Going to Church

Attending Catholic mass in Korea created in me a complicated mix of feeling at home and being on an alien world. For those who do not share my faith (or never studied Latin) the word catholic means Universal. For better or for worse the structure of the mass is the same regardless of geography. So, I attend mass in Sri Lanka I would pick up on what was going on even though I didn’t speak a lick of the language. The same holds true in Korea. 

      The only problem is that the music, readings, and homily (sermon for the non-Catholics) are all in Korean. Other than that everything is still the same with one delightful exception. Koreans do not shake hands unless greeting westerners so during the sign of peace everyone bowed to each other. Meg said that she expected this but it threw me off guard.

      An interesting facet of the Korean culture is that the instinct to form a line does not exist. Daily I am pushed out of the way while waiting for the bus. During communion I half expected a mad dash to the Eucharist. Korean Catholics managed to suppress this cultural idiosyncrasy and form the first orderly line I have seen in the country.

        The first time we went to mass the priest asked us to introduce ourselves to the congregation. When we stood it became abundantly obvious that we were the only westerners in the building. Sadly but not surprisingly, the priest had never heard of Omaha, NE. Best I can tell the priest told the congregation to greet us in English if they see us on the street. After the introduction the congregation actually applauded us. Not since eighth grade honor roll had I felt so honored. As we left the church small children approached us, clearly prodded by their parents, and greeted us in staccato English.

All in all, going to mass was a welcoming, if not disorienting, experience.

-Dan