Going to attend Mass

[Nezmith]

Not all Catholics have a relationship with Mary, and not all Catholics say the Rosary.
After the last thread you were a part of, I hesitate to answer you, but I will anyway:
**

1.Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.

2.I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3.The Rosary will be a powerful armor against hell. It will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.

4.It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
**
5.Those who recommend themselves to me by the recitation of the Rosary shallnot perish.****

6.Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

7.Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8.Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9.I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10.The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

11.You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12.All those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13.I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

14.All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son, Jesus Christ.

15.Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination./QUOTE]

Ah yes this is good, thank you =)

Know also I have not come to spread hate… the subject yesterday was everywhere…

Back to the Rosary, quite a bit of a list of promises there eh? If you venerate Mary or not this is a good piece of information I’d like to refer onto you… In the Rosary it appears half of your prayers are to Mary, and the beads are to show how many prayers you have prayed?

I’ll take this first by informing you of the latter, I have more I’d like to cover after this… As I have said to a user you may know as “water” … I quoted the verse of Matthew 6:5-8… which states “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the Synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seene of men, Verily I say vnto you, they have their reward. But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy doore, pray to thy father which is in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. But when yee pray, vse not vain repetitions, as the heathen doe. For they thinke that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not yee therefore like vnto them: For your father knoweth what things yee haue neede of, before yee aske Him.”

Quite a powerful set of verses isn’t it? I will interpret this for you… as simply and truthfully as I can… What I believe is said here… Do not reveal that you pray certain prayers openly… do not keep items to prove it because that is standing out to the crowd and this will make them think “Oh there’s that person who performs a rosary every night” … No, this is not what God wants, he wants you to pray to HIM and HIM only, and not only this, but in secret! The Catholic Church created the Rosary, and is therefore at it’s faults… The Rosary is not in the Bible, and is also quite heathenistic considering it is based around Mary.

Another subject I’d like to cover with this line of thinking … Isaiah 42:8 states “I am the Lord; that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” When you pray to Mary you take away from God’s Glory, that is against what the Bible teaches and therefore is a blatant heresy, I have used the Bible to uncover this, and the Bible, which can not be a book of lies, has shown me the truth, has it not?

SHORTENED FOR SECOND POST*

 

[Nezmith]

CONTINUED

Again, another verse which blatantly uncovers this heresy, I show you 1 Timothy 2:5 … “For there is one God, and one Mediatour betweene God and men, the man Christ Iesus.” … This means Mary can’t save you from purgatory, nobody can nevertheless because it doesn’t exist. Praying to Mary isn’t praying to Jesus, or God, and that does not earn you glory in heaven. If you prayed to Mary your whole life, died and went to heaven… as you approached the judgement throne… Seeing as you disobeyed God’s Command… do you think you’d be sent to hell or heaven? You can’t have two masters, as it is said in the Bible… you will hate one and love the other… if you love Mary… you hate God.

 

[Nezmith]

I will relocate myself then.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

CONTINUED

Again, another verse which blatantly uncovers this heresy, I show you 1 Timothy 2:5 … “For there is one God, and one Mediatour betweene God and men, the man Christ Iesus.” … This means Mary can’t save you from purgatory, nobody can nevertheless because it doesn’t exist. Praying to Mary isn’t praying to Jesus, or God, and that does not earn you glory in heaven. If you prayed to Mary your whole life, died and went to heaven… as you approached the judgement throne… Seeing as you disobeyed God’s Command… do you think you’d be sent to hell or heaven? You can’t have two masters, as it is said in the Bible… you will hate one and love the other… if you love Mary… you hate God.

I created a spin off thread, linked above. Please go there.

 

[water]

Some of us here please read

Drop your arguments! Stop arguing on this thread.
You are not helping as you think you are.

Whether you are a Catholic or a Non-Catholic, be glad that a non-Christian is seeking for Christ.

Nezmith, I hope this time you know how to discuss.
Welcome back.

Tweedle_Dee, let us know how your first mass went. You are in my prayer.

 

[fellowChristian]

“you will hate one and love the other… if you love Mary… you hate God.”

That is too cut and dry. Don’t ya think? Its like saying you can’t love anyone.

But its good to ask alot of questions! Not tell, but ask.Thats how we learn. ASK<ASK<ASK!

