kept the Church as a fond part of my memory was the songs we sang during the May Procession that was held in my hometown of Ilion, NY back in the 1950’s and 60’s. “Immaculate Mary” (also called “The Lourdes Hymn”) and “Bring Flowers The Fairest” as all the classes from Annunciation School from kindergarten through 8^th Grade marched around the block lead by the image of the Blessed Virgin. Even during the time that I would never have described myself as Catholic those songs brought a tear to my eye. I guess you can take the boy out of the Church but you can never completely take the Church out of the boy.

Here in the Philippines songs are a major part of the Liturgy of the Mass. Much of what is spoken in the English Mass is sung here. Even the Our Father (Amahan Namo) is sung. Others I can think of quickly are “Si Cristo” (Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will return) sung for “The Mystery of Faith” and “Salamat Dyod” (Thank you God the Father, Thank you God the Son, Thank you Spirit of God). Here it’s not just the choir that sings but everyone. It’s part of what attracted me to start thinking about coming home to the Church. It reminded me so much of how the Church was when I was a child. There is even a Bisaya version of “Immaculate Mary”…which I get to join in on when they get to the “Ave, Ave, Ave Maria” part. LOL

These are just a few of the aspects of the Catholic life that bring me joy now. Take some time today to look at your own life and find out what brings you joy in your Catholic life. God bless.