Old Saint Mary's Greektown Detroit

The first church visit on my Year of Faith pilgrimage was meant to be at Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church. I mixed up the mass time, 11:45am not 12:00pm as I thought. Walking around downtown Detroit as I decided what to do next, I remembered Old Saint Mary's.

A few years back I attended a Latin Mass at the church with my parents. Growing up post Vatican II, kneeling at a communion rail was a new experience for me. I remember taking my place at the rail and suddenly trembling. I thought to myself, "this is the Lord", this is what Mass is all about, we take Christ inside us, we are all part of Christ, we are the body.

Mass is held daily at Old Saint Mary's at 12:15pm sharp. What struck me about this Mass was watching the downtown Detroit workers coming in on their lunch hour to attend the service.  Inside the church was a sea of calm while outside its doors was the rush of lunchtime workers.

Daily Mass is always an enjoyable moment for me. The service is often quiet and provides a respite from the busy life we live each day. We are pulled in so many directions and connected in so many ways with smartphones, computers and the such, that daily Mass truley refreshes by allowing us to unplug for just a moment and be with God.

Old Saint Mary's- Detroit