Sunday, Sunday, beautiful Sunday! :D

Sunday was a lazy day since I was very tired from the trip to Lviv. I decided to let Orest take pictures of his own Ukrainian Catholic Mass so that I could take the afternoon off to rest and then go to Church in the evening. If you want to see the rest of the pics he took, check out the following link. They are kind of repetitive, but I know some of you will really enjoy them!:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2245520&id=122610538&l=d54c4ba2b5



This last picture is of a park where newly weds go to take pictures.



So this Sunday was the first time I got to go my own Church, that is, a Roman Catholic Church, and man, it was the best feeling in the world!

The church building was not very pretty on the outside, but on the inside I really enjoyed it. This was exactly MY type of church. It was simple. White. With big open windows that let tons of light in, even in the middle of the evening (it was around 5:30 pm). The walls were bare, except for the wooden stations of the Cross. And in the center, behind the altar, a huge picture of Our Lord, the Divine Mercy Image. Ghasp! When I saw this, my heart felt so much joy! I have a strong devotion to the image of our Lord's Divine Mercy, so this could not have been more perfect.



(As an aside, if you have never heard of the Divine Mercy apparitions, basically Jesus appeared to a Polish nun named St. Faustina in the late 1930s, and His message was to remind all souls to turn to Him and to trust in his infinite Mercy, for no matter how bad a person's sins are, even if they are the worst in the world and if they are away from the Church, He will forgive that person and grant them Mercy if that person only turns to Christ with absolute humility and trust, and repents with sincerity. He loves each of us so much, and all we need to do is turn to Him. He takes care of the rest. This message is the message of the Gospel, and Pope John Paul II recognized the apparitions as legitimate. If you want to learn more about the apparitions of Our Lord to St. Faustina and his wonderful message of Mercy, which is the same as that which he proclaimed in the Gospel, go to:
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/backgr.htm
I would really recommend that you visit the whole website, but if you don't have time, at least read the "Background" and the "Feast of Mercy" pages.)




You might wonder what's so special about this, but it was just what I needed. I prefer simple churches which do not visually overwhelm me. I like to be able to focus on what is at the altar, without other things to take my focus away from Him (God). Which is exactly what this church accomplished when I came in. On one side of the image of the Divine Mercy, was a picture of St. Faustina, the Polish nun who received the apparitions from Our Lord with the message of the Divine Mercy, and to the other side of it there was an icon of Our Lady holding Baby Jesus. Aside from that, the only other image in the church was a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I sat on one of the wooden benches, which still had the decorations of a wedding from the previous day. It was about 5:45 pm, when the priest came out and took out the Eucharist out of the Tabernacle for exposition and adoration.

(If you do not know what I mean, that is when the Eucharist, which is the consecrated Bread and Wine which we as Catholics believe is the true Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ Himself, is put on a monstrance, a sort of exposition pedestal, so that people can contemplate it and adore God.



If you want to learn more about the Catholic belief on the Eucharist, go to:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Christ_in_the_Eucharist.asp
http://www.catholic.com/library/Real_Presence.asp

For more information on other topics about Roman Catholicism, visit:
http://www.catholic.com/library/faith_tracts.asp)

Anyway, so that was awesome, since I was not expecting to go to Adoration. Suddenly, the congregation started signing a repetitive tune, and soon enough I realized it was the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. So I decided to join them by praying the chaplet quietly in English, since I could not follow their Ukrainian chanting (the chaplet can be prayed singing). After adoration, Mass began. I came prepared by having searched for the readings of the day, which I had marked off on my Bible. Even though I could not understand the language, it was so nice knowing exactly what was going on, and I could follow each of the prayers in English in my head, since I could recognize them. Such a great feeling! I wish I could have understood the sermon though, since the way the priest was speaking seemed very convincing, hahaha. The priests at this church are Franciscan friars, which probably explains the simplicity of the church. I love it.

I was able to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist, which again, was the best feeling in the world. I didn't realize how empty I felt until I received Communion and felt a sort of thirst quench in me. There is nothing more satisfying or restorative than that.

After Mass, I came home refreshed, and on my way home, which is a 15 min walk from the church, I met up with Krystina and Mama Ola, who had also gone to their Church. We walked together and when we got home Krystina played a bit of pianto for me.



Then, we had supper and a wonderful dessert! We had ice-cream, which comes in the weirdest packaging ever, hahaha. It comes in a bag. We covered our ice-cream with jam, and to top it, we had a wonderfully home baked cheesecake!! What a perfect day! Hahaha. Cheesecake is my favourite dessert, in case you're wondering. Even though most of the bread here is rather tough, when they bake at home it is awesome, just like the plate of delicious desserts BaBa baked with her sister when she went to visit her (her sister lives in a different village), and which she brought home for us!


So that was my Sunday. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday too! Love you all, miss you all! God bless.