Sunday Mass At Holy Name Roman Catholic Church

Attending my First Mass

For my stepping out paper I went to Sunday Mass at Holy Name Roman Catholic Church. Since I am Jewish, this is an environment that I have not experienced and one that I am not familiar with at all. I went to Mass with a friend from my learning community last year and she was kind enough to walk me through the differences in prayer between Judaism and Catholicism. During the service, I learned that despite our visible outer differences, we all have many similarities that connect us as one human race. The Holy Name Roman Catholic Church is located on 154 East Patterson Avenue and is about a 15-minute walk away from campus. The church is very large and has beautiful stained glass windows that you can view from outside. Upon walking in, the stained glass was the first thing I saw. My friend pointed out that we were able see the different Stations of the Cross depicted in each window. The church is beautifully decorated inside with many wooden pews facing the front. To the left there was a confessional, complete with velvet curtains and a light indicating if the priest was there. In the front, there was an altar adorned with candles and a beautiful tablecloth. Behind that there was a tabernacle, which contains the host for communion. There were only about 15 people at mass when I went

I learned that you bless yourself with holy water before you genuflect, which she described as kneeling before god prior sitting down in the pews. In addition, the host will always be behind the altar for communion. I learned that under the altar there will be a piece of a Saint, in this case it was a small bone. My friend also discussed the different roles of the people involved in the service. The Priest, wearing specific robes for the different seasons, will lead the service. He had two altar boys who assisted in the readings and passing out communion. Above the pews there was a choir as