I attended Catholic mass after decades of avoiding it. Long-ish anecdote.

Namo Buddhaya.

I've recently reconnected with my family after living away from them for decades. I moved close to our clan's territory where my mother and most of our relatives set up their individual homes.

First, some context. My mother and our relatives are all devout Roman Catholics. Before Buddhism, I had been raised Roman Catholic, converted to evangelical Christianity in my early adult years, then let go of religion altogether after a decade. After a long break of being agnostic, I decided to follow Buddhism.

Going back to my story. My mother invited (well, closer to "coerced" than "invited") me to go to mass with them this Good Friday and Black Saturday. For decades after I left the Catholic faith, I was adamantly against going to Mass due to the dislike I had about the Roman Catholic Church.

But now, I decided to go anyway to honor my family's wishes. I believed that it'd be pleasant overall to attend Mass with them without breaking any precepts.

Some notes:

• I sat with my family in Mass, but did not partake in the communion. I kindly excused myself before it. It would be highly inappropriate for a non-Catholic to partake in this practice (side note: I know this because I attended the seminary decades ago lol)

• The congregation, at one point, was singing a hymn that was A.I.-generated. I was immediately concerned. I have not yet meditated upon this, truth be told, but right now I'd say that I'm still very much concerned with A.I.'s growing role in religion.

• I listened to the homily and sought the dhamma in it after Mass, using it as a meditation subject during my alone time. It's great to know that the dhamma can be found anywhere, even in other religions. It's especially notable that Jesus may not have escaped samsara and may not be a boddhisatva, but his teachings are nonetheless impactful and invaluable. The suffering he endured for humanity and the absence of hate he had towards his captors and torturers are also worth thinking about. The "father forgive them for they do not know what they do" statement also feels like and example of loving-kindness towards enemies.

• I realized that the dislike I had towards my former religion has disappeared. I think it was a consequence of my Buddhist practice. I've since developed a mindset of "finding the dhamma everywhere."

• I learned that it's more culturally appropriate and respectful in my neighborhood to attend mass despite having a different religion, as opposed to refusing the invite altogether. My mother was also very pleased that I went with her, and it has had a positive effect on my relationship with the family.

Overall, I think the experience has contributed to my growth as a Buddhist. I am looking forward to receiving invites again someday, in whatever religion it might be.