Universality

One of the most awesome things about being a Catholic, is that wherever you go in the world and whatever the language, when you attend Mass, you can follow it. The liturgical seasons are the same, etc. When you travel, you really get a sense of the universality of the Church as a diverse and incredibly rich Body of Christ. When I visited Notre Dame Cathedral a couple of years ago, I, as a South African, went to confession in the French capital to a Ugandan priest! On this weekend past, I went with my wife to another Christian faith community for a baptism which was done in the context of their regular Sunday service. It was Palm Sunday and yet the pastor never mentioned it; he had his own message and focus. That of course is his perogative, but more and more, I am noticing that non-Catholic and even evangelical communities are adopting some of the liturgies and seasonal celebrations of the Catholic church - like Lent, to name one example. It speaks to a unity of worship which effects the unity it symbolises - much as the shared rituals / traditions / memories of a family bind that family. It is a different and more sustainable approach than that of communities built around the cult of a particular pastor. This catholicity / universality is a profound treasure of the Church and is expressed so eloquently in the hymn: 'The day thou gavest..'

We thank thee that thy Church unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.

As over continent and island
The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.

The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren 'neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.