My Experience in Celebrating Catholic LiturgyI have had a lifetime of wonderful and rich experiences in the celebration of various Catholic Liturgies. First, as a children growing up in a Roman Catholic household, next, as a seminarian in a Benedictine Monastery, then, as a Chaplain Assistant in the Air Force, and finally, as a Priest with the Polish National Catholic Church. This paper will look at these experiences as a participant, my interactions with other participants; may experiences with the presence of Christ in the liturgies and finally, how I am drawn closer to the community and God through these liturgies. My participation with liturgies as a child growing up in Rome, New York consisted of going to Holy Mass, Confession, receiving First Communion and Confirmation. All the celebrations were held at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church and all instructions were given by the nuns from the Order of St. Joseph at St. Aloysius Academy, who to this day, I pray for at every Holy Mass. As a participant in these celebrations I was fascinated with the dedication of the nuns and priest associated with my religious education and often thought I wanted to do what they did. I was amazed that my peers did not get more out of going to Holy Mass and attending CCD classes. They often described their experience as boring and a waste of time. I could see their points of view because as a child growing up during the forties and fifties we were never taught the wonders and joys of celebrating the Holy Mass but instead were taught to respond to Dominus vobiscum, sing hymns and behave in Church. Oh yes, we were taught and conditioned every Saturday, and I mean every Saturday, to go to confession in order to receive Holy Communion on Sunday. The big game with us was to guess which box Monsignor was in so to avoid the embarrassment of everyone hearing him yell; “You did what?” But in the end, I think the beauty of the vestments, the smell of incense, the pipe organ music, and the beautiful hymns song by the choir, all provided us a sense of security, wellbeing, and holiness and no matter how boring we felt, we knew that God was near.As a seminarian in a Benedictine Monastery studying Latin and Greek, I was amazed at the silence, the strength, and commitment of the monks to the rules of order and to God. I participated in the Matins, Lauds, and Vespers and found that praying, eating, and studying together in community, mostly in silence, seem strangely unifying because each of us was on a similar journey and each of us had a common destination. The journey was to pray for ourselves and others as we walked and talked with God in silence and the common destination was heaven. This religious experience taught me that as bad as the world appears, there are those few dedicate men and women who pray for me and everyone else on a daily basis and without them the world might be worse off than it is. My next experience with liturgies was both exciting. I was a Chaplain’s Assistant, which really meant that I was a secretary to the Catholic Chaplains, and I did this for ten years in various locations around the world. This experience had a profound effect on my thinking and overall view of God. It was 1966 a year after Vatican II ended and the great liturgical reform was taking place when I began to understand the meaning of the Sacraments and community celebration. How exciting it was for Father and me to be ripping out the altar rail and pushing the altar forward for the new celebration of Holy Mass where we would be facing the people and praying the prayers in English. Even though it was confusing, one day we bowed and responded in Latin; the next day we were singing to guitar music, banging on tambourines and responding in English, I was able to come to the understanding that God never changes but humans often change in order to find a deeper more meaningful relationship with God. Over the ten years as a Chaplain Assistant I worked with some very wonderful priests, rabbis and ministers. As I look back upon the experiences I realize that they had taught me more about God and service than other group had done before them. Like me, they were trying to identify who they were and where they fit into God’s plan for salvation and so as each of us, working, praying, celebrating and walking together on our journey of faith, we learned that God was wonderful, awesome and great only if we let Him be those things. The one priest who taught me the most about God was a passionate, loving, and brilliant Irish priest who would tell me that feeding baby food to participants at Holy Mass provided them no growth but challenging their values and opening their blind eyes to the reality of God’s plan for salvation was the true purpose of preaching. Needless to say, he ended up in front of the base commander for his preaching and advocacy of the importance of loving everyone including the draft dodgers, gays, and the poor. It was Timothy K. Ryan’s passion for teaching others that taught me what it meant to serve God. His inspiration, spiritual direction and prayers motivated me to reenter studies for the priesthood. Maybe when we study liturgies, we ought to include the liturgy of communication and how this liturgy can change people’s lives. The liturgy of ordination