Muy Bueno

I went to a Spanish-speaking Mass on Sunday at St. Gabriel's Catholic Church in Briargate ... a fascinating experience. I've been to enough Catholic Masses to be able to follow the service pretty well, but the only Spanish I know I learned from Sesame Street.

I was quite comfortable there, though. There were about 100 parishioners, and almost all smiled at me at one time or another. Many of them, I understand, are recent immigrants who probably feel as out of place in suburban Briargate as I would in Juarez, Mexico. Because their Catholic faith is so much a part of their culture and lives, it's at Spanish-speaking Masses like these where many of these folks feel most at home.

One parishioner who spoke some English told me that she could attend an English-speaking Mass, but for her, it wouldn't be the same: It'd be like holding her faith at arm's length.