Holy Days

I've been a big fan of "Holy Days of Obligation" ever since grade school, when we had a holiday for things like, well, the day after my birthday! No, seriously, even as a kid, I appreciated that Catholics would stop everything in the middle of the week to acknowledge a facet of faith as especially important. Since I grew up in a pretty Catholic environment, I did not know that other religions did that. (When I lived in New York, of course, the city's stillness on Yom Kippur and Passover was very educational for me.) At any rate, I still think Holy Days are glorious.

I had a lot to celebrate in that regard when I went to St. Peter's today for the 1:15 Mass. The noon Mass was close to finishing, and the vestibule was crowded with people waiting to go into Church. It was such a testimony! All these people who even remembered that it was a Holy Day! (I'm delighted when people show that their catechesis left some residue.)

The Mass itself was pretty simple, but again, the assembly came through with power. The Gloria was recited, and with so many people there (probably standing room only in the back, but there were a good many places in the front pews; this was a Catholic assembly, after all!), the prayer sounded in a powerful unison. I prayed that God would give all of us a sense of how good and true and beautiful were the words we were proclaiming: We praise you, we bless you, we glorify you, we give you thanks!

And at Communion, to hear the priest at the side aisle repeating, "The Body of Christ, the Body of Christ..." on this feast of All Saints: the truth of the Eucharist, if we live it. The Body of Christ.