Comparison of Catholic and Protestant worship services

[Tommy999]

Thanks to all who responded to my post. Much appreciated! I think I now have a better feel for how the services are similiar and different. May the Lord bless you all.

 

[Della]

The issue of altar calls was mentioned. I wanted to comment that every time we Catholics receive communion we are making a true altar call to a real altar with a real sacrifice–the one sacrifice of Jesus re-presented in the Eucharist. It is how we receive Jesus into our hearts, minds, bodies, souls and spirits. It’s the deepest prayer of the Church, the core of our faith, and the true expression of our love for God and his love for us which gives us the grace we need to serve God and man.

I never knew the full depth of God’s love until I received the Eucharist as a Catholic. What other bodies of believers have is, at best, a spiritual communion since they don’t have consecration only dedication of bread and wine. It always seemed odd to me to go through the motions only to deny the reality of Christ’s real presence under the appearance of bread and wine. It must be explained and understood that only consecration by a validly ordain minister of Holy Communion–a bishop or priest (Catholic or Orthodox) can confect the bread and wine into the body and blood, soul and divinity of the risen and glorified Christ. There is no other expression of faith so profound in any other body of believers.

 

[fnr]

Thank you very much, fnr. Your response is the kind of answer I was hoping for when I started this thread. You explain it very well and thanks for the scriptural references. I will look them up in the Bible. By the way, I attend an Assemblies of God church, which is more evangelical in nature than the Methodists, in general.

Tom, I know you thanked everyone for their replies, and maybe with that you’ve indicated that you’ve heard enough to mull over for a while.

I humbly ask your pardon if I add one more consideration to the pile: the Lord’s Prayer. In the Mass, we pray it as part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which at first may seem to have a very indirect relationship to what the priest, standing for Jesus, has just done. “Give us this day our daily bread” could very well sound like an appeal to God to help us meet our daily material needs. However, if you look at the original Greek of the New Testament, the language in which most of the first Christians worshiped, the picture opens up quite a bit.

What we generally translate as “daily” is actually the Greek word epiousios (επιούσιος). That word comes from two roots: “epi” and “ousia.”

“Epi” means “across” or “beyond” or “over” or “upon” or “trans.” We see it used in in English with the words “epidemic” (a disease that spreads across (“epi”) the people (“demos”)). Our skin is actually called the “epidermis,” referring to the outermost skin cells that cover the “dermis” – the layer of connective tissue that protects our bodies from strain.

“Ousia” means “essence,” “being,” or “substance.”

When Christ taught his disciples to pray, it was actually in the Aramaic, so we don’t know exactly what the words were. But we do know from both Luke and Matthew, writing in Greek, that the translation was “epiousios,” a word that appears no where else in Greek literature from the era. To read it with its Greek meaning, as would many of the first Christians throughout the Mediterranean in cities like Ephesus, Corinth, or Alexandria, the meaning would be (in English, with the words I’ve described above – please double-check a Greek dictionary to confirm what I’m saying):
Bread beyond essence
Bread beyond being
Bread beyond substance
Bread across essence
Bread across being
Bread across substance
Bread over essence
Bread over being
Bread over substance
Bread upon essence
Bread upon being
Bread upon substance
Trans-essential bread
Trans-being bread
Or lastly, perhaps you will recognize the word that Catholics say about the Eucharist:
Trans-substantial bread.

To me, that brings a lot more meaning as to why we Catholics pray the Lord’s Prayer right before we receive the Eucharist. It’s not a plea for our material well-being, it’s a plea for the bread that Jesus described with this unique and somewhat mystical-sounding term.

Of course, if you look at 1 Corinthians 11, it’s impossible to ignore that Paul was also very concerned that the meal he there describes be shared with rich (the Corinthians who arrived early) and poor (the Corinthians who arrived later) alike.

God bless!

