EA - A tradition of Man?

[corrgc]

If Eucharistic Adoration was not firmly established until the Middle Ages, would this not constitute a “tradition of man” we were warned about in Scripture ? If not then what are examples of religous “traditions” of which we were warned ?

Sincerely in Christ,

CORRGC

 

[awfulthings9]

corrgc:

If Eucharistic Adoration was not firmly established until the Middle Ages, would this not constitute a “tradition of man” we were warned about in Scripture ? If not then what are examples of religous “traditions” of which we were warned ?

Sincerely in Christ,

CORRGC

The traditions we were warned against were those rituals and such that the Jews practiced that were believed to be necessary simply because of the inherent nature of the act itself, such as animal sacrifice for the expiation of sins. As Christians, especially Catholic Christians, however, we believe our traditions are efficacious only in that they are the instruments of our active faith in Jesus Christ and receive their power only in so far as God works through them to bring us graces. For instance, there is nothing magical about water, but in our water baptism the holy Spirit administers grace. As far as the Eucharist is concerned, we believe this to be the actual presense of Christ, and adoration of Christ goes back to the pages of Scripture, itself.

 

[Sherlock]

How is the adoration of Christ a “tradition of man” that we should avoid? Isn’t that what man is made for, and indeed commanded to do (1st Commandment)?

The “traditions of man” we are warned against are acts that, as awfulthings has already stated, are viewed as having some inherent power that does not derive from God. Superstitions fall into this category, as does some of the “health and wealth” formulas you come across in Protestant circles, whereby God is “bound” by some action to give you what you want (which makes the action more pwerful than God).

 

[Fiat]

Also, Christ warns against the traditions of man “that nullify the word of God.” I’m not sure how a person can conclude that adoring the Blessed Sacrament makes any of God’s word void.

Fiat

 

[buffalo]

Adoration

…Among the early Christians it was common to adore God, standing with outstretched arms and facing the east.

…The revealed precept to adore god was spoken to Moses upon Sinai and reaffirmed in the words of Christ: “The Lord thy God thou shalt adore, and Him only shalt thou serve” (Matthew 4:10).

Adoration

 

[MariaG]

corrgc:

If Eucharistic Adoration was not firmly established until the Middle Ages, would this not constitute a “tradition of man” we were warned about in Scripture ? If not then what are examples of religous “traditions” of which we were warned ?

Sincerely in Christ,

CORRGC

Maybe you should explain exactly what you think Eucharistic Adoration is? Because for Catholics, it is worship and adoration of God and it is truly confusing to understand how worshipping God is a “tradition of man”.

God Bless,
Maria

 

[JaneFrances]

All the respones so far have been just right on! I haven’t much else to add, except. . .

Tomorrow we are going to cook a bird, sit around a table, offer prayers of thanksgiving to our Lord, eat the bird, and then probably have some pie, too. We do this every year. It is a tradition for our family. Most likely, it is a tradition for you, too. This tradition is in every sense of the word “man-made.” There is no Biblical mandate for how we as Americans celebrate our national day of Thanksgiving.

Are we somehow opposing God by recognizing and participating in this “man-made” tradition? Of course not.

The point has already been made. We are to be vigilant that our traditions are in concert with our mission and purpose as Christians. We ALL have “man-made traditions.” The point is to be careful that our traditions do not supplant or super-cede the sound doctrines and Traditions of God’s Word.

So tomorrow if it’s more about the bird than it is about thanking God, then perhaps we should find a way of re-focusing that tradition to be more in line with our Christian call.

And as for Eucharistic Adoration. . .The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am quite certain that to adore the Lord is a very appropriate devotion and tradition because it (unlike many of our other traditions) has a special way of setting our eyes and hearts on Jesus Christ.

 

[Didi]

If you are sincere in wanting to learn about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and how the understanding of the Jesus’ presence was revealed in the early Church, go here: therealpresence.org/eucharst/a.html

 

[aurora77]

Check out the book In the Presence of Our Lord by Fr. Benedict Groeschel and a lay author whose name escapes me at the moment. They deal with the history behind adoration and while it became firmly entrenched in the middle ages, it had been going on in some form for quite a while.