The Church

I'm not really someone whom has much of an interest in religion. Though I am a Catholic, I didn't normally go to church on Sundays. But in this day, I decided that it would be fair to go to a different church to see what it was like in there. My curiosity was getting the best of me, so I decided to check out a Christian church.

Typically, Christian churches and Catholic churches don’t differ much. They are both quite similar, especially on their beliefs towards God, so I figured, “why not check it out?” So, the time I was there was at 1:30. According to the schedule, it was a Spanish mass. I understood Spanish, so I shouldn’t have a problem. As soon as I went inside to sit down, I noticed that the majority of the entire area were Mexican, just like myself.

I went to go take my seat, which was in the back. All around, I noticed that many people were having conversations, mostly in Spanish. Some were whispers and some were loud. But one conversation that got my attention the most was with a man and his son in Spanish. The son asked, “Dad, if I went to church every Sunday, will I go to heaven?” I couldn’t help but listen in considering that I have not gone to church in weeks. The man answered with, “No, my boy, you will not. If you have faith in God and keep in your life no matter what you do, you will make it to heaven.” It was incredible. My whole life, I believed that the way I lived made me worthy of going to heaven.

Afterwards, the pastor walked down the aisle to the podium. When he reached the podium, I saw that he has a smile on his face, as if God was shining down on him. He ordered everyone to stand. Everyone stood. He began to speak of how God is the savior and how much importance faith has. As he spoke, he spoke with such passion and strength. It had everyone to a point where they believed they could do anything. It sounded like he was motivating us to open up to the Lord.

After he finished speaking, musicians began to play. They looked like a mariachi band. They even had mariachi instruments. Everyone began to sing along with the band. The sound was so soothing and sweet, as if to relieve those filled with sins. After the band finished playing, everyone sat down.

The pastor spoke again, asking for everyone to open up their books to a certain page. One page was in English, the other in Spanish. The pastor read the Spanish page. I followed along in the English section. The text spoke of the story when Jesus visited a sick man. Jesus relieved the man of his illness using his divine power. After reading, the pastor asked for us to stand again. The band began playing again. That same tune played along, having everyone in the area sing along with the band. I felt as if God had forgiven me of my sins. Once again, we sat down after the harmonious song. We were to read another piece of text from the book. I could not remember what the text was about, but it was a letter to the Corinthians.

Soon after reading, the band played one more time, only to sing Hallelujah. Then, we resumed to read one more time. The story was about Jesus again, only this time, he spoke to his disciples about faith. I thought to myself, wow, faith must be very important. And then, we finished reading.

The pastor spoke for 20 minutes on how good God is. After he finished, a couple man stood up from the aisle to pick up money from people and put them in baskets. I thought to myself, hey, I used to do this! The baskets were passed along the aisles, with people throwing money into it. Some were coins, some were bills. Then, it reached me. I only had one dollar. But with everyone as my witness, I threw the dollar in.

After that, it was time to receive the Lamb of God. I hardly ever went, so I stayed seated while many stood to receive it. After that, it was over. I figured I should head on home, but as I walked towards the door, I heard a man talking to the pastor. The pastor told him that God goes to you to tell you about how you should live. The man totally agreed. And I believed it. I believed it.