 

[Della]

This and other such devotions show the place the Eucharist has in Catholic life and practice: Litany of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

 

[babylonfalling]

Hello everyone,
Could someone briefly describe the normal flow of events at a typical Catholic Mass? As a Protestant, I would like to better understand the similarities and differences.

At my church, the service usually flows as follows:

– Praise and Worship. Parishoners sing praise songs for about 25-30 minutes. This is led by a team of singers made up of a music minister and congregants who like to sing and are good at it, which leaves me out . There is a service that has traditional music and hymns generally attended by the older generation, while the younger generation usually attends a contemporary service (same preaching but with modern music that the older folks generally don’t like as much).

– Meet and Greet (@5 minutes). Parishoners greet one another and are especially encouraged to reach across the aisle and greet newcomers or other parishoners who they don’t know very well and help them feel welcome.

– Holy Communion. Unlike Catholics, we don’t have Holy Communion each week, but some Protestant churches do. Based on previous threads, I now better understand why Catholics celebrate Communion each week and I respect it very much.

– Sermon by the pastor (30 minutes, roughly). This is considered the spiritual “main course”. Our pastor usually has a monthly theme to his sermons. For example, a recent theme was ‘Breaking down Strongholds that keep us from becoming all we can in Christ’. One statement from that series that stood out to me as true was, “Any aspect of your life that you keep from God, keeps you FROM God”.

– Invitation to accept Christ as Savior. With all heads bowed, the pastor asks for people to raise their hand if they want to receive Christ as Savior. If they do, the pastor encourages them to go pray with a pastoral staff member at the last phase of the service,

– Prayer time where pastoral staff and other lay leaders go to an aisle or other accessible place in the sanctuary. Those who desire to pray for a particular need are invited to pray with one of these folks. Typical needs may include but are not limited to prayer for an upcoming surgery, trip, sickness, a wayward family member, a job or family situation, etc). This is not to be confused with the Catholic sacrament of Confession.

Thanks for reading your post. I look forward to see how similar and different our services are.

Your brother in Christ,
Tom

The Catholic Church has the most reverent Church service I’ve ever been too.

 

[EvangelCatholic]

Two Protestant denominations [Anglican & Lutheran] essentially worship in the same manner as Roman Catholics. In-fact, some Anglican parishes are probably more ceremonial than even Catholic parishes.

 

[mjwise]

Two Protestant denominations [Anglican & Lutheran] essentially worship in the same manner as Roman Catholics. In-fact, some Anglican parishes are probably more ceremonial than even Catholic parishes.

Yep. The Episcopal Holy Eucharist is very similar in practice to the OF with a few things in different orders and obviously differences in language (but you have to be pretty familiar with Catholic and Episcopal tradition to sort them out). The Episcopal BCP does allow more latitude to local tradition than the Roman Missal/GIRM. To a typical evangelical low-church tradition though, the two will be nearly indistinguishable.

I imagine there are at least a few Anglican/Episcopal churches left doing only Morning Prayer on Sundays, but probably not many. There are some that still use older BCPs, but even the 1928 BCP Holy Eucharist services aren’t incredibly different.

 

[badnewsbarrett]

I am not trying to be facetious and ask in kindness. Are not the folks sitting in the pews Christians and if so do they not accept Christ as the Savior? i know that there is the occasional guest that may not be a Christian, however the odds are most if not all that are in attendance are Christians.

There is a memorable quote from Rich Mullins, singer/songwriter, part of the CCM phenomenon, now deceased. A good friend of the Catholic Church, a huge admirer of St. Francis. There’s a lot more that could be said about him. Anyway, that memorable quote:

“I have attended church regularly since I was less than a week old. I’ve listened to sermons about virtue, sermons against vice. I have heard about money, time management, tithing, abstinence, and generosity. I’ve listened to thousands of sermons. But I could count on one hand the number of sermons that were a simple proclamation of the gospel of Christ.”

