A Balloon at Mass

For almost a year now, we’ve been celebrating Mass in the gym while our church has been under construction. I love having Mass in this unconventional space, but I am also starting to feel eager to get back into our church later this month. I’m excited to see how it’s changed, but I am also missing kneelers and stained glass and that church-like feel.

Easter will be especially beautiful this year.

This weekend, though, we were still in the gym, and I was thinking about how appropriate this is for Lent. I believe our parish family has grown closer over the past year, and these final weeks of being in the desert are well worth it as we wait to return home to our church in time for Holy Week, the Holy Triduum, and Easter.

As we sang and prayed and listened during Sunday Mass this week, I noticed that there were a few balloons that had floated to the ceiling, high up above the crowd. There must have been a school event this weekend, and some of the balloons had escaped the clean-up efforts. Then I noticed a white balloon that was lower that was inching closer and closer to the altar from one side.

During the Liturgy of the Word, one of the congregants who was closer to the front spotted the balloon and went up to take it away. She placed it off to the side where it wouldn’t be a distraction. As Mass continued, I forgot about the balloons.

But much later, as we turned to leave Mass, I saw that a little boy in the back had snagged a balloon. He was holding tight to the string—delighted with his discovery as only a preschooler at Mass can be. I don’t know whether it was the same balloon or a different one, but I loved that he had managed to claim it as his own. As we headed to the doors, I watched him taking it with him—clearly pleased with himself, carrying his very own balloon home.

It made me think about how people will say that sometimes they don’t get anything out of Mass. And, of course, that’s not why we are supposed to go. We go to worship and praise and give of ourselves to God, rather than to take something away. But I am definitely happiest when I find a message during Mass that feeds my soul and gives me what I need for the week ahead. Who wouldn’t be?

Seeing a little boy finding a balloon at Mass made me smile.

Maybe for him, I thought, that was the thing he needed today. Maybe next Sunday morning if he doesn’t want to go to church, he will remember the balloon and know God loves him and wants him to be part of the celebration. Maybe the balloon will accompany him through the week and remind him that church can be fun.

I hope the balloon was just what he needed. Because seeing him with it made me happy, too.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

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