Sunday morning Mass in the Lourdes Sanctuary.....with 15,000 friends!

This morning was the international mass celebrated in the St Pius X Basilica. It is underground in the Sanctuary. You can walk past the ramps that lead down to the church and never know that they are the gateways to a Basilica that seats 20,000 people. It is a large concrete structure that could easily fit 3 football fields end to end. This morning we celebrated the 5th Sunday of Easter. I thought of St Raymond Parish and the masses that would be held at the regular schedule. Our procession this morning took 15-20 minutes….a dozen deacons, 3-400 priests, 20-30 bishops, a another dozen archbishops, 6 cardinals and 15,000 faithful. The mass was celebrated in multiple languages, in the solemn form….. incense and processions, etc. I assisted at the altar at Communion, and in reposing the Blessed Sacrament. However large the setting I was reminded that the place on the altar where bread and wine becomes the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, is same in dimension as where the that miracle occurs at St Raymond. It was an uplifting and grand celebration of our faith and a strong reminder to us all of the community of disciples throughout the world who seek to follow Jesus Christ.