I feel compelled to write something about my church experience today.

There are number of things that made this Mass experience special, but there are four in particular I’d like to share.

First of all the congregation was very diverse. There were Orientals, Native Americans, Blacks, Hispanics, and of course some of us white people. That always gives a community an “all God’s children” feel to it.

Secondly, it had a palpable welcoming feel to it that many churches strive for but don’t always attain.

The sanctuary space was domed and at the apex of the dome there was suspended a large white sculpture of a soaring dove , the symbol of the Holy Spirit. It seemed to have it’s own radiance from within and I was transfixed by it. I kept glancing up at it throughout Mass.

Lastly, in the front pew was a young couple that seemed to have a couple dozen kids with them. That’s hyperbole but there were a lot of them.  I’ll bet if you lined them up by age they’d make the perfect profile of a staircase.

It was the kids that fascinated me. They were well behaved but not quiet and rigid in the manner of kids that have had the fear of God put into them about their behavior in church. The parents never once fussed about what any of them were doing.  The older one’s looked after their younger siblings.  They quietly interacted with each other and most importantly they all smiled at each other incessantly. They were all different sized versions of dad who was a tall, slim, sandy haired man in his late thirties I’d say.  And they all had a look of joy about who they are, where they were, and what their family was all about. They inspired me.

And just so ya know, I was paying attention to the Mass.