Getting Churchy

The worforce development program where I volunteer is sponsored by a local Catholic charity, and today the group held a special mass and luncheon to honor volunteers at a big church downtown. I honestly cannot remember the last time I had gone into a Catholic church; I would imagine it's been nearly twenty years, perhaps more. I spent a lot of time at Catholic churches when I was young, and went through most of the sacraments at the age-appropriate times. I kind of lost religion -- to the extent I'd ever had it -- when I was in my early teens and my parents would drop me and my brother off for mass while they waited in the car or otherwise killed time. I have fond memories of church from when I was very young. We had a great youth program at my church, and after CCD on Saturday mornings, we used to stay and watch movies or gather to sing folk songs with the guitar-playing priest. (Keep in mind that this was the late sixties; folk masses were all the rage, and mass had only recently begun to be said in English. I can vaguely remember going to mass and not understanding a word the priest was saying.)

I have great respect for the new pope and for anyone who can devote himself or herself to a specific religion. Maybe if I really tried, I could do it. The fact is that I don't care enough to try. I don't consider myself an adherent to any particular religion. I try to be kind and helpful to my fellow humans, but I don't feel that I need a church in order to do that. I once overheard one of the other volunteers at this program saying that the only way people could have compassion and be in service to others was through Christ. I think it's a shame he believes that. I would never consider someone to be more dedicated to humanity (or less so) based on that person's religious affiliation or lack thereof. And this is one of the reasons I don't attend church, this (literally) holier-than-thou attitude expressed by many people of all religions. My other reasons for not attending Catholic mass have to do with my disagreement with some of their tenets. I'm not saying they're right or wrong, only that I don't agree, and so going to church feels hypocritical.

Today, though, I accepted the honor of the mass in the spirit in which it was intended. The people I work with are very kind, and the program serves clients of any background or belief system. And I kept my mouth shut, for the most part, other than to say thank you and recite the parts of mass I could remember (and I remembered most of it). I remember reading once that the Dalai Lama, although a vegetarian, said that he ate what his hosts served when they invited him to dinner, even if it was meat. I'm not sure if that obviously ties in, but today's service made me think of that. I think my "hosts" thanked me and the other volunteers through the means they had available, and to decline their invitation would have been rude. Still, it may be another twenty years before I go to church again -- or at least until next year's thanking mass.