La Santa Misa

Two of the first things that I made sure I asked about were 1) where the iglesia Catolica (Catholic church) was and 2) what time Mass was.

Easy enough.  Both Enrique’s daughter and my host mom said that mass was at 10 and is straight down the street to Parque Central, look left and the church is big and blue. [side note: I will take pics of my house and the area soon]

So, Sunday morning I was up around 7:15, had breakfast (by myself with my host mom watching me take every bite.  Can you say awkward?) which consisted of toast, jam, bananas AND homemade jugo naranja (orange juice).  Not as orangey as OJ back home.  It was good.  (Homemade limonada is really good, too!)

Around 9:30 I headed out and down the cobblestone, hilly street.  It took me about 10 minutes to get there.  I looked around and there were a ton of people, shops, restaurants and cafes.  I went to the center of the park, where the Christmas tree is, and looked to my left.  Alas! La iglesia Catolica!  There were a ton of people just lingering around, I asked one lady to make sure I was in the right spot.

I was early, but didn’t mind, I could have about 20 minutes of good prayer and reflecting.  More and more people showed up, more and more people were just chatting away.  10 o’clock came around, no priest.  10:10, no priest.  10:20, still no priest.  I am getting a little perturbed in my American way, as I have just witnessed Honduran time.  About 10:35 came around and finally Mass began.  As a whole, it was a different experience.  Obviously, I couldn’t understand much.  Oh, instead of giving you a play-by-play, I will list here things that I found amusing/frustrating/interesting:

1. EVERYONE sings.  Not just a few here, and a few there, but everyone.
2. People talk throughout, no matter what is happening during Mass (well, maybe except during the Eucharist).
3. People let their kids’ just walk around, play on their phones, or the like.
4. The homily was probably about 35 minutes… and I really wish I could understand, as he was yelling and being serious.  Man, it must have been good!
5. There was a HUGE butterfly that was flying around being graceful (and distracting).
6. Most everyone hugs during the sign of peace.  A few of the younger girls didn’t hug me.  Probably because they didn’t want to be uncool, or something.
7. The priest took the guitar and sang two songs during communion. I think that’s pretty sweet.
8. People were eager to receive communion, not horribly rude (ie some places in France), but it took a few before someone let me in line.
9. Every person receives on his or her tongue.
10. In total, Mass was almost 2 hours.  TWO hours.

There you have it!  My first Honduran Mass.  I will arrive next Sunday closer to 10 and see how that works.