Skip to main content

IDOLS, OH HOGWASH!

 I have been in liturgical churches most of my life; they follow the Christian Calendar of seasons and times of the life of Jesus Christ. They have colors that represent those times and certain decorations are put out. On occasion, incense is burned with a meaning behind doing so. At other times certain candles are used with a meaning as in the Advent wreath. Then there are the ashes on our foreheads to bring home the point of Lent and remind us of Christ in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Sometimes there are visual aids like a Crucifix to shock us into the reality of the awful price of our salvation and freedom from sin. Then there are the bare crosses representing the resurrection of the empty tomb and empty cross. Pictures and statues are part of visual help as is the beautiful stained glass that tells stories of the Holy Bible.

Now these are not to be worshipped and become idols. They are merely to help remind and teach us the life stories of Jesus. They help us remember to pray, show reverence to God, and help us remember the teachings of Jesus. Some teach us how to be saved.

I have spent a year in an Evangelical church and they all but ignore the Christian Calendar. I forgot we were so close to Easter because they have no markers for religious holidays except that holy day they have an Easter service. Otherwise, it is just business as usual. They see any liturgical things utilized to teach and remember the Trinity as idols being worshipped. They also immediately think only Catholics are liturgical. So what about Greek Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans, oh my?

Now if the Liturgical church and Evangelical church could hybrid each other that would be fantastic. Evangelical churches have powerful preaching and Bible studies. If only they would start blessing the Holy Communion. Deep sigh of the spirit. Oh, for the love of Saint Peter! 




Comments

Post a Comment

Be kind and gracious.

Popular posts from this blog

POISONING THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY BIBLE

  The Holy Bible has many beautiful truths within its pages and the most wonderful story in the world of how a loving and gracious God came from Heaven to Earth to save us from sin and ourselves.  What I have seen that saddens my heart is when men and women distort the Bible's precious truths. Sometimes they play mental gymnastics with a rubicon of verses to put together their own view of a topic and make the Bible appear to support their side. Both the liberal and conservative Christians do it and even those who are not even believers play this game. People who want all answers to life and faith but only from the Bible are some of the most toxic and unhappy people I know. Where is their Christlike love? Jesus dealt with this kind of mindset in his mortal time on earth and they were called Pharisees. We must be willing to take the Bible as it is written and what the writers led by the Holy Spirit meant. We must be authentic and transparent. Some things in the Bible are uncomfortabl
Post a Comment
Read more

CATHOLIC TENDENCIES

  Ever since I was introduced to the Catholic Church I have been fascinated by this body of the Christian faith. One thing that has stuck with me that I admire is the unashamed strength to stand up for what they believe and back it up with The Three Pillars of the Church. Now for those who do not know The Three Pillars, they are number one, Sacred Scripture which comprises the Old Testament and New Testament in a total of seventy-three books. Next is the Apostolic Tradition which is the Living Tradition and the liturgies. Thirdly, The Living Magisterium which is the teaching authority of the Pope in Communion with the Bishops. So what brought this topic up for me is listening to a podcast by Fr. Mike Schmitz denouncing the opening in France of the Olympics when blasphemy was committed by mocking The Last Supper of Jesus Christ. I know some of you are thinking this is already old news. At the time, so many wrote and talked about it that I felt it would be overkill if I wrote about it. I
Post a Comment
Read more

WHAT VOICES ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

  Since the internet entered our homes and social media dominates the culture of the world we as a human race have rapidly lost our humanity in many ways. People are so vicious to one another and it is so sad to see how narcissistic we have become as a species. I am often balancing what I read and what I listen to so I do not become toxic and filled with false understandings and beliefs. So it is very important to consider just what voices you are listening to and what voices are you reading. What is the mindset of the people, shows, and music you are allowing into your life? We need to be more alert to not allowing trash into our minds, ears, and eyes. Let us not become a landfill for society's useless trash. If you let garbage in soon it will be garbage out. What is most in your heart will eventually come out the mouth both spoken and written. Matthew 15:18-20
Post a Comment
Read more