As a lapsed and self-excommunicated Catholic for many years now it’s dawning on me the irony of Sunday morning services. To be totally honest between the last mass I attended outside of a Christmas or Easter holiday to appease family (yes I did that and realize the thick and twisted irony) there have been many a Sunday morning spent sleeping off the night before or tragically hungover. I don’t recommend that approach, but to each their own.
Sunday mornings should be a sacred space, for ourselves. Why do so many people exchange peace of mind and feeling prepared for the week for a dose of “community”, catholic guilt or simply going through the motions to fulfill their end of a “salvation contract”? Does this seem ironic to anyone else?
What if we shifted the focus to serving ourselves to that we can more fully serve our world and others? Not to blatantly attack Christianity, but wouldn’t it make more sense to embody Christ-like service to others in need instead of sitting in a building singing and reading cherry picked text to make us feel good about the uncertainty of the world (faith) and keep us tied in through tithing?
I pose these questions again not to attack or belittle anyone’s practice of faith in any way, but as more of a genuine search for insight and understanding. I choose to spend my Sunday mornings meditating, journaling, enjoying time with my pup and often going for a run. These are some of the simple things that center and ground me. It is a far cry from the rush of my childhood to get out the door and into the pew at church. A time that even when I believed, I was more focused on the donuts to follow mass since breakfast could easily be subject to an involuntary fast.
I have often still searched out community to engage with other than the traditional forms of organized religion with usually wonderful experiences, yet intermittent attendance on my part. I’ve kept a Sunday yoga practice for significant spans of time to feed my body and soul as well as be a part of a community.
I have recently started looking for opportunities to volunteer and one of these I’m looking forward in the near future will involve sharing my gifts of cooking with other looking to improve their lives. This service is something that I feel I can share selflessly and with confidence that it was meant to be something I am a part of. I have always seen food as a catalyst for building community and individual health, so I hope this is a result down the line of my sharing. What opportunities would you find if you looked outside the steeple-topped box?
In considering all of this, the though behind this post is not to spark any self-judgement or criticism. It is meant to pose an opportunity for reflection, to understand who we are truly serving in this sacred Sunday morning space…ourselves, others, an institution? Are there ways we can remove the guilt and archaic contractual framework from a Sunday practice, to move the focus into our communities regardless of creed?
Maybe it is time to question our communal faith, remove the judgement and focus on giving back to ourselves and communities through a practice of mindfulness and love. Food for though on a sunny December Sunday morning.
-Ad Astra Per Aspera-