First time ever - I attended my first Catholic Mass tonight...

by ziddina 69 Replies latest jw experiences

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  ziddina

  Hi, all!! Thanks for your comments; I'm reading thru them between feeding hungry critters and will answer or comment more fully in a bit....

  Please keep in mind that this was my FIRST time attending a Catholic Mass - hint, hint, Glen Trevette - so this description is thru the eyes of a "virgin" - - I think the Catholics can appreciate that bit of irony...

  I am indeed interested in visiting other churches and now I'll have to hunt up an "Anglican" - or was that "High Episcopalian"???? - church service next time...

  I tend to have insomnia and don't get up very early in the morning, so it will take me a while to get to some of these services...

  Looking forward to your comments!!

  Zid
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  JuanMiguel

  Of course Mass is not the same as praying to God and asking for God to be with you in your heart. It is a formal act of worship, a uniting of oneself with the sacrifice of the cross.

  Catholics believe that Christ literally becomes present at the Mass as King, as Priest, and as Victim. Being God, Catholics believe that time is not binding anymore on their Lord, and that he can thus make the very sacrifice of the cross present again in time in such a sense that it is the very one and same sacrifice that took place on Good Friday.

  Catholics view the cross as the "Tree of Life," and the fruit of the tree that makes people live forever they believe to be Christ's body and blood, made present for all at that sacrifice. They become in full communion with Christ by partaking of his body and blood, so they believe. And they also offer themselves fully with Christ on the altar as Christ's sacrifice is made present and offered up before them in the Mass.

  It is not a new sacrifice or a repeating of the sacrifice of the cross, and it is not a reenactment of it either. It is seen as the means one comes into physical contact with it and with God. It the highest form of what they call a "sacrament," namely the physical representation of an otherwise invisible grace from God.

  So it's not just an assembling together for a meeting or coming to listen to a sermon. It's an act of worship in which people become united with Christ and his sacrifice for the salvation of the world. It is also a public act of the Church's vocation, it's opus Dei supremo, also known as "liturgy."
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  GLTirebiter

  In fact, it's the same scriptures the same days every year.

  It's really a three-year cycle for Sunday readings, though some things are the same for each year of the cycle. The readings have a common theme, following the liturgical seasons: Advent, Christmas, the Passion, Resurrection, Pentecost, etc. Google "Catholic lectionary" if you want to know more.

  As for Lent being 40 days vs. 46: Sundays are not considered days of Lent, they are "days of rest" from lenten observances. There are six full weeks of six days, plus the partial week of Ash Wednesday through the following Saturday: fourty days total, with six Sunday breaks along the way.
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  dgp

  All right, GL Tirebiter :-).

  I don't have to Google that. We have my great-grand-mother's "Daily Roman Missal". It's part of the family heritage now, because it's the book she used in times long past (the lady died at old age in the early 1970's), and the book she gave my mother when she felt she was going to pass away. It would be very easy to tear the pages simply by turning them.

  As a boy, what I liked was to read about the different garments the priests wears, when, why, and what they are called. It's interesting in itself.

  So it's not just an assembling together for a meeting or coming to listen to a sermon. It's an act of worship in which people become united with Christ and his sacrifice for the salvation of the world. It is also a public act of the Church's vocation, it's opus Dei supremo, also known as "liturgy."

  Yes. By the way, you can go to any church, and it doesn't matter if they don't know you or when you came last. If you stopped attending, and want to go back, that is fine with anyone.
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  ziddina

  First of all, must acknowledge the monkey...

  Hi, Shamus!!!

  And Hi, WasBlind!!! As to your request:

  "I already have a cross, next time you go, bring me some of that holy water when the JW's come to my door again, I'll hold up the cross, and sling some of that holy water at 'em. ..."

  Dang!! I'm afraid it might leak while in transit - at least the U.S. Postal Service would be blessed!!!

  Oh!! That reminds me - at the end of the Catholic service, the priest mentioned some interesting trivia - did you know that you can dilute "holy" things and they become - uh, "normal", I guess.... According to him [if I understood him correctly...], if it's diluted below 50%, it's no longer "holy"...

  Vampire hunters , take note...!!

  Zid
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  ziddina

  Hi, GL Tirebiter!! [waves...]

  As you said, "See Zid, we don't bite!..."

