Moriah Gonzalez: Church Visit 1

Church Name: Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago

Church Address: 735 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610

Date Attended: September 20, 2014

Church Category: Liturgical, Catholic Church

I was raised in a non-denominational setting but became affiliated with a liturgical Anglican church upon my arrival to Wheaton, and am quite familiar with both contexts. My Anglican church, however, is “loosely” liturgical with a charismatic and evangelical emphasis on worship, so I took the liberty to attend a strictly liturgical Catholic service. The experience was unfamiliar to me. I was initially surprised by a lack of relational engagement between members, which proved to continue throughout the duration of the service. As opposed to my non-denominational experience, I would claim an assumed reverence upon entering the cathedral. This was achieved primarily by the architectural style and crucifix furnishings. Additionally, the worship style was traditional, utilizing an organ and female vocalist to carry the hymn melodies.

Undoubtedly, the visual aesthetics of the cathedral were most interesting to me. I was greeted by massive bronze doors with intricate details that immediately positioned my attitude to that of worship. I was familiar with the architectural style- Gothic revival- but found that it also integrated elements of the modern church. The artistic representations of the resurrection crucifix and Stations of the Cross served to remind me of the significance of Christ’s death, further enhancing the experience.

It was a challenge to hold my attention steady throughout the service. Although reverent, there seemed to be a lack of energy in many of the members, myself included. I was unfamiliar with the monotone read of the liturgy and caught myself drifting off in thought more often than once.

My experience with church thus far has been a mostly emotional- arguably an emotionally manipulating- experience. Holy Name Cathedral placed little emphasis on emotional response but rather held to the importance of maintaining tradition. This was refreshing. In observance with the Catholic tradition, I refrained from receiving communion, but felt I was best able to participate in climatic drive of the liturgy up to this point. Once again, the overall reverence of the building, structure of worship, and attitude of its members stimulated my thoughts concerning my regular worship patterns, and allowed me to re-evaluate my attitudes surrounding Christ’s divinity.