I watched an older video from The Catholic Talk show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sn0vcFPjL4). In the video, they talk about “15 things that need to stop happening during mass”. I will only talk about one of those things in this post, and that is the location of the Tabernacle and its importance.

“The tabernacle is a liturgical furnishing used to house the Eucharist outside of Mass.” (https://www.catholic.com/qa/what-is-a-tabernacle)

They discuss that you are supposed to genuflect toward the Tabernacle instead of the altar and only bow towards the altar because the Tabernacle might not always be behind it. The presence of God dwells within the Eucharist, and your respect/adoration towards the Lord should be where he is present. Since moving to a new area, I’ve never experienced where the Tabernacle was anywhere other than behind the altar. My current parish has it in a chapel towards the entrance in a windowed room viewed from anywhere in the church. At first, I didn’t know of its location until I realized that other parishioners were genuflecting off to the side of the church. I found this weird and then realized it was due to the location of the Tabernacle. To avoid turning away from the Tabernacle during genuflection. I’ve decided to sit facing it. I’ve never been told to genuflect before or given the reason to, and more of something I followed everyone else do. They would also talk about churches in their dioceses having their Tabernacle in even worse locations. The location and presence of God should be known to those who arrive to worship the Lord. I follow that the genuflect should be towards His presence during his location at the time, during mass, before, and after. I understand the reason for wanting to place the Eucharist in a more secluded location to provide a more personal and enclosed space that can provide a better adoration space. Still, it shouldn’t also be away from where the masses gather. I would understand what my hometown church does and provides a second location for adoration alone, but the Tabernacle for the church still sits behind the altar.

Have you heard of stewardship?

This question came up after I heard this term used this way about the church, but some churches I’ve been around have said they are stewardship churches. What this means is still confusing, as I haven’t discussed what that truly means. I did find the following link: https://www.usccb.org/committees/evangelization-catechesis/stewardship. This link is from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops talking and explaining stewardship.

What is a steward?

When I started listening to the daily readings and reflections for the day, it always asked me how to take these readings and use them in life. I didn’t necessarily know how to interpret this call because some days, I stay inside all day and don’t interact with others. Then, when watching a YouTube video by Network Chuck about creating a blog, he made it look very easy. The footage would inspire me to start building something for others to see about the faith. Even though no one may ever read this or my other posts, I wanted to leave something someone could come across and hopefully be inspired to take something with them. These blog posts may not be every day, but I wanted to put my reflections down on something other than a notebook and something that can help me explore my faith and express my thoughts. I always watch many Catholic influencers give their take on faith topics and want to contribute/reflect on the subject of discussion and have a place to go back and review. The ability to express the faith online is something that I believe is needed for the future of the church to strive and inspire.

This weekend, I tuned into a Pints with Aquinas episode featuring a debate on the Catholic-Orthodox Papacy. The discussion was interesting, and you can watch it here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IMTszXjhEI). It got me thinking about how people discuss the faith and how we try to express the meanings behind certain events in the church. I noticed that people can get compelled to lean into their beliefs and make a discussion difficult. It is difficult if someone gets too adamant about their topic and could seem attacking rather than trying to understand each side’s viewpoint. It doesn’t have to be an attack on the other’s belief to try and get a point across.

God has a calling for all of us in our lives to try and bring us closer to Him. How we know which vocation He is leading us towards is the ultimate question many will have. The best thing is to pray/meditate asking our Lord for His guidance to help lead us. The different vocations are marriage, priesthood, religious life, and single life. Each has its role to play in the world to help spread the faith and live a life free of sin.