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My wife was raised Roman Catholic...I usually preface Catholic with the word Catholic with Roman because the word Catholic at its root simply means universal. My baptismal certificate from a Canadian Protestant Church (United) says that I was baptized into the Holy Catholic Church.
But that aside...my wife draws a certain comfort from attending a RC mass that she doesn't get at our current church. No matter what one's religious background, if one grows up in a certain faith tradition it is always going to have a certain primacy in my opinion.
I just attended the evening worship service at my church last night, and its much less formal than the morning service. The pastor solicits from those attending topics to be prayed for at the start of the service...we in the congregation ask for friends/family/neighbours to be prayed for during what could be called 'prayers of the people'. People will also ask for more general topics to be prayed for....like flood victims, or peoples in war torn countries.
Last night someone asked that we pray for our youth you have stopped attending church. When the Pastor incorporated this into the prayer, he asked us to pray that the youth who've stopped attending worship....that 'we pray that their faith in our Lord and Saviour remains steadfast' regardless of whether they attend organized worship. He also prayed that those who have genuinely fallen away and rejected the way, that these youth find the help, love and support that can come from being active in a community of faith.
He then incorporated into his sermon an experience he had at a former church he led, where a young woman in her twenties came back to the church. This 20something had wandered and examined different religions and different Christian traditions before returning. Our pastor said she decided to make a statement of faith to the church, but rather than a typical statement she asked if instead she could sing a song, "Coming Home"....because that is what she said it felt like coming back to the church she'd been brought up in...it felt like coming home.
I imagine for anyone, regardless of the religion or faith tradition....coming back to the faith/traditions/place where they first worshiped, that this would be a common feeling. "Ahhh, I'm home, this is what I remember".
But that aside...my wife draws a certain comfort from attending a RC mass that she doesn't get at our current church. No matter what one's religious background, if one grows up in a certain faith tradition it is always going to have a certain primacy in my opinion.
I just attended the evening worship service at my church last night, and its much less formal than the morning service. The pastor solicits from those attending topics to be prayed for at the start of the service...we in the congregation ask for friends/family/neighbours to be prayed for during what could be called 'prayers of the people'. People will also ask for more general topics to be prayed for....like flood victims, or peoples in war torn countries.
Last night someone asked that we pray for our youth you have stopped attending church. When the Pastor incorporated this into the prayer, he asked us to pray that the youth who've stopped attending worship....that 'we pray that their faith in our Lord and Saviour remains steadfast' regardless of whether they attend organized worship. He also prayed that those who have genuinely fallen away and rejected the way, that these youth find the help, love and support that can come from being active in a community of faith.
He then incorporated into his sermon an experience he had at a former church he led, where a young woman in her twenties came back to the church. This 20something had wandered and examined different religions and different Christian traditions before returning. Our pastor said she decided to make a statement of faith to the church, but rather than a typical statement she asked if instead she could sing a song, "Coming Home"....because that is what she said it felt like coming back to the church she'd been brought up in...it felt like coming home.
I imagine for anyone, regardless of the religion or faith tradition....coming back to the faith/traditions/place where they first worshiped, that this would be a common feeling. "Ahhh, I'm home, this is what I remember".
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Good point / comment.
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You wrote, "...this present system is done away with."
'Modern Church' establishment ( Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant..etc. ) is another system.
- Similar to political system.
- Focus is on 'status, power..etc.'
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I was involved ( not just attending..) in several churches.
- During my spiritual journey from 1970's.
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You wrote, "...this present system is done away with."
'Modern Church' establishment ( Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant..etc. ) is another system.
- Similar to political system.
- Focus is on 'status, power..etc.'
---
I was involved ( not just attending..) in several churches.
- During my spiritual journey from 1970's.
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I respect Catholicism. G.K. Chesterton (a Catholic) said (perhaps I paraphrase) "I don't need the Church to tell me when I'm right; I need the Church to tell me when I'm wrong." The Catholic Church has a lot to say in matters of liturgy, worship and practice. HOWEVER, it can also help to clarify DOCTRINE and theology. It can settle certain disputes, and if it can't settle them, it has a take. Naturally, the other denominations may claim the same, but how messy my mind can become when there are competing points of view regarding doctrine. I like the idea of having a "Big Dog", wise grandpa-type that we can approach on certain matters. When I've had certain questions on political and ethical/moral matters, I've used Catholic.com to find answers. I don't necessarily immediately believe the answer, but still.
Regarding certain Catholic practices, I'm as-yet unconvinced as to their legitimacy. But, again, I'm new to this stuff and certainly am no expert on Catholicism.
Praise be to God.
Have a good rest-of-the-week, Friends.
Regarding certain Catholic practices, I'm as-yet unconvinced as to their legitimacy. But, again, I'm new to this stuff and certainly am no expert on Catholicism.
Praise be to God.
Have a good rest-of-the-week, Friends.
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M
The real litmus test for me is the following:
what would happen to my awesome sense of humour?
The born agains seem to lose theirs overall. They start hating on Catholics for example.
Catholics are less likely to get sucked into the narrow vortex of
Biblical claustrophobia.
Catholics can be robotic. its true. And slack.
But Catholics can laugh at themselves. And we dont mind Pope jokes. What if we poked fun at Martin Luther? or the whole born again paradigm?
what would happen to my awesome sense of humour?
The born agains seem to lose theirs overall. They start hating on Catholics for example.
Catholics are less likely to get sucked into the narrow vortex of
Biblical claustrophobia.
Catholics can be robotic. its true. And slack.
But Catholics can laugh at themselves. And we dont mind Pope jokes. What if we poked fun at Martin Luther? or the whole born again paradigm?
I do not hate you. I want to be your friend. We don't need denominationalism. It is just a nice term for artificial division between brothers and sisters in the one, real, and true Church.
Ephesians 4
4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4:4 [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
4:6 One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4
4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4:4 [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
4:6 One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
I'm more cautious than hate and you're right many do hate, that goes both ways too ... I try hard not to offend but I have many questions that seem to .. I claim I am a protestant and we can be full of BS just like the RCC can .. I was an Agnostic until I had a Damascus road ''born again'' experience and the fact that I was brought up in no church or denomination influence I think I see things many over look .. There are only two types , the wheat and the tares imo and can be found anywhere .. Somewhere sometime someone will be the last one to make it in heaven and the number will be complete ..
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