Originally posted by prepstudinsc@Jul 15 2005, 01:37 PM
I'm not going to get into a debate about the pope and bishops, because that is a topic on which we will never agree. I personally think that it's wrong to have centralized power, that churches should be autonomous, but that's my anabaptist mind at work.
You are entitled to your opinion, of course ... despite the fact that the lack of recognition of a central authority and the desire for autonomy were the leading causes of the proliferation of widespread heresy in the early Church.
What I meant by tradition was that people go to church for an hour or more on Sunday morning, cleaned up, dressed up, behaved, ready to worship and learn.
Putting forth a pretty picture for about an hour a week: yeah, there's a sure sign of devotion.
This just seems to be something that Protestants still hold on to. They do it because they want to, Catholics for the most part are there because they have to be.
Have to be? Nope. Missing Sunday Mass no longer incurs the penalty of grievous sin. The Church still encourages regular attendance of Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, and in fact considers it a duty, but it is not required by canon law. The Church recognises that attendance at Mass without the desire to be there is an empty act that bears no grace.
I have many Catholic family members--when I go to visit them I am shocked to see how people go to church
I am sorry that you have attended Mass in a Church that has given you a negative impression. That's not the situation of the cathedral where I attend Mass.
The only ones who come in late where I attend are little old ladies who are running behind. Even then, they always arrive before the beginning of the first reading.
Rare. There are a few who do so here, but very few.
There is a love of music in my congregation. Whether traditional hymns or folk guitar music, there is much singing.
don't participate in mass, they just sit there like bumps on a log.
Oh, we participate, alright. As a matter of fact, it's not at all unusual to see people still offering the sign of peace halfway through the Agnus Dei. You can hear hundreds of voices praying together at any Sunday Mass.
By the time mass is really over, 1/2 the church has left.
I can't say what happens in every Catholic Church, but our parish hall is full to bursting after Mass, people visiting over coffee and doughnuts.
They are there because they have to be, they've got better things to be doing, but because it's a sin to miss mass, they're going to be there.
Again, that's a common misconception.
People are people regardless of denomination. Some are going to be there because they want to be, others are going to be there out of a sense of obligation, some are going to be there because Mom makes them go, and sadly, some are going to go to church to be seen going to church. We Catholics see the Mass as a celebration of the Eucharist and an affirmation that we are members of the Mystical Body, and we are that regardless of what we're wearing. God can see beyond the clothes to divine what's in our hearts. I'm at Mass to experience fellowhip with my religious brothers and sisters, not to impress them with how good I can look when dressing up.
on his part.
