The Catch

 “Did you catch mass?”  It was a phrase I might have heard as a boy when mass was said in Latin and there was no homily, no sermon.  Mass went by quickly, even if you were paying attention.  I always paid attention even before I was an altar boy.  Latin can be said very fast as most people did not understand it anyways so there was no reason to speak slowly for comprehension.  Some people used English missals with the Latin on a parallel page, so as to follow and know what was being said.  So you caught mass like you would catch a ball or a firefly.  It was quick and done.  Some people catch recovery meetings the same way.  Come late, leave early, talk to no one.  They “caught a meeting.”  If you eat in a hurry while focused onto something else you “catch a bite to eat.”  I try not to catch life.  It passes quickly enough as it is.