was the first of many liturgies where I would actively participate in them as a priest, either as the principal celebrant or a concelebrant. The entrance hymn I chose for my ordination was “Here I am Lord” by Daniel L Schutte. I remember choosing this song because it most closely represented how I really felt about my response to God’s calling me to service as a priest. It is a favorite hymn and the one people have sung more than any other over the past thirteen years at Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish. Its lesson is simple, I am responding to God’s call to serve as priest, pastor, confessor, counselor, judge, leader, motivator, mentor, teacher, and spiritual guide to those who seek a closer relationship, who seek to repair their relationship with God, and/or those who need help in forgiving themselves and God. The first liturgy that taught me about the awesome power of the Holy Spirit was my first Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday in 1996 at Holy Mother of the Rosary Cathedral in Buffalo, New York. When all the priests gather around the oil, breathed one after another the sign of the cross upon the oil, touched the oil and prayed together, I knew God was among us and holy oil we blessed was filled with the awesome healing power of the Holy Spirit. Now, each time I baptize an infant, anoint the sick and dying, or participate in the anointing during Sacrament of Confirmation, I remember how powerful this simple olive oil is. Each anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit and the prayers, the breath, and the touch of every priest present during Chrism Mass. The Holy Mass I fell in love with as a child and the Holy Mass I celebrate every week has been my great joy. Each time I enter the Church I say, “I will go to the altar of God” the people respond, “The God who gives joy to our soul” and when I say, “Our help is in the name of the Lord” and they respond, “Who made Heaven and earth”. As I move up the aisle, I know that God is present and so is the host of angels to assist me and the community in celebrating the mysteries of Christ. I am always in awe of the wonder and power of what is taking place at my finger tips and at my role as the representative from the community to offer the Holy Mass. I sometimes ask myself what God sees in me to have chosen me. Then, as I look around at the faces of the other members of the community, I understand my presence in Liturgy and my role to teach and to show the working poor of San Antonio that God is real, loving, forgiving and present at the table the table of plenty where heaven meets earth during the celebration of Holy Mass. Holy Mass begins by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. At every Holy Mass, time is taken to examine our conscience and to confess our sins and offenses against ourselves, our neighbors and our God. Unlike the Roman Church, the Polish National Catholic Church imparts a penance and says the words of absolution. How wonderful the participants feel hearing the words, “Bow down your head and receive God’s absolution”. This teaches the participants that if we try to respond, “Here I am” and even though we fall, we can still come to the Father and be forgiven. Next the Sacrament celebrated during Holy Mass is the Word of God. I use the word Sacrament because hearing the Word of God and listening to the Word of God is an outward sign of God’s love for each of us and provides us the strength and grace needed in our daily living. The participants don’t need to hear about money or profound technical theological statements which have no meaning for them but instead they need to hear the profound down to earth theological statements about God’s presence in their lives, His plan for salvation and His power to understand and forgive.The third Sacrament is during Holy Mass is Holy Communion. Having done an examination of conscience and having received absolutions for their sins, the participants come forward to “Receive the body and blood of Christ” which is placed upon the tongue and never in the hand. The participant is frequently reminded during a homily or meditation before Holy Communion that this is the sacred moment when Christ enters the body becoming part of the body and the body becomes part of Him. With a better understand of how Holy Eucharist becomes a Holy Communion between God and them the participants have a deeper spiritual connection to Christ and a greater reverence for what is taking place within their bodies at the time of Holy Communion. The last Sacrament celebrated comes at the end of Holy Mass when the sick, those sick in mind, body, and spirit come forward for an anointing and blessing by the priests. The sign of the cross is made upon the forehead with Holy Oil and prayers are said for a specific intention. Each participant stands in front of the community asking for their prayers and the healing and each member of the community prays with the priests for the person’s intention. All the community is drawn closer to God through our community prayers for healing.In summary, I have experienced a closer relationship with God through all the liturgies I celebrate and my main purpose is to help others understand the grace that comes from each liturgy and how Christ is the center of all liturgies.