Last weekend was my first weekend away from Our Lady Star of the Sea parish since entering into full communion with the Church at the Easter Vigil. I was on travel to the east coast for some training. This need to attend mass away from my new 'home turf' was an occasion both for excitement and for nervousness.
I was excited because this weekend reminded me that our Catholic Church is truly Catholic. She exists in Bremerton, Washington just as She does in Richmond, Virginia or in Split, Croatia. This fact stands in stark contrast to my background from a small evangelical 'branch' of Protestantism. For starters, the denomination had the words "in America" in its title, and there was no foreign or international counterpart. If travelling within the U.S., I could only hope that I was headed somewhere that my denomination had already reached. Otherwise, I would have to look for the nearest ecclesial analouge. Within or outside this denomination, the results could vary widely. But now as a Catholic, I'm in business simply by pulling up masstimes.org. I'm able to participate in the same liturgy and the same Eucharist as my family and the entire Body of Christ no matter where I go.
If you haven't thought about it for a while, remember to be thankful for the universality that the Catholic Church enjoys. Our common liturgy and Eucharist tie us together in a deep and intimate way with the Church militant across the globe. We can be tied together with family far away, with our Holy Father, and with those suffering political persecution for the practice of the faith.