This is a reasonably well known quote, and it speaks to a desire among a wide range of pastors who very much wish to make sure that theirs is not one of those churches. Sometimes it is overdone just a bit, occasionally it may not be entirely necessary. But it’s important to do, and if nothing else, it provides a regular example to believers of how the Gospel message is basically articulated- with that kind of repetition, those who hear it become more comfortable with doing it themselves.

It is one thing to be generally in favor of enabling the members of a church to evangelize; it is quite another to teach by doing on a weekly (or semi-weekly) basis. And it only takes a few minutes, so why not. There’s value to it beyond getting hands to go up- I think that’s my main point here.

 

[cath4alltime]

In brief:

Penitential rite: calling to mind sins and asking for forgiveness and our community to pray for us so as to keep us from further sin
A prayer of glory and praise to God ( Sumdays only)
Old Testament reading ( during Easter it is Acts)
Sung Psalms
Reading from an epistle ( omitted on weekdays)
Gospel reading
Homily ( typically 10 minutes, the least important part of the mass IMO)
Recite the Nucene Creed ( Sindays only)
Preparation of communion gifts
Eucharistic prayer( the consecration)
Recite Our Father
Sign of peace
Recite Agnus Dei and other prayers to prepare for communion
Communion
Final blessing

This almost what our Mass is like with added in bold:

Penitential rite: calling to mind sins and asking for forgiveness and our community to pray for us so as to keep us from further sin
A prayer of glory and praise to God
Old Testament reading ( during Easter it is Acts)
Responsorial Psalms by half verse
Reading from an epistle
Gospel reading
Three Worship songs
Homily
Recite the Nicene Creed
Preparation of communion gifts
Eucharistic prayer( the consecration)
Recite Our Father
Sign of peace
Recite Agnus Dei and other prayers to prepare for communion
Holy Eucharist
Prayer to St. Micheal
Final blessing

 

[mjwise]

Yep. The Episcopal Holy Eucharist is very similar in practice to the OF with a few things in different orders and obviously differences in language (but you have to be pretty familiar with Catholic and Episcopal tradition to sort them out). The Episcopal BCP does allow more latitude to local tradition than the Roman Missal/GIRM. To a typical evangelical low-church tradition though, the two will be nearly indistinguishable.

I imagine there are at least a few Anglican/Episcopal churches left doing only Morning Prayer on Sundays, but probably not many. There are some that still use older BCPs, but even the 1928 BCP Holy Eucharist services aren’t incredibly different.

And for the record, here’s the general order of (Sunday) Holy Eucharist at my church:

(Prelude generally on organ)
Opening hymn
Greeting
Decalogue and penitential rite (Lent only)
Gloria (omitted in lent)
Opening prayer
1st reading (RCL)
Psalm (sung)
2nd reading (RCL)
Sequence hymn
Gospel (RCL)
Sermon
Nicene Creed
Penitential rite/absolution (rest of the year - generally omitted during Easter)
The Peace
Announcements
Preparation of gifts/offertory
Presentation of the gifts/children’s entrance hymn
Eucharistic prayer
Our Father
Agnus Dei
Communion
Post-communion prayer
Closing hymn/procession
Dismissal
(Postlude generally on organ)

This is in a very old Episcopal church.

 

[Nicea325]

Hello everyone,
Could someone briefly describe the normal flow of events at a typical Catholic Mass? As a Protestant, I would like to better understand the similarities and differences.

At my church, the service usually flows as follows:

– Praise and Worship. Parishoners sing praise songs for about 25-30 minutes. This is led by a team of singers made up of a music minister and congregants who like to sing and are good at it, which leaves me out . There is a service that has traditional music and hymns generally attended by the older generation, while the younger generation usually attends a contemporary service (same preaching but with modern music that the older folks generally don’t like as much).

– Meet and Greet (@5 minutes). Parishoners greet one another and are especially encouraged to reach across the aisle and greet newcomers or other parishoners who they don’t know very well and help them feel welcome.