May the Lord bless all those who seek the truth.

 

[po18guy]

I quoted the verse of Matthew 6:5-8… which states “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the Synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seene of men, Verily I say vnto you, they have their reward. But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy doore, pray to thy father which is in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. But when yee pray, vse not vain repetitions, as the heathen doe. For they thinke that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not yee therefore like vnto them: For your father knoweth what things yee haue neede of, before yee aske Him.”

Quite a powerful set of verses isn’t it?

Yes, but it refers to worthless, vain prayers of the Levites and Pharisees that were done for their own selfish reasons-specifically to be seen as holy. Christ also said that He was there whenever “two or three are gathered in my name” The Rosary is a “contemplative” prayer that is based on scripture. The repetition is there to allow one to focus on and contemplate the life of Christ. It ALL comes from the bible. I do not have a particular call to the Rosary at this time, but innumerable graces have come from it.

The problem with “Bible” Christianity is that it does not look at the WHOLE bible-just bits and pieces that are fit to given situations. Sacred Scripture is a jigsaw puzzle that makes sense only if you look at the whole picture. Pieces of it can mislead you, if not taken in the context of their relationship to the whole history of God’s covenant with man. Salvation history is one, continuous story from creation to now. There is an old and new covenant, but the story remains continuous.

If you come from a Protestant/Evangelical background, you “may” have heard many distortions and outright untruths about the church founded by Christ on Peter. You have a seeking heart, which is a blessing from God. We will do our best to teach, but remember that we remain sinners. However, there is much to learn here, and I continue to learn at the same time. There is, afterall, nearly 2,000 years of New Testament scripture and tradition. Never mind the Old Testament!

Remember that scripture and tradition go hand in hand. We keep both because St. Paul commanded us to hold fast to the teaching, whether by letter (scripture) or word of mouth (tradition). They are the “yin and yang” of Christianity-it is incomplete with only one of the two. The reason that tradition does not make sense to you is that scripture does not always define it, but complements it. You see, the Holy Eucharist has been practiced for 1,974 years, without interrruption. Since it was practiced while the new testament was being written, tradition was not defined specifically since it would have been redundant.

If tradition has no place in faith, it means that the twelve Apostles ALL got the Eucharist wrong. It means that St. Paul got it wrong. It means that the early church fathers ALL got it wrong. It means that even Christ got it wrong, because he did not correct the twelve regarding their “misunderstanding” of the Eucharist before he asended. It means that 1,974 years of Catholic Christians ALL got it wrong. It is inconceivable that Christ was wrong, let alone all of the others over almost 2,000 years.

Keep inquiring and we will do our best to inform you of our faith. We invite you.

Christ’s peace be with you.

 

[po18guy]

I do see now why you do this… as it appears He does command His people to eat and drink his flesh and blood in these verses as a form of remembrance… hm… I’ll look into it.

Amen!

I have little belief Catholics follow the command of Christ directly as was stated… there are many faults which are easy to point out… and if you will bother yourself to read the Bible.

Now, wait just a minute! I am a daily reader. We hear more scripture in mass than almost all other churches do in their services-in addition to our own reading. This is a stereotype that just will not die!

Matthew 16:13 says “Howbeit, when hee the spirit of trueth is come, he wil guide you into all trueth : For he shall not speake of himselfe : but whatsoeuer he shall heare, that shall he speake, and he will shew you things to come.” … I believe this can be interpreted as

We avoid private interpretation at all costs. It can easily cause division and misunderstanding. I believe in obedience to God’s appointed servant. Anyway, check the chapter and verse as my Matthew 16:13 is Christ asking the Apostles who men said that He was.

Christ’s peace be with you.

