“They dress up every 
Sunday and go to church,
and the pastors
make them feel loved.”
The Nassau Tribune

While this could be an accurate statement of a Catholic parish in the Santa Clara Valley, I can think of very few to which it would apply. Pastors make them feel loved? Generally speaking, this has not been my experience of most parishes in the Diocese of San José. Here in The Bahamas, however, going to church is a totally different experience.

Sunday mornings in Nassau are for going to church. There are countless places of worship for a variety of denominations on this island. These services tend to be well attended, and the level of active participation by churchgoers, especially when it comes to singing, is unparalleled in my experience. 

I attended the 8:30 Mass at Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral this morning. The energy level in the worship space was electric, as the assembly joined their voices with the choir of approximately forty men and women. They don’t just sing. They celebrate these songs. For those of us who have grown accustomed to two music ministers and a guitar, with minimal participation from the assembly, the large choir accompanied by both piano and organ was powerful.

Prior to the conclusion of the liturgy, the presider invited anyone visiting from another country to stand and be recognized. We were warmly greeted by the parish community. As he walked down the center aisle to exit the worship space, the priest stopped and greeted many of us who were visiting. It was a class act.

I had the opportunity to chat with a number of the visitors after Mass. They came to The Bahamas from Ireland, Vietnam, Columbia, the U.K., and a variety of locations across the United States. I also ran into to a few graduates of St. Augustine’s College, including two I taught — Philip Davis and Sharon Simms. In yet another example of the “small world” reality, one gentleman I met from Colorado had attended Santa Clara University, graduating a year before I did. Not surprisingly, we knew more than just a few people in common. In fact, his uncle was a Jesuit priest from whom I took a course in “The Theology of Marriage.”

After Mass, I walked down to the British Colonial Hotel, where I enjoyed lunch at the poolside bar overlooking Nassau harbor. Then I made my way back to the condo I’m renting. I’m writing this blog post sitting at a table in the shade by the pool, enjoying a comfortable afternoon breeze. I’m doing my best to make this Sunday, like every Sunday, a sacred time.