– Holy Communion. Unlike Catholics, we don’t have Holy Communion each week, but some Protestant churches do. Based on previous threads, I now better understand why Catholics celebrate Communion each week and I respect it very much.

– Sermon by the pastor (30 minutes, roughly). This is considered the spiritual “main course”. Our pastor usually has a monthly theme to his sermons. For example, a recent theme was ‘Breaking down Strongholds that keep us from becoming all we can in Christ’. One statement from that series that stood out to me as true was, “Any aspect of your life that you keep from God, keeps you FROM God”.

– Invitation to accept Christ as Savior. With all heads bowed, the pastor asks for people to raise their hand if they want to receive Christ as Savior. If they do, the pastor encourages them to go pray with a pastoral staff member at the last phase of the service,

– Prayer time where pastoral staff and other lay leaders go to an aisle or other accessible place in the sanctuary. Those who desire to pray for a particular need are invited to pray with one of these folks. Typical needs may include but are not limited to prayer for an upcoming surgery, trip, sickness, a wayward family member, a job or family situation, etc). This is not to be confused with the Catholic sacrament of Confession.

Thanks for reading your post. I look forward to see how similar and different our services are.

Your brother in Christ,
Tom

One simple difference: As Catholics it is not required to take a Bible and many Protestants take one to their services. As a Catholic one may take it,but all the readings for the liturgical years have been set forth, so it is not really necessary to carry one’s bible.

 

[Tommy999]

One simple difference: As Catholics it is not required to take a Bible and many Protestants take one to their services. As a Catholic one may take it,but all the readings for the liturgical years have been set forth, so it is not really necessary to carry one’s bible.

It is my experience as a Protestant for over 50 years that bringing one’s Bible to church is encouraged but it is not “required” as a matter of salvation or anything like that. It is also more emphasized in certain denominations like Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and Pentecostals than with Methodists, Presbyterians, and Lutherans. It is recommended in some circles because Protestant pastors tend to preach longer than Catholic priests and they quote scripture and encourage people to follow along in their Bibles, aka their “Sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17).

Bringing one’s Bible to church has been made easier by the advent of Bible apps on smart phones to the point where some people don’t carry a physical Bible to church with them anymore.

 

[Della]

It is my experience as a Protestant for over 50 years that bringing one’s Bible to church is encouraged but it is not “required” as a matter of salvation or anything like that. It is also more emphasized in certain denominations like Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and Pentecostals than with Methodists, Presbyterians, and Lutherans.

As another poster mentioned, liturical Christian bodies have a series of readings already desigated for each day of the year that currently runs in a 3 year cycle. Here is a website that offers these readings: Daily Gospel. So, people can read the readings ahead of time and study them before attending Mass.

It is recommended in some circles because Protestant pastors tend to preach longer than Catholic priests and they quote scripture and encourage people to follow along in their Bibles, aka their “Sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17).

Catholic parishes usually provide Missals in the pews that contain the Mass readings, so bringing a Bible is not required. Also, priests and deacons do not approach homilies like many Evangelical pastors do–as Bible lessons. Rather, priests and deacons are supposed to preach the word of God based on the daily Mass readings. In this way they do not choose the topic based on personal interest or favorite Bible passages but on a series of readings that covers most of the Bible over a 3 year period. Most AoG pastors I knew never preached on so many varied portions of Scripture as do priests and deacons in the Church. My priests often refer to other Bible passages in their homilies, but a homily is not a Bible study–but simply preaching God’s word.

Bringing one’s Bible to church has been made easier by the advent of Bible apps on smart phones to the point where some people don’t carry a physical Bible to church with them anymore.

There are also apps for the daily Mass readings, as well, which people are beginning to bring to follow along. However, Catholics listen to homilies not study them at Mass. Bible studies are conducted outside Mass.

