Barcelona: Day 61 : Catholic Mass Returns .

For the first time since I got here I had the pleasure of going to a real Catholic mass. Despite the previous week's mishaps, I was able to find the place perfectly and go in and celebrate true Catholic mass. Unfortunately there was no music, but there weren't that many people that went and I would imagine that it simply is hard to find people that are willing to play music for such an empty mass.


Other than a few things, it was just how it was back home. The readings, the prayers, the celebration of Communion, which is one thing that I really missed. The priest clearly was using English as a second language, but even though he read off a piece of paper for his homily that had been pre-translated, his message was still a good one. And oh, the church. It was pretty from the outside, but it was absolutely gorgeous on the inside. I love how the darkness brought your eyes to the altar, and the whole thing just commanded respect. I love that about Catholic churches and cathedrals -- they always seem to take your breath away, especially the older ones. It just creates a much more solemn and humbling experience for me, and allows me to really focus on self reflection and meditation.

It's always nice to get out of the city for a bit, so the walk up to the church was definitely nice. It's all the way out at the Palau Reial stop on L3, which is the second to last stop on that line. I got there super early, so I decided to keep walking past the church up into the hills and see what there was to see. Apparently there is this super high up walking / running / biking path that's up there, so that's definitely on my list of things to go check out. It was nice, though, walking around the quiet neighborhoods, just me and the cool crisp morning, just mentally preparing myself for church. It was well worth the sleep I lost getting up early.

Well, that's about it for today, I was just really happy to be able to celebrate mass as it has always been for me, as opposed to a non-denominational concert. I'll definitely keep going to this one, even if it doesn't have any music.