There’s a big square out in front of St. Sulpice where some
boys were playing football before I went in to attend mass and they were still
there an hour later, so I sat and watched them for a while.
The bell of St. Sulpice rings fifteen minutes before mass,
to call people to church. It gives them a chance to hear the bell and
walk to the church from home. I love that. People a hundred or more
years ago would not have owned a watch—this is the only way they would know it
was time to go to church.
I have to admit, Catholic mass feels different from an
Anglican service, which I’ve been to half a dozen of. Even in the center
of Paris, there are local paroissiens/parishoners and its much like it must
have been a hundred years ago: a community church service. Only there are
less people than there used to be (or so I assume) and several of the people
attending are tourists (which I count myself as, for the time being). I
do prefer the church when its silent and I get to walk around and sit and
worship God in my own way, but I’m glad to have had the experience of mass,
regardless.
The people who attended mass were not dressed for church in
the sense that we expect them to be. Everyone’s shoulders are covered,
their legs are covered at least to the knee, but most were wearing day
clothes. Older women and men wear skirts, dresses or suits,
respectively. Even the kids leading mass wore normal clothes, not
anything fancy or dressed up. I think this is a fairly normal trait of
Catholic mass, even in antiquity. To come to church with attire one could
afford/work in, though the rich would have certainly come dressed for Sunday
best. Though I do think it’s a lost “art” as it where to come to mass
dressed for the Sabbath.
Mass begins with a prayer, and is run by the priest of the
parish—St. Sulpice is not a Cathedral, but a church. Music is an integral
part of the service, too. You stand during most of the singing, all of
which is memoried; most who attend mass probably know the words by heart.
They give a program of sorts with words for the music, but in
general—especially for a non-french speaker—its hard to follow. A young
woman led the music, maybe 17 or 18 years old. A boy about the same age
read the accompanying scriptures. Then there was a sermon given by the priest
about loving one another. I did the best I could to understand what he
was saying but I have a much harder time retaining French in my memory as ideas
worth keeping unless I translate them into English which I can then file
away. I suppose soon enough my brain may purchase a French filing cabinet
complete with folders for different categories. Until then, I’ll keep
plugging along.
Music in Catholic mass is sung rather quickly, mosty in
French, but some in Latin. I never understood my Bishop my sophomore year
of college who said that being Catholic, he hated LDS hymns because they were
too slow. Its true our hymns are a funerary march in comparison.
Their music is beautiful, spiritual, but with a living pulse type of
tempo. If music is going to be slow it ought only to be Chants Gregorien
or Anglican choirs. Nearly all I saw contributed to the tithe offering.
The service was only an hour, ended carefully, but somewhat suddenly, like
putting down a sleeping child. The priest spoke to the people in his
congregation afterwards.
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