 

[Tweedle_Dee]

It took me over 2 years to get the courage, but I finally went to Mass today, LOL. I have a few questions / impressions:

1. I really like how everyone was very reverent inside the chapel or cathedral or whatever you call it. Everyone seemed to behave like Jesus really was present. Mormon congregations are very social inside the chapel and tend to be loud.
2. I didn’t know when to stand or when to kneel, so I ended up not kneeling at all. Will others consider this rude to not kneel when visiting as an outsider? Most of the time I couldn’t tell when everyone was kneeling until it was too late.
3. The Missal available at the benches only appeared to have the readings for each Sunday and holidays, however, I noticed people were following along with a text. Do I assume they brought an “everyday” Missal from home or did I miss something?
4. The hymn that was sang was “Hark the Herald, Angels Sing” and given as hymn #25. I couldn’t find this in the music. In fact, I couldn’t find any hymns below 300 or 400.
5. The priest went so fast through everything and with little feeling or emotion, it seemed like he was trying to just get it over with. Obviously, this will vary from Priest to Priest.
6. I forget what they called it, but each person turned to each other and wished each other “peace be with you” or something. I was completely taken off-guard and my neighbors must have thought I had some mental illness. I didn’t know what to say and just stammered something unintelligible. I bet it looked very comical.
7. Are Saturday and Sunday Masses longer or should I expect a very similar service?
8. I noticed most people would bow before sitting in a pew. Is this genuflecting? I’ve never known what that is. Some would bow without doing the sign of the cross and others would do the sign of the cross. Is either permissible? Why do you do this?

I attended a church in a relatively large city. I plan to attend the local small-town church tomorrow for comparison. Thanks,

~Dee

 

[Marie5890]

Hello Dee and welcome!

(First off I am a former Mormon so I understand the awkwardness you felt)

I dont have answers to some of your questions (esp the music ones) but I’ll ask what I can.

Trust me, they wont see you as rude. Just lost Which happens at Mass if you arent used to it, and they know this.

(It took me some time to get used to Mass, it was very overwhelming and even daunting the first few times).

I know the weekday Masses at my parish are a tad different than the weekend simply because of the size of my parish. We have only one 8am morning Mass during the week and maybe only 15 parishioners attend. There is singing, but not organ/piano accompany.

Also on Sundays is when they pass the basket for people to donate if they so chose.

Here is a website that may help you understand the “flow” of the order of the Mass

catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/Mass.htm

Sometime, depending on the liturgical season, there are a few differences.

Right now we are in the liturgical season of Christmas. It goes on for a while yet.
So the “Gloria” is sung.

Just wanted you to know dont be afraid of asking someone questions after the Mass is over if you have questions.
Unlike Mormonism, Catholics dont evangelize all that much so you wont be made to “meet with the missionaries” or convert or anything. They will just answer you questions

It’s a very pressure free environment in that way.

 

[twopekinguys]

It took me over 2 years to get the courage, but I finally went to Mass today, LOL. I have a few questions / impressions:

1. I really like how everyone was very reverent inside the chapel or cathedral or whatever you call it. Everyone seemed to behave like Jesus really was present. Mormon congregations are very social inside the chapel and tend to be loud.
2. I didn’t know when to stand or when to kneel, so I ended up not kneeling at all. Will others consider this rude to not kneel when visiting as an outsider? Most of the time I couldn’t tell when everyone was kneeling until it was too late.
3. The Missal available at the benches only appeared to have the readings for each Sunday and holidays, however, I noticed people were following along with a text. Do I assume they brought an “everyday” Missal from home or did I miss something?
4. The hymn that was sang was “Hark the Herald, Angels Sing” and given as hymn #25. I couldn’t find this in the music. In fact, I couldn’t find any hymns below 300 or 400.
5. The priest went so fast through everything and with little feeling or emotion, it seemed like he was trying to just get it over with. Obviously, this will vary from Priest to Priest.
6. I forget what they called it, but each person turned to each other and wished each other “peace be with you” or something. I was completely taken off-guard and my neighbors must have thought I had some mental illness. I didn’t know what to say and just stammered something unintelligible. I bet it looked very comical.
7. Are Saturday and Sunday Masses longer or should I expect a very similar service?
8. I noticed most people would bow before sitting in a pew. Is this genuflecting? I’ve never known what that is. Some would bow without doing the sign of the cross and others would do the sign of the cross. Is either permissible? Why do you do this?

I attended a church in a relatively large city. I plan to attend the local small-town church tomorrow for comparison. Thanks,

~Dee

Good things come to those who wait.

If you went to Mass today, you went to what most people refer to as “Daily Mass”. So, in answer to number 7, Saturday Vigil Masses, and Sunday Masses would in fact be longer.

I will try to address the remaining observations in order.

