By Chris:
Ok so in all honestly, "neat" does not cover what I am about to write. While it seems strange to be on the other side of the world (and I don't even know if that fact has totally sunk in yet), the Catholic Church is still the same. Sure I was lost when we prayed the Angelus in Russian at lunch, but to be fair I don't really know it in English either!
This all sort of hit me during adoration today. As I stared up at the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar, the realization of how intense the universality of the Church really is. Never before had I realized that the "neat" concept of universality really all boils down to the Eucharist. The same Eucharist we adored today in Russia is the same living body of Jesus Christ that can be found in Gainesville at St. A's and at the seminary that Father Steve teaches at and all the way to Denver where Tyler works. I had always known universality to be about the Mass being the same no matter where we went (and it is of course and we had Mass today here and tomorrow we will have Mass actually in Russian. It is the same Mass). Never before today, though, had I actually contemplated the awesome universality of the Blessed Sacrament. It was quite an awe inspiring and mystifying expereince.
Ok so in all honestly, "neat" does not cover what I am about to write. While it seems strange to be on the other side of the world (and I don't even know if that fact has totally sunk in yet), the Catholic Church is still the same. Sure I was lost when we prayed the Angelus in Russian at lunch, but to be fair I don't really know it in English either!
This all sort of hit me during adoration today. As I stared up at the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar, the realization of how intense the universality of the Church really is. Never before had I realized that the "neat" concept of universality really all boils down to the Eucharist. The same Eucharist we adored today in Russia is the same living body of Jesus Christ that can be found in Gainesville at St. A's and at the seminary that Father Steve teaches at and all the way to Denver where Tyler works. I had always known universality to be about the Mass being the same no matter where we went (and it is of course and we had Mass today here and tomorrow we will have Mass actually in Russian. It is the same Mass). Never before today, though, had I actually contemplated the awesome universality of the Blessed Sacrament. It was quite an awe inspiring and mystifying expereince.
This is so spot on. I'm tearing up reading this
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