Thursday, August 14, 2008

Recovering Catholics: Modern Implications Part III

Trinity’s Liturgy Compared with the Maryknoll Missal

The Call to Worship (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invocation)
This practice is actually a mix of Jewish and Pagan ritual. In Jewish theology, God dwelled only in the Holy of Holies in the temple and must be called out from the Holy of Holies or down from the Cosmos. This is called “Classic Theism” where there is a separation of the Sacred and the Profane. Invocation in Paganism is similar, but has varying aspects, the one we are modeled after is called the Supplication Prayer, when a person calls upon a god or goddess to ask for something (protection, a favor, his/her spiritual presence in a ceremony, etc.) or simply for worship, this can be done in a pre-established form or with the invoker's own words or actions. An example of a pre-established text for an invocation is the Lord's Prayer.

Other Invocations that are Pagan in origin yet Christians use include: Form of Possession (asking a spirit to possess and use you ala pentacostals), Command or conjuration (saying that Lord you MUST do this style of prayer), Self-identification with certain spirits (praying to the Saints).

The Confessional and The Assurance of Pardon (from the Maryknoll Missal)
Sin separates man from God, confession reunites man with God.: “The alter stands for Christ, the priest represents all mankind and begs pardon before the whole court of heaven and the jury of the earth. Everyone is confessing and begging pardon from God. Men and women of the Church Militant, battling against sin, ask the Church Suffering in Purgatory and the Church Triumphant in heaven to intercede from them. Taken alone, each person is helpless to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. ONLY UNITED to Christ and each other in the Mass and the Eucharist can do all things.”

The Gloria (from the Maryknoll Missal)
Thanksgiving for forgiveness. In it we also adore God in His sovereign Lordship and imply our nothingness before him.

Greeting (from the Maryknoll Missal)
Called THE LORD BE WITH YOU, courteous greeting throughout the Mass as an invitation to enter earnestly into action.

Reading and Sermon (from the Maryknoll Missal)
Doctrinal instructions related to the Gospel or the Feast of the Day. The Catholic church follows the Lectionary with no deviation as there must be a mass held at every hour throughout the world. From Wiki: Typically, a lectionary will go through the scriptures in a logical pattern, and also include selections which were chosen by the religious community for their appropriateness to particular occasions.
The use of pre-assigned, scheduled readings from the scriptures can be traced back to the early church. Not all of the Christian Church used the same lectionary, and throughout history, many varying lectionaries have been used in different parts of the Christian world. Trinity is NOT a lecationary church nor are we limited to just talking about Doctrine (which we don't have) Gospel or feast day.

Pastoral Prayer (From Wiki)
The Liturgy of the Word concludes with the General Intercessions or "Prayers of the Faithful." The priest speaks a general introduction, then a deacon or lay person addresses the congregation, presenting some intentions for prayer, to which the congregation responds with a short response such as: "Lord hear our prayer". The priest may conclude with a supplication; which is pagan in origin. A person asks a supernatural deity to provide something, either for the person who is praying or for someone else on whose behalf a prayer of supplication is being made.).

Communion (from the Maryknoll Missal and Wiki)
The Eucharistic Prayer, "the center and summit of the entire celebration" aka the WHOLE reason for this she-bang! Why do you go to church? I go cause I'm a sucker for a good sermon... One of the congregants says she goes for the music while another said he goes for the camaraderie. Why do you go to church or synagoge? Or, why don't you? i'm interested in all!

No comments: