Ecumenism

This is probably going to come off to some people as a somewhat arrogant post - and to some that read this frequently, that won't come as a surprise. But this is just some honest thoughts, trying to figure out what the best way to sort out my feelings on this subject.

I'll put it simply - I often find myself extremely uncomfortable in attending and/or participating in religious services in other denominations. I'm not sure what it is. Some might call it just an "elitist Catholic" mindset. In fact, I've not really attended many non-Catholic services. For me, it seems that an element is missing, that I'm participating in a form of worship that doesn't really echo what I believe. I know the general reply to this is "it's the same God," but that argument only goes so far - if it's the same God, why does He say different things to different denominations?

But it's not just that. Those that know me well know that I really love the Mass in the Catholic Church. Oh, you can complain about liturgical abuses all you want, about which way the priest should face, about the music used, about what language it should be in. That stuff really hasn't been high on my complaint lists - I mean, sure, we've all been to "good" Masses and "bad" Masses...but the thing that always reminds me what's what, the thing that never changes in the Mass regardless of the priest's speaking ability or the choir's ability to sing in tune...is the Eucharist, Jesus Christ completely and totally present in the appearance of bread and wine. Regardless of the "quality" of the Mass, it's still a participation in heaven. I could go on and on..but that's not the point that I'm trying to make. My point here is that I really love the Mass, and I try to go as often as possible. Lucky for me, my office is directly across the street from the cathedral, so when my lunch hour permits it, I try to go over for Mass.

So this past Tuesday rolls around, and I start to walk into the cathedral, and it looked different somehow. Someone was greeting at the door, there was a slightly different layout in the sanctuary (chairs and such - not moving the altar or something like that), much more people than are normally there for lunchtime Mass. Then it hit me - I remembered reading the bulliten last week that there was going to be an ecumenical prayer service that day instead of Mass, held by Bishop Pilla of Cleveland and the newly installed Episcopalian bishop. I stopped in the narthex for a moment, and I simply could not shake the feeling of "this does not feel right." There was something about it that I couldn't pinpoint, but I felt uncomfortable enough to say a short prayer to God, and then walked back to the office.

The more I thought about it, I think that I pinpointed where my discomfort came from. Outside of the initial thoughts I gave above about non-Catholic worship, I think my biggest problem was that this prayer service was put IN PLACE of Mass. I'm not trying to dog the ecumenical movement...but am I the only one that's bothered by replacing the lunchtime Mass with some sort of joint prayer "service" at the cathedral? For me, being able to spend that time with God, and receive Him in the most intimate way is something that gets me through the rest of my day at the office. This prayer service just felt...I don't know, fake somehow? I'm not saying don't have it. But have it at a different time, so that those that still want to attend Mass can.

Am I just being selfish here, and just need to get over myself? Is this just some "elitist Catholic" compaint? Or is it OK for me to feel uncomfortable with this?