 

[Nicea325]

It is my experience as a Protestant for over 50 years that bringing one’s Bible to church is encouraged but it is not “required” as a matter of salvation or anything like that. It is also more emphasized in certain denominations like Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and Pentecostals than with Methodists, Presbyterians, and Lutherans. It is recommended in some circles because Protestant pastors tend to preach longer than Catholic priests and they quote scripture and encourage people to follow along in their Bibles, aka their “Sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17).

Bringing one’s Bible to church has been made easier by the advent of Bible apps on smart phones to the point where some people don’t carry a physical Bible to church with them anymore.

Indeed. True…with all this new technology, many use their electronic gadgets. I still prefer to read from actual book. Are you aware of any mainline Protestant denomination who provides something similar to the Catholic Missal?

 

[Tommy999]

I’m with you on that, Nicea325. I still read from the book itself but my children often say I am “technology challenged”. They are only saying that because it is true

I am not familiar with Catholic Missals so I can’t help you there. Sorry about that. I think the Presbyterians and possibly Lutherans and/or Anglicans might have something close to that but that is just a guess. I grew up as a child and youth in the Presbyterian Church and found they do similar things in a lot of ways in terms of the order of worship, liturgical readings and where the pastor or deacon reads a scripture and then the congregation reads a written response in unison but I don’t remember the exact details because it has been such a long time ago. Take care and God bless.

 

[Tommy999]

Hi Della

QUOTE from Della
“…Also, priests and deacons do not approach homilies like many Evangelical pastors do–as Bible lessons. Rather, priests and deacons are supposed to preach the word of God based on the daily Mass readings. In this way they do not choose the topic based on personal interest or favorite Bible passages but on a series of readings that covers most of the Bible over a 3 year period”.

Hi Della! I think we should be careful not to lump all Evangelical pastors together. For example, my current pastor has preached from virtually every book in the Bible since he’s been my pastor and not just his “favorite Bible passages”. It is much more than a Bible lesson. In many cases it seems like God is reading my mail through the pastor and telling me what I need to hear in order to bolster my faith and break down sinful strongholds. However, he does stress certain things more than others, but I sense this is more him knowing his flock and knowing what they need to hear more than preaching just his favorite passages. He says he seeks God for his message choices and I believe him because it sure seems that way.

Quote from Della:
“Most AoG pastors I knew never preached on so many varied portions of Scripture as do priests and deacons in the Church. My priests often refer to other Bible passages in their homilies, but a homily is not a Bible study–but simply preaching God’s word.”

I think it is great to touch on all Holy Scripture over time and I applaud your priest for doing so. It sounds like you have a great church where you grow in the Lord and hear His Word regularly and I think that is wonderful. I also think the AOG has grown and matured a lot since your time there, either that or I have a special and unique pastor.

 

[Della]

Hi Della

QUOTE from Della
“…Also, priests and deacons do not approach homilies like many Evangelical pastors do–as Bible lessons. Rather, priests and deacons are supposed to preach the word of God based on the daily Mass readings. In this way they do not choose the topic based on personal interest or favorite Bible passages but on a series of readings that covers most of the Bible over a 3 year period”.

Hi Della! I think we should be careful not to lump all Evangelical pastors together. For example, my current pastor has preached from virtually every book in the Bible since he’s been my pastor and not just his “favorite Bible passages”. It is much more than a Bible lesson. In many cases it seems like God is reading my mail through the pastor and telling me what I need to hear in order to bolster my faith and break down sinful strongholds. However, he does stress certain things more than others, but I sense this is more him knowing his flock and knowing what they need to hear more than preaching just his favorite passages. He says he seeks God for his message choices and I believe him because it sure seems that way.

Sorry if I came across that way. I meant only to point out that the Bible is very much preached in the Catholic Church, contrary to what many non-Catholics may have been led to believe. I too have heard priests and deacons that seem to be stuck on a singlle issue or two and can’t seem to vary their themes no matter what the Mass readings might be. One dear eldery priest (since passed to his heavenly reward) used to swing between the topics of cheerfulness and death. But he was a holy man who founded ophanages and others ministeries in Haiti. Not all preachers are equal, that’s certain. However, with set readings for each day much more can be covered and with consistency.

