I'm from here.

Dear husband and I had a weekend away, which doesn't happen often enough.  Just a couple of days hanging out, eating good food, wandering and relaxing.

Being Catholic, a weekend away also means checking into a hotel and grabbing the phone book to figure out where the closest Catholic church is, and what time Mass is.  I enjoy attending Mass in a different place, just to have a change in architecture, music, homily, etc.

What I do NOT like is the inevitable "Let's have all our visitors stand up so we can welcome them" when we are in a "vacation town".  Some priests feel compelled to make a spectacle of people, shake our hands, applaud us, whatever.  Ugh.

There are a couple of reasons I don't like this.  The first is that I don't like messing around with the Mass.  It's not social hour.  (Yes, I know I sound grumpy.  I don't care.)  The second, and perhaps bigger reason, is this.  I am NOT a visitor.  I am from here.  Okay, I don't live in this town, but I'm Catholic.  Therefore, I am NOT a visitor in this particular church.  I am not a visitor in ANY CATHOLIC CHURCH ANYWHERE. The Catholic Church is universal.  That means, no matter where I am, this is  my home.  Doesn't matter if the parish is in Timbuktu, Taiwan, or Traverse City.  It's my church.  I'm from here.