Megan y Granada: So I went to church...

On Sunday, my friends went back to Nerja, but I decided to stay and relax in Granada. I was walking around and heard music coming from the plaza by the Cathedral. I had planned to go to the Cathedral later in the day because I hadn't visited it yet. People were walking in the doors so I decided to check out what was going on. I wasn't dressed appropriately for church in America, yet alone the second largest church in Spain. I was sporting a pair of jean capris, American apparel tee and toms. Let's just say I stuck out like a sore thumb. However, I decided to endure the judgment/ weird looks and ventured inside because 1. I wanted to see the inside 2. it was free 3. it would be cool to attend a mass.

The celebration going on outside

Turns out it was a celebration mass put on by youth organization in Madrid

Front of the church

Not a bad view to look at for an hour

Beginning of mass

Priest preparing Communion

The priest this service was in memory of

Although, I didn't understand everything that was said it was a really cool experience. I kept thinking of similarities and differences between mass here versus mass at home. Similar to America, there was a choir that sang and people who read readings. A lot of people clapped while they sang which was interesting. There were programs but no Bibles in the pews. Also, the pews had canes that elderly people could use to help them stand which I thought was pretty cool. It was interesting to try and follow along with what portion of the mass they were at. I recognized a few prayers which let me know how far along we were. We all turned around and greeted the ones sitting next to us (sorry Dad- I know this isn't the right term) It was interesting to hear the words in Spanish. The priest gave a sermon and I was trying to listen but could only understand a few words. I heard the words "path" and "man" a lot so in my opinion it was about taking the right path and listening to God. I wasn't sure if we were going to receive Communion or not because it was such a large group and because it wasn't a traditional mass. However, we did. When I was in line I kept trying to think how you would say Amen in Spanish. When I was the next person, I decided I'm just going to smile and stick out my hand. Turns out, in Spain they put the Communion directly in your mouth. I was not expecting that. After I received Communion I took advantage of my free entry and walked around the rest of the Cathedral. The Cathedral was so pretty. Like I've said about other pictures, these photos don't do it justice!