1. We do believe that Jesus is truly present, in the Eucharist, in the Tabernacle. (That would have been an ornate container that would have a candle nearby) That is why people are quiet and reverent, and usually in prayer. Also, depending on where you went to Mass, you could have been in a Chapel, Church, or Cathedral. Any socializing is usually done in the vestibule, or Narthex.
2. Don’t worry about kneeling or standing on cue. Many Catholics don’t get it right either. Some are just about a half a beat behind. Sitting is perfectly acceptable.
3. Ah, the Missal. I have to admit, they can be confusing. Since it appears you went to a daily Mass, the readings are usually toward the back. I always tell our new Catholics, to just sit back, relax, and let God speak to them through the word being read to them.
4. The music. Equally confusing sometimes. Our parish uses two books. Some songs are in the Missal, and others are in the other book. Usually, the cantor (the one leading the music) will direct the congregation.
5. You’re absolutely right. This will vary from priest to priest. With daily Mass, there can be several factors. If it was in the early morning, alot of people go before leaving for work, so they are in a time crunch, and the priest tends to hurry. (I don’t care for that). Also, he could be the only priest in the parish, and may have received a call that he needed to attend to an ill parishoner. Like I said, there could be many reasons.
6. The Sign of Peace. Jesus said to his apsotles, “I leave you peace, my peace I give you”. That is where we turn to each other and shake hands, and say “Peace be with you”, or something similar. Again, many Catholics get confused at this point too.
7. I kind of addressed earlier, but here is more information. During a daily Mass, there aren’t as many readings from the Bible. There is the Old Testament, Psalm, and Gospel. During a Vigil Mass, or Sunday Mass, you will hear a reading from the Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament (Epistles), and a Gospel reading. In either case, all of the readings are tied together in what message they are meant to convey.
8. Yes, if they knelt before entering the pew, that is genuflecting. Making the Sign of the Cross is not mandatory. It is an additional sign of reverence. This is done to acknowledge, and show reverence to Jesus in the Tabernacle, and to the Altar. Bowing before entering the pew is also acceptable if you are unable to genuflect.

I think it is great you are going to try another one, and compare.

So overall, what would you think of your first Mass?

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

It took me over 2 years to get the courage, but I finally went to Mass today, LOL. I have a few questions / impressions:

Congratulations. You made it through.

1. I really like how everyone was very reverent inside the chapel or cathedral or whatever you call it. Everyone seemed to behave like Jesus really was present. Mormon congregations are very social inside the chapel and tend to be loud.

1. I didn’t know when to stand or when to kneel, so I ended up not kneeling at all. Will others consider this rude to not kneel when visiting as an outsider? Most of the time I couldn’t tell when everyone was kneeling until it was too late.

No, others won’t consider it rude, because most will know you’re new. Don’t get too worried about not knowing what to do. There is meaning in each gesture and posture that we do to honor God. Someone who hasn’t been to a Mass previously would rightfully be confused as to what to do all the time. The missalette they usually have will generally have a section in the middle explaining the parts of the Mass so you can follow along. It will tell you what to do, when, etc. It was polite of you to try to follow along, though.

1. The Missal available at the benches only appeared to have the readings for each Sunday and holidays, however, I noticed people were following along with a text. Do I assume they brought an “everyday” Missal from home or did I miss something?

Some may have. If the missalette they used is very thin, generally they will have short sections for daily mass that explain the opening and ending antiphon, along with the prayer response psalm reading. For readings in daily Mass, it will usually only tell you the Bible verses that will be read if you want to open your Bible and follow along.

1. The hymn that was sang was “Hark the Herald, Angels Sing” and given as hymn #25. I couldn’t find this in the music. In fact, I couldn’t find any hymns below 300 or 400.

1. The priest went so fast through everything and with little feeling or emotion, it seemed like he was trying to just get it over with. Obviously, this will vary from Priest to Priest.

Sometimes there are multiple hymnals, and some hymnals add the Prayers of the Mass in the middle so you can follow along, so you have to look through to find the first songs.

It does differ from priest to priest. Generally Masses are shorter during the week, as well, if it seemed short, so people can attend before going to work.

1. I forget what they called it, but each person turned to each other and wished each other “peace be with you” or something. I was completely taken off-guard and my neighbors must have thought I had some mental illness. I didn’t know what to say and just stammered something unintelligible. I bet it looked very comical.

