Sometimes the hardest part about Mass is just getting there. You get all the red lights, the train leaves early or is running late, the diaper bag disappears, or you forget that the time changed. • And then at church, we often have our “own pew.” It’s our go-to pew, the one we’ve gravitated to since forever, the one near friends or family, or close enough for the bathroom dash. But when our “own pew” is taken, we’re thrown off. We sit in a different pew, then try to figure out which response or reading is happening. Maybe we even left our ESS journal in the car. • This can prompt a change: Our physical perspective is different, the view and sound aren’t the same, and something else can change inside, too. We find ourselves mouthing the words listlessly (“Thanks be to God!”) while accidently remembering something for the grocery list. Suddenly, Mass isn’t the focus and we’re just there. That’s it. We’re just there. • Even when we struggle to focus, to pray, to be fully conscious and a...