Before my teenage daughter #8, Jeannie, and I moved to Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.A., in the year 2000, we wanted to find a church home. We had already been commuting from Danville to Lexington for several years, me for work, and Jeannie for high school. FYI: in my growing-up years, Catholics were strictly limited, by church policy, to the church in the geographical area in which they lived. Period. Note: while human policies can be changed, the divine doctrine of Jesus can and will never change.
Now we are permitted to choose our church community; we visited all seven (at the time) Catholic churches in Lexington. The medieval architecture of several of the older churches was very impressive, but we thought the services dragged. The newer churches were bare architecturally and jammed with tons of families with active children (read: noisy children). The university church seemed to emphasize 'peace and justice' more than worship. Jeanne personally selected the Cathedral Church, Christ the King, for our home. I have never once regretted that choice.
The first Sunday we attended Christ the King church was in 1999, on Christ the King Feastday. We were spiritually blown away by the incredibly beautiful, meaningful, inspiring service, and also by the friendliness of the folks there. Most Sundays thereafter, even before we moved to Lexington, we came to Christ the King.
Today is the Feastday of Christ the King. I revisited my original feelings 14 years ago at Mass this morning. Father Alan was busy with the readings, prayers, and a wonderful Baptism of a very cooperative baby. The crowd was big, as usual. There were trumpets and a bass drum to add to the celebration. The children's choir sounded like angels. Granddaughter #2, Heather, and I went together. This made it even more special! Seeing all these families with all their children, people of all ages and races, worshiping, praying, and celebrating together, gives me such hope for the future of Catholicism!
Then tonight there was a speaker who closed out the Catholic Church's "Year of Faith." The topic was "From Creed to Deed," in other words, belief in Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is not enough. We are encouraged to SHARE our FAITH, tell our faith story, if we value our faith. Thomas Smith, from Idaho, is a convert to Catholicism from the Mormon faith, "a sixth-generation Mormon," in his words. He was a Baptist minister after he was a Mormon. Smith travels all over the world sharing his faith. Quite an interesting faith journey!
I personally was baptized into the Catholic faith as an infant. I went to Catholic schools for 14 years. I wish every person had this opportunity! It is a very disciplined, loving, protected, holy environment in which to learn and grow. In my freshman year in college, I wondered who this Jesus was. My neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio, was 50% Jewish. I had an inclination to see what the Jewish faith was about and wanted to visit the temple that I passed on the bus to school every day. But I never stopped going to Sunday Mass. It is said that every young adult has to question their faith to actually make it their own. I decided that I did, in fact, want to find out more about Jesus, and remain a Catholic. This is another choice I have never regretted. The goal is to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I find it immensely challenging and fulfilling! And today I went to my second home, Christ the King church - twice! Praise the Lord!!
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