Sign of Peace, and no, you probably didn’t stick out at all. Don’t worry. I’m guessing most people noticed you were new or they didn’t notice at all that you were doing something different.

1. Are Saturday and Sunday Masses longer or should I expect a very similar service?

1. I noticed most people would bow before sitting in a pew. Is this genuflecting? I’ve never known what that is. Some would bow without doing the sign of the cross and others would do the sign of the cross. Is either permissible? Why do you do this?

As I said before, Saturday and Sunday Masses are usually longer than weekday Masses.

This is genuflecting. Genuflecting is lowering yourself onto one knee, unlike kneeling, which is lowering yourself on both. Genuflecting is effectively acknowledging the presence of Christ in the church as king. For Roman Catholics, a true genuflect is to lower yourself on one knee, reverently do the Sign of the Cross, stand and silently walk into the pew.

Those who do not cross themselves are not doing it properly. Many elderly people or others who are physically incapable are unable to kneel, but instead may bow and make the Sign of the Cross.

I attended a church in a relatively large city. I plan to attend the local small-town church tomorrow for comparison. Thanks,

~Dee

Well, that should be interesting…comparing the two. Sometimes going to a more traditional parish will have a more reverent, not as rushed Mass. I hope you have a good experience at Mass tomorrow. Don’t worry too much about absorbing information all at once. People will know you are new and they won’t think you’re being rude.

Here are the readings and psalm reading response for the Masses that will be said tomorrow. You can print them out in advance and follow along if you don’t want to page through the missals at church.

 

[Tweedle_Dee]

Thank you for the great information. My overall impression was positive. I was most struck by the reverence before, during and after the Mass. I just sat there after it was over and soaked in the beauty and peace of the place for about 15 minutes.

 

[twopekinguys]

Thank you for the great information. My overall impression was positive. I was most struck by the reverence before, during and after the Mass. I just sat there after it was over and soaked in the beauty and peace of the place for about 15 minutes.

That’s great!!!

 

[Cathhsmom]

It took me over 2 years to get the courage, but I finally went to Mass today, LOL. I have a few questions / impressions:

1. I really like how everyone was very reverent inside the chapel or cathedral or whatever you call it. Everyone seemed to behave like Jesus really was present. Mormon congregations are very social inside the chapel and tend to be loud.
2. I didn’t know when to stand or when to kneel, so I ended up not kneeling at all. Will others consider this rude to not kneel when visiting as an outsider? Most of the time I couldn’t tell when everyone was kneeling until it was too late.
3. The Missal available at the benches only appeared to have the readings for each Sunday and holidays, however, I noticed people were following along with a text. Do I assume they brought an “everyday” Missal from home or did I miss something?
4. The hymn that was sang was “Hark the Herald, Angels Sing” and given as hymn #25. I couldn’t find this in the music. In fact, I couldn’t find any hymns below 300 or 400.
5. The priest went so fast through everything and with little feeling or emotion, it seemed like he was trying to just get it over with. Obviously, this will vary from Priest to Priest.
6. I forget what they called it, but each person turned to each other and wished each other “peace be with you” or something. I was completely taken off-guard and my neighbors must have thought I had some mental illness. I didn’t know what to say and just stammered something unintelligible. I bet it looked very comical.
7. Are Saturday and Sunday Masses longer or should I expect a very similar service?
8. I noticed most people would bow before sitting in a pew. Is this genuflecting? I’ve never known what that is. Some would bow without doing the sign of the cross and others would do the sign of the cross. Is either permissible? Why do you do this?

I attended a church in a relatively large city. I plan to attend the local small-town church tomorrow for comparison. Thanks,

~Dee

As a convert, myself, I have been where you are with not knowing what to do, and I even had my husband there to tell me, and I still messed it up at times. BTW, I was blessed as a baby in the Mormon church, but wasn’t raised in it because of issues that my mom had with it. I still have relatives who are Mormons, though.

1. Don’t worry about the kneeling. If you go long enough, you will figure out when you are to do it.
2. Yes, the daily Mass readings are typically not in the Missals, but some people, myself included, have purchased a book that has the Daily Mass readings. The daily mass readings are done in a 2 year cycle. SO, every 2 years you will have the same readings. I use this at home so that I can read it even if I can’t go to church that day. BTW, you can look up the readings for the day at www.usccb.org . You could print it out and take it with you if you would like.

