Rush Hour Procession

Why are people rushing out of the church, to the parking lot, and out to the streets? The hope is that we are so eager to proclaim the word of God to everyone! Let's face it, none of us likes to sit in traffic ... even Jesus rushed up a mountain to have some time with the Father after he dismissed a crowd of people. (Matthew 14: 22-23) 

Nevertheless, we seem to always be in a line going somewhere. We line up on many occasions: when we check out of the grocery store, when we want to order from our favorite fast food joint (Chick-Fil-A, anyone?), and we even move in a line during the liturgy. The Church calls that movement a procession, and we have several processions: 
In the General Instruction of the Roman Missal paragraph number 44: "Among gestures included are also actions and processions: of the priest going with the deacon and ministers to the altar; of the deacon carrying the Evangeliary or Book of the Gospels to the ambo before the proclamation of the Gospel; of the faithful presenting the gifts and coming forward to receive Communion. It is appropriate that actions and processions of this sort be carried out with decorum while the chants proper to them occur, in keeping with the norms prescribed for each." 

Processions are to be carried out with decorum ... in other words, in a dignified manner fit for the worship of God. We are not merely lining up to go forward to receive Communion like in any other secular activity. We are walking in joyful anticipation to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are set on the right direction in this pilgrimage to go meet Christ. What if we were to apply the concept of procession as we walk out of the church and then merging our cars safely with everyone else on the road. 

As we go out to proclaim the good news to others, remember there are police officers guiding us out of the parking lot. So, let us be attentive to carry out our procession with decorum. Let's look at lining up and moving slowly toward a destination as a contemplative opportunity rather than a race away from the church. Let's fix our eyes on Christ who beckons us to meet him wherever we are.