Going to church....
I went to church last Sunday. It was..."wordy".
Okay, I guess I am not supposed to judge or comment on how church is... but here's how I feel...
I went in all excited. I got my mass book and hymn book. The church started filling up. The Benediction was still going on when I entered. It was quiet, not many people have come in yet. No one sat in my row, as all the other rows started filling up.
Mass is starting. No opening hymn. Okay... oh, no singing of Gloria, okay... we recited it. Readings and Gospel and then the sermon. We also recited Alleluia. By then, there were people sitting with me by the way. Heh. Observation: Lots of black hair, a couple blondes, a couple brunettes... Mostly, not locals.
No singing of offertory hymns either. Okayyy....no Holy, holy, no Lamb of God.... we all recited EVERYTHING. Including the Lord's prayer. Right. Now I get it. No singing in this mass. I craned my neck and looked around the church. Well, it is sitting right there. The organ. No one's playing it. And certainly people are not reciting the prayers in unison.
Holy Communion time - The entire church stood up. I was thinking OMG... this is like Muar 15 years ago maybe? By now, in Malaysia I believe we all have a system of going row by row, but oh certainly not here. Without any order, everyone just walked to the front. Okayyy...... I stayed a while, but then everyone was just going from queue to queue whichever's shorter. I'm like... huh? So okay, I go too.
Of course, no ending hymn.
Mass was mass in the most basic way it could ever be.
Praise the Lord, no offence meant. It is a beautiful church with lots of people who love the Lord. I mean no harm expressing how I feel. It would be so much lovelier to have music and merry making in the House of God. And maybe, it was just my love for music. And I really felt it missing during mass on Sunday...
I went in all excited. I got my mass book and hymn book. The church started filling up. The Benediction was still going on when I entered. It was quiet, not many people have come in yet. No one sat in my row, as all the other rows started filling up.
Mass is starting. No opening hymn. Okay... oh, no singing of Gloria, okay... we recited it. Readings and Gospel and then the sermon. We also recited Alleluia. By then, there were people sitting with me by the way. Heh. Observation: Lots of black hair, a couple blondes, a couple brunettes... Mostly, not locals.
No singing of offertory hymns either. Okayyy....no Holy, holy, no Lamb of God.... we all recited EVERYTHING. Including the Lord's prayer. Right. Now I get it. No singing in this mass. I craned my neck and looked around the church. Well, it is sitting right there. The organ. No one's playing it. And certainly people are not reciting the prayers in unison.
Holy Communion time - The entire church stood up. I was thinking OMG... this is like Muar 15 years ago maybe? By now, in Malaysia I believe we all have a system of going row by row, but oh certainly not here. Without any order, everyone just walked to the front. Okayyy...... I stayed a while, but then everyone was just going from queue to queue whichever's shorter. I'm like... huh? So okay, I go too.
Of course, no ending hymn.
Mass was mass in the most basic way it could ever be.
Praise the Lord, no offence meant. It is a beautiful church with lots of people who love the Lord. I mean no harm expressing how I feel. It would be so much lovelier to have music and merry making in the House of God. And maybe, it was just my love for music. And I really felt it missing during mass on Sunday...
6 Comments:
such a beautiful church!
there are many many many many more beautiful churches, mostly made of stone... very ancient and beaituful.. they're like everywhere. I take more pics of them for u guys to see then later yeah:)
I guess this is maybe a blessing in disguise. Remember Jeremy's experience in the States? The church he went to had music and the parish was mostly the elderly. Then the singing was low and out of tune. The order of the mass was slow as it can be. Perhaps we're actually spoiled rotten here in Msia (we complain too much). But then again, we're praising the Lord, not the music, not the people, not the building. Emmanuel!!
I did experience the same as jeremy had when i was in australia, there was music, though it seemed no one really sang..or when they did all off rhythm and tune:) and I actually don't mind the old people :)
That's right, I really think Malaysian masses are really great!!:)
dei, u go create music there at the church lar :)
dey...i was thinking bout that, but not sure if the parishioners know how to sing after they've been reciting forever before this:) might have a chat with the priest sometime:)
Post a Comment
<< Home