In days gone by the mass of old:
Rising to heaven. God was up there, the people were down here. The concentration on Him above was complete. Everything that happened down here was to aid that concentration. Catholics went to church to pray to God, there was no doubt about that.
They used to.
In many places that was no longer the case, Margo explained. In parishes like St. Denis (she knew of the place), God was a presence frequently alluded to. He (She?) was a dominant motif, a background to a self-centered discussion – not necessarily in any selfish sense, because neighborly concerns generally were the focus, but centered on the people involved, not on their God.
God was in his heaven, but that had less to do with what happened at mass than his being in the midst of the worshipers. It was almost, Margo had explained to Ginny, as if God was legitimated by his being among the people, rather than the other way around.
Blithe Spirit 