Attending Mass While Traveling

When planning a trip, Catholics must consider when, where, and how to insert Sunday Mass into the itinerary. During these times, the duty imposed by the Third Commandment of God and the First Commandment of the Church may seem inconvenient, but for me, going to Sunday Mass while traveling enhances the travel experience. Seeing the diversity within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church wherever I am is, for me, one of the culturally-enriching experiences of travel. Thus, figuring out where, when, and how to go to Mass is as essential to planning a good trip as, for example, looking up the best Broadway shows running when going to New York or finding out the best restaurant for Hainanese chicken rice when going to Singapore.

While traveling locally, within my own country, I’ve been to Masses at old Spanish-era churches, as well as at small village chapels where the homegrown piety of the townsfolk impressed me.
While traveling around Europe, I’ve attended Masses at old churches as well, where I’ve admired the art and architecture while praying. I’ve discovered lesser-known gems of churches. For example, in Paris, my brother and I attended Mass at a small (at least, smaller than Notre Dame) but beautiful old church, St. Severin.

Interior_St._Séverin_01
Interior of St. Severin

By Miguel Hermoso Cuesta (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

In Japan, I’ve seen how the Japanese bow instead of genuflect whenever they enter a church. My hairs stood on end seeing the Japanese congregation bow low in unison at the moments of the elevation of the Host and the Chalice during the Consecration as if to acknowledge the presence of the Emperor – and indeed, Someone greater than the Emperor was there.

In Singapore, I’ve attended Mass in a church decorated with Catholic icons but with a distinctly oriental touch.

One of the most moving Mass experiences I’ve had while traveling was during a hiking trip to New Zealand. After a week of tramping around remote landscapes whose beauty the word “awesome” does not capture sufficiently, I found myself in Queenstown, a small town nestled in, and surrounded by, more such landscapes, among them several Lord of the Rings filming locations. Upon entering the small church for Sunday Mass, and upon seeing the tabernacle, it dawned upon me that the God of the Universe was there, locked in that tiny box. All I could pray was, “Oh my God! The Maker…”

I’ve also experienced, again in New Zealand, attending a Traditional Latin Mass. The priest pronounced the prayers with a Kiwi accent, but they were the same prayers I am familiar with.

In attending Mass in other places, I’ve seen how people can use different languages or accents, use different gestures (for example, some bow to each other, while others shake hands during the Kiss of Peace) and yet profess the same faith. In fact, attending Mass in other countries helped me to develop a vocabulary in foreign languages, as it exposed me to the foreign languages’ equivalents of something I am already accustomed to reciting in my own language. Thus, I learned that Kami is “God” in Japanese, and that Heilige Geist means “Holy Spirit” in German.

I have also seen how Catholics in places where the Faith is a minority, or where the Faith originally took deep root in the culture but is now dying, keep the faith alive. These instances were wake-up calls for me to appreciate the Catholic Faith and to do what I can to spread it in my own little way.

Attending Mass while traveling has also made me more aware of the Church as a family. It has reminded me that we do not journey to Heaven alone but as a community. Everywhere in the world where I have attended Mass, I’ve felt part of the family even if I do not speak the language of the community or even if the tunes of the songs sound strange.

Finding Mass schedules in other places is easy- just type in the name of your destination and the words “Catholic Church” in quotes in Google or any other search engine. Sometimes, I ask advice from family or friends who have already been to the places I am traveling to. Those who belong to a church group that has international branches may ask for leads from their counterparts in the place of destination. Often, too, hotel concierges know where the nearest Catholic church is as well as the Mass schedules.

There may be times and places where attending Mass is physically impossible while traveling, even on a Sunday or a holiday of obligation. In such cases, a Catholic is excused from the obligation to go to Mass, as God does not demand what is impossible. One must be honest, however, and not claim “physical impossibility” as an excuse when the truth is, one just does not want to wake up a little bit earlier, skip seeing a particular attraction, or make any other small sacrifice that it may take to fulfill one’s Sunday obligation while traveling.

On the other hand, when one considers the cultural and spiritual enrichment one gets from attending Mass while traveling, one will see that the small sacrifices are worth it, and that fitting in the Mass in one’s travel plans is as essential as trying the best ramen in Japan or having that Abbey Roads shot taken in London.

Cristina Montes

Cristina Montes

Cristina Montes, from the Philippines, is a lawyer, writer, amateur astronomer, a gardening enthusiast, a voracious reader, a karate brown belter, an avid traveler, and a lover of birds, fish, rabbits, and horses. She is a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan who reads the entire trilogy once a year. She is the eldest daughter in a large, happy Catholic family.

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