B
Bob_Crowley
Guest
I’m not sure if this is the correct thread - could just be “back fence” or “clubhouse”, but anyway here goes …
My wife and I just got back from a week’s holiday in Cairns, tropical North Queensland. We also just happened to be staying directly across the road from the Cairns Baptist Church, and St. Monica’s (Catholic) Cathedral was just around the corner. So I got to mass at 5pm and then joined my wife at her Baptist Church for the 6pm service.
If you’re ever in Cairns, make sure you see the interior of St. Monica’s. It’s a bit boxy looking on the outside, but it’s quite attractive on the inside. There’s also a brilliant stained glass display displaying the Biblical story of creation, the fall, and right through to the new creation. Definitely worth a look.
The choir was brilliant as well, featuring some very powerful and attractive voices.
But the homily? I’m hard of hearing, but even so I was only seven rows back from the front, and I hardly heard a word. As far as I’m concerned it was a complete waste of time. They may as well not have had a homily, for all I learnt from it.
I don’t know if it was the sound system, or if the priest didn’t take it seriously, but it was a big disappointment compared to the glass display and the choir, which was one of those choirs where you don’t want to sing, for two reasons - you just want to listen to the beautiful singing, and you’re worried you’ll muck it up if you do join in.
At least in my wife’s much smaller Baptist church I heard a workable sermon word for word. Their music was standard Baptist fare, although not bad, featuring an all male group, contrasted to the predominantly female choir in the Catholic Cathedral.
The lack of Catholic emphasis on homilies has long been one of my bugbears since becoming Catholic. I’ve said it before, and no doubt I’ll say it again, but when it comes to preaching, the Protestants usually do a much better job.
My wife and I just got back from a week’s holiday in Cairns, tropical North Queensland. We also just happened to be staying directly across the road from the Cairns Baptist Church, and St. Monica’s (Catholic) Cathedral was just around the corner. So I got to mass at 5pm and then joined my wife at her Baptist Church for the 6pm service.
If you’re ever in Cairns, make sure you see the interior of St. Monica’s. It’s a bit boxy looking on the outside, but it’s quite attractive on the inside. There’s also a brilliant stained glass display displaying the Biblical story of creation, the fall, and right through to the new creation. Definitely worth a look.
The choir was brilliant as well, featuring some very powerful and attractive voices.
But the homily? I’m hard of hearing, but even so I was only seven rows back from the front, and I hardly heard a word. As far as I’m concerned it was a complete waste of time. They may as well not have had a homily, for all I learnt from it.
I don’t know if it was the sound system, or if the priest didn’t take it seriously, but it was a big disappointment compared to the glass display and the choir, which was one of those choirs where you don’t want to sing, for two reasons - you just want to listen to the beautiful singing, and you’re worried you’ll muck it up if you do join in.
At least in my wife’s much smaller Baptist church I heard a workable sermon word for word. Their music was standard Baptist fare, although not bad, featuring an all male group, contrasted to the predominantly female choir in the Catholic Cathedral.
The lack of Catholic emphasis on homilies has long been one of my bugbears since becoming Catholic. I’ve said it before, and no doubt I’ll say it again, but when it comes to preaching, the Protestants usually do a much better job.
