CONVENTICLE

February 25, 2010

Conventicle
\ken-‘ven-ti-kel\ n 1: an assembly of an irregular or unlawful character 2: an assembly for religious worship; *especially : a meeting for worship not sanctioned by law 2: a meetinghouse*

Recently, I have been trying to solidify my journey of faith by attempting to attend Mass more frequently. For the past few years, my quest to become closer to God has been an arduous expedition; filled with uncertainties about how people close to me would view my renewed interest, skepticism about the Catholic Church and members of the congregation threatening to ruin my determination to cement my beliefs once more, and the underlying concern that I was phony for practicing such ideals when this could all be considered new to me. I was in search of implementing spirituality and common decency and respect in my everyday life and had hopes that this time it would be different.
I knew that to seek God was a serious task and that it deserved my utmost desire and determination. I tried many things, yet each simple mission I set aside for myself to complete would sit unfinished; the Bible passage never being read consistently every night, the last spiritual journal entry being three months prior, never attending Sunday Mass. I attribute the lack of achievement of each of these to fear; fear of not welcoming the new person I might become as a result of incorporating a new element of faith in my life.
It was my senior year of college and as a requirement for a group exercise within the organization of which I was a part, we had to attend a service and/or mass at a church every Sunday. It was the second Sunday and our destination that morning was St. Rose of Lima Church in West Philadelphia. It was a beautiful service and I really enjoyed the familial atmosphere within its walls, which was evident in the music and the convivial mood of the parishioners. It wasn’t until the Eucharist, however, that I felt like my place had been carved for me. I was so moved and really felt as though I were home; this being the first time that I felt as though I were in the right place at the right time.
I left the conventicle that morning feeling light in my heart and even though I no longer reside in Philly, that morning will always be special to me. It was a morning that started out ordinary but ended with a step closer to what I had been looking for all along: spiritual fulfillment.

* first and second letter “e” is upside down producing sound of “uh”