  Thank goodness!!

  I liked your mother's trick...

  "You should have used my mother's trick. When that part was coming up, she would cough loudly, covering her mouth with the palm of her right hand. No embarrassing hugging, no unwanted handshakes!..."

  Aaand I have to go back and look at your second comment... Ah, there we go...

  "It's really a three-year cycle for Sunday readings, though some things are the same for each year of the cycle. The readings have a common theme, following the liturgical seasons: Advent, Christmas, the Passion, Resurrection, Pentecost, etc. Google "Catholic lectionary" if you want to know more.

  As for Lent being 40 days vs. 46: Sundays are not considered days of Lent, they are "days of rest" from lenten observances. There are six full weeks of six days, plus the partial week of Ash Wednesday through the following Saturday: fourty days total, with six Sunday breaks along the way. ..."

  Ah, that is very interesting... By following this "three-year cycle for Sunday readings", is the entire bible eventually read to the church members?? [I don't know what to call them; I keep wanting to call them the "congregation" or the "laity" or the "throng"...??]

  They mentioned Lent and I'm totally in the dark - and befuddled - by all the info coming at me right now. Six weeks of Lent, only Sundays don't count?? Did I get that right??

  Interesting...

  Zid
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  shamus100

  :D
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  FlyingHighNow

  Catholic masses, unless you attend midnight mass or a funeral mass, are very watered down and not beautiful like masses used to be.

  You have to attend a high Lutheran, High Methodist (the original methodist mass was anglican catholic in origin, no the branches of the church) or High Episcopalian Masses or services to get the pretty ones.
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  ziddina

  BSmart, thanks for commenting!! Yeah, when Shamus is on a roll, he's a steamroller!! I like his idea of having the "Flying Spagetti Monster" touch the water with his noodley appendages and then using that to drive away the Witnesses next time they call on WasBlind!

  WhatWasIThinking - wow!!! Clearly you are very familiar with the Catholic church!! Hmmm... Let's see...

  Dipping my fingers into the holy water and making the sign of the cross - I decided not to do that, because I wasn't an actual member - just observing - with a "humanist" viewpoint.

  Altar boys - er, in this case, "altar kids" - cute!! I knew about baptising babies and needing first communion - isn't there something about learning the "catachism" in there, as a requirement before one can have their first confession and "First Communion"?? I agree with you about the "punishments" for 'sins' - much better in the Catholic Church in that you are told to do something - usually for others - and then you can receive the symbols - "eucharist" again. As opposed to the harsh disfellowshipping and shunning... I think that the Catholics have "disfellowshipping" too, but it's called something else - "excommunication" - and hasn't been harshly enforced for the last 300 years or so... Right??

  As you also said:

  "Catholics encourage higher education. Many of the Catholic high schools are competitive college prep schools offering many honors and AP courses, a variety of freshman, junior varsity, and varsity sports teams, and a fine arts and performing arts department. The high school I attended recently built a new, state of the art campus to replace the original 56 year old campus. I just looked at their stats for last year and they had 100% graduation with 96% of graduating seniors going straight into college. A far cry from most public schools and a huge difference from the JWs as far as college bound students go. ..."

  Yes, their behavior has changed since the days of Copernicus... I've heard stories about ferocious nuns in the grade schools with their wooden rulers - no wonder Catholic schools produce such diligent students!!!

  And also as you said, a far cry from the deliberately enforced ignorance of the Jehovah's Witnesses...

  Thanks for all the information - I intend to eventually visit several different kinds of churches, THEN attend a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall - for the first time in a long time - just to obtain a more balanced viewpoint of religion before I go back to look at the JWs.

  Zid
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  ziddina

  Hi, Flying High Now!! [waves...!] I'm coming to your comment; I've already noted what you said regarding the "High Episcopalian" masses and intend to find one in my area!!

  [my poor old computer is being a total brat - moving like a snail today, so please bear with me...]

  "Try a High Episcopalian service/mass next time. They are more Catholic than a Catholic mass. Prettier and closer to what Catholic masses were prior to Vatican II, without the Latin ... [also...] "We have women priests and deacons, too..."

  
  
  Well, lookee there!! I got your pix in the quote too!!

  Anyway, I am definitely going to take your advice - I'm looking forward to seeing these services that you speak of!!

  Zid