I know I’ll probably get a lot of bad reviews on my comments here but I will do it regardless.
I am a practicing Roman Catholic from a small rural area in the deep south. We have maybe 15 show up for Mass on Saturday and twice that many on a good Sunday morning. There is no CCD program for the older youth at the church. We have no Knights of Columbus, no Altar Society, we have no ministries, nothing. The music we have at mass is a recording, beautiful but still, its a recording and we are thankful to have that.
I have always been a very spiritual person and was raised in a strict Catholic environment. I have attended protestant worship services. I have no doubt whatsoever that God is there as well. I do believe the Holy Spirit is alive and active in “some” of these churches. I base this on the Fruits of the Spirit that I have witnessed first hand.
Likewise, I also have no doubt that Catholics are under attack in the church. Not just the authority of the church itself but right here at home, in our own church communities. Turmoil, confusion, and struggles take the focus away from worship. If the music is bad or so high pitched that no one can sing with it, yes it takes the focus away from where it should be. If the priest doesn’t give a good homily or makes too many jokes it does take away from the worship. We, as Catholics, all know the Lord is there, no matter what goes on and yes we should be able to find Him there and worship Him regardless of any distractions. But we are human and things do distract us. Many need help to ‘wake up’.
When we have the same music that no one can sing to every single week, a homily that wasn’t very well thought out, or very little fellowship or enrichment, it does make it difficult to stay focused and encouraged.
Just because we are catholic this does not mean our church is immune to temptations and attacks by the devil. This can come in subtle form such as being bored or distracted during Mass. I have to admit, it is much harder to be bored or distracted in some protestant churches. I think we both have something we can learn from each other.
In some protestant churches they sing the praises of God with hand clapping music, everyone (even us frogs) can sing to. This builds up something inside us, a sort of excitement and hunger for God. Then they have a preacher speak about a subject that really touches close to home. They aren’t reading the same words over and over again.
They are concentrating and intently listening to the Word of God. They give testimony about who was injured or hurt and have been healed. They make it personal. They raise their hands high in the air as if to surrender their will to Him. They aren’t scared, they don’t care what people think of them. They just honestly want to be closer to God. They want the Holy Spirit to come to them, to live inside of them, to move in them and call them to do His will. They are eager and ready to accept whatever the Lord wants of them. Then at the end of the service the preacher calls them to the altar to be prayed for. He calls them to come ask God for forgiveness, to take that leap of faith out of the safety of their pews and to stand up for God or kneel before him. There is a lot of repentance, renewal, praise, and worship. It can be an incredible renewing and refreshing experience.
When I attend services like this, how I wish our little Catholic church could taste just a small portion of the hunger for the Lord these people have found. At the same time, I think how sad it is for these God fearing people do not know Jesus in the Eucharist. What an incredible worship service is would be if it followed the Mass! I hear thats what a Catholic Charismatic Mass is like, but sadly, I have not had the opportunity to attend one.
DanielJT, if your brother-in-law is so rooted in the Bible maybe you should start your conversation with him discussing the origin of the Bible. Where did it come from? How is their bible different from ours and why?
There is no doubt that some protestant churches do welcome the Holy Spirit much better than some catholic churches do. I know for a fact if you raise your hand and say Amen out of order in our little church, someone is likely to whack you over the head with a missalette .
The links Gary gave for the “Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth” article was spot on!
Not to take away from the original question, but I attend Mass every week and most weeks also go to worship service at a protestant church. I am well aware that the official teachings of the catholic church have changed to not only allow this but to encourage it, or at least thats my understanding.
So maybe instead of trying to make your brother-in-law pick between one or the other, perhaps you can show him how to get more out of his religious experiences at Mass. Do you have a charismatic Mass anywhere near you?
Peace & Blessings!
