Going to Sunday mass

I have been going to Saturday/Sunday for quite sometime in France. i go many different church both in Orleans and in Paris. I am still amazed everytime u go to one church for the first time. The churches are all beautiful with its original construction, painting, sculptures, statue, glass window, the sun shining us inside the church, the cold stone in winter, etc.
From all churches that i have ever been so far, it creates one similarity, it's pretty empty. Well, of course it doesn't apply for Notre Dame Paris and Basilique Sacre Coeur which are touristique places.

At the beginning i was very surprised to see not so many people in the church. Back in jakarta, i have to be there at least 30 minutes before in order to get a seat inside the church. If you' re there just in time, you'll stand outsided the church and hear nothing actually.  But here, incan be there just one minute before the bell stops ringing, and I can get a front-row seat, for sure.  I sometimes see some young people in the church, but it pretty rare. Most of them are old and very old believers. You'll see pretty young couple in their 30s with their baby. It's quite cheering. I remembered one time in Jeanne d'arc church in Orleans, the one collecting the donation was a very very very really old man, who has hard time to walk around the church and he was shaking while holding the small basket for the money.  I really can't forget that moment. It was really sad to see that there are only these old people left in the church.  It's a very common view to see the old father walks by himself to the altar, without any cardinal nor any young man helping him.  Another day, one woman asked me if I would like to sing in the church because there's almost nobody singing in the church.  I would really love too, but I can't.  I have issue with my French level and my not-so-nice voice of course. 

If you come earlier before the mass starts, you'll find out that they have nobody ready for reading the bible, they usually ask anybody in the front seat to read.

This is really different from where I come from.  In Jakarta and Lampung, there are even 'committees' for each mass held in the church. They organize everything, they have the special uniform sometimes, there are young people helping the father in the altar area, there are a group of choir, they are there to help you finding an empty seat in the middle of the crowd, there are tvs and slide to make sure everyone can see what's going on in the altar.  Those are all doubled during the special day like easter or noel.  There are also practices for the youth to read the bible for the mass, practices for the choir, practices to be one of those helping the father.

I am not trying to show which one is the best, not at all. This is simply a personal note for myself. In a country where you can find churches just several steps from wherever you live, the situation is surprising. But i do learn that it's not about making everything perfect for the mass celebration. It can be as simple as how they do it here. It's the purpose of being in the house of God that make people still come to the church. It was not a matter of committees nor the crowd. It's about praising God in any way possible.  I will not forget those very cold days in the church, that old shaking man, the sound of the very old big organ in the church. And many reflected moments i have in His house