Quote from Della:
“Most AoG pastors I knew never preached on so many varied portions of Scripture as do priests and deacons in the Church. My priests often refer to other Bible passages in their homilies, but a homily is not a Bible study–but simply preaching God’s word.”

I think it is great to touch on all Holy Scripture over time and I applaud your priest for doing so. It sounds like you have a great church where you grow in the Lord and hear His Word regularly and I think that is wonderful. I also think the AOG has grown and matured a lot since your time there, either that or I have a special and unique pastor.

I have no doubt the Holy Spirit works through all Christian bodies for our good. For the Spirit blows where he will and God is not limited by anything. I only mean to say that there is nothing lacking in the way of Bible knowledge in the Catholic Church. As individual members of the faithful it is up to us to do more than sit in Mass on a Sunday. We are to be actively learning and growing in our faith every day. And in that the Church has provided quite amply for us.

 

[Tommy999]

Sorry if I came across that way. I meant only to point out that the Bible is very much preached in the Catholic Church, contrary to what many non-Catholics may have been led to believe. I too have heard priests and deacons that seem to be stuck on a singlle issue or two and can’t seem to vary their themes no matter what the Mass readings might be. One dear eldery priest (since passed to his heavenly reward) used to swing between the topics of cheerfulness and death. But he was a holy man who founded ophanages and others ministeries in Haiti. Not all preachers are equal, that’s certain. However, with set readings for each day much more can be covered and with consistency.

Thanks for clearing that up, Della. I think we’re on the same page on this.

I have no doubt the Holy Spirit works through all Christian bodies for our good. For the Spirit blows where he will and God is not limited by anything. I only mean to say that there is nothing lacking in the way of Bible knowledge in the Catholic Church. As individual members of the faithful it is up to us to do more than sit in Mass on a Sunday. We are to be actively learning and growing in our faith every day. And in that the Church has provided quite amply for us.

I believe you. By the way, I have always liked and respected the Catholic Church and have been in favor of ecumenism and fighting our common enemy, who is Satan and his influence in the world.

 

[EvangelCatholic]

I’m with you on that, Nicea325. I still read from the book itself but my children often say I am “technology challenged”. They are only saying that because it is true

I am not familiar with Catholic Missals so I can’t help you there. Sorry about that. I think the Presbyterians and possibly Lutherans and/or Anglicans might have something close to that but that is just a guess. I grew up as a child and youth in the Presbyterian Church and found they do similar things in a lot of ways in terms of the order of worship, liturgical readings and where the pastor or deacon reads a scripture and then the congregation reads a written response in unison but I don’t remember the exact details because it has been such a long time ago. Take care and God bless.

To my knowledge, many Protestants use the Lectionary of Sunday readings [Old Testament, Epistle, Gospel] if they follow the liturgical calendar [Presbyterian, Methodist, Reformed]. In addition to that, both Lutheran and Anglican have missals quite similar to Catholics.

Among Lutherans, the parish bulletin is provided with all the readings, chants, prayers for the particular Sunday or holy day. For that reason, Bibles are not commonly brought to the Eucharist. Sermons are almost entirely based on the readings, especially the Gospel of the day and generally last 10-15 minutes.

 

[sallybutler]

When I’ve gone to Baptist services, I’ve never felt like I’d gone to church. It mostly felt like a sign along with a bible lesson thrown in. When they had a ‘celebtation’ of the Lord’s Supper, it felt like an afterthought to the singing and the preaching.

While a Mass can be overly ceremonial, there is still a sense of building up to something important.

I found that the lack of kneeling was also odd. That was before I realized that as a CaTholic, I believe that God is physically present in the building and most other churches do not believe that. If you don’t believe God is physically there, why would you kneel? Why would you think a church building required one to behave differently than one would in a stadium?