4.This sounds like our missals. We have a missal that has songs up to 100 or so, and the music issue book has the songs #300 and above. So, look in the back of the missal. It typically has the seasonal songs in it.

1. Don’t worry about it. SOme people have even been saying “Merry Christmas” instead of “Peace be with you” at mass lately. I have even not done the shaking of hands when I have been sick.
2. Sunday is longer in that there is an extra reading from the Bible and there is more singing. The normal daily mass here is about 30 minutes where as the Sunday Mass is 1 hour.
3. Yes, that is genuflecting. We do it to show respect to Jesus in the tabernacle and to the altar where the Eucharist is consecrated. I was taught that if you are able, you should go down on 1 knee and do the sign of the cross. Now, I have bad knees, so I go partially down and do the sign of the cross.

I hope that you have a good mass tomorrow. Thanks for letting us know how it went. God bless you in your journey.

 

[SteveVH]

Saithes:

Your take on the Bread of Life discourse in the 6th chapter of John is fairly common, but if you look more closely, Jesus does not contradict himself.

The bread and wine discourse has been a point of contention and disagreement among Protestants since soon after the reformation. One argument is that the discourse is simply an invitation to faith, that eating the bread of life is a metaphor for believing in Jesus. Others believe that eating the bread of life means to partake in the Eucharist. To add to the confusion, both of these views happen to be right. If you look closely at the sermon it is divided into two parts.

In John 6:35-47 Jesus makes the statement “I am the bread of life” then follows it with invitations to come to him and believe in him for salvation. The metaphorical sense of this was so apparent that the Jews who were listening to him didn’t ask why he calls himself the bread of life, but rather how he could claim that he descended from heaven.

In John 6:48-58 Jesus repeats the statement “I am the bread of life”. This is followed by invitations to eat the flesh of Jesus and drink his blood. The sense of what he was saying this time caused the Jews to ask how it was possible to consume his flesh (6:52). The verb he uses for “eats” has been translated out of the Greek word “trogo” meaning “chew” or “gnaw”. It is used four times in the second half of the Bread of Life discourse (Jn 6:49, 50, 51 and 53) and only once elsewhere. Up to that point John used a more common verb for eating, “esthio” which marks a change of focus and emphasis when changed to “trogo”. He meant what he said and we can’t ignore that because it is difficult for us to understand.

Jesus was a master teacher and these two parts did not occur by accident. He was telling them that without faith we can neither be united with him nor recognize his presence in the Eucharist.

The crowd was obviously thinking of cannibalism, the sin of eating a human corpse, which was incredibly offensive to them. This understanding (or misunderstanding) caused them to leave him at once. They did not understand that he was not inviting them to eat his dead mortal flesh as it was during his earthly life, but rather his glorified body as it was after the resurrection, that is why he calls himself the “living bread” (6:51). Note also that he speaks in the future tense “I shall give…”. He wasn’t asking them to tear him apart on the spot and consume his flesh and blood.

Hope this helps. God bless.

 

[Tweedle_Dee]

Saithes:

Your take on the Bread of Life discourse in the 6th chapter of John is fairly common, but if you look more closely, Jesus does not contradict himself…

Just a heads up that that part of the thread is over 2 years old.

 

[Jean_1958]

“The priest went so fast through everything and with little feeling or emotion”

Sounds like an Irish priest—LOL!

 

[SteveVH]

Tweedle Dee:

Thanks, I must not have been paying attention. And I was so proud of myself. Bummer.

 

[jmcrae]

1. The Missal available at the benches only appeared to have the readings for each Sunday and holidays, however, I noticed people were following along with a text. Do I assume they brought an “everyday” Missal from home or did I miss something?

Usually the books for the daily Masses are available at the beginning of each month. You can also get a subscription. Find out which one is in most common use in your particular area, and get a subscription. It’s well worth the few dollars in postage, because there are also some very nice reflections and little histories on each of the Saints included, along with each day’s Scripture readings and prayers.

1. The hymn that was sang was “Hark the Herald, Angels Sing” and given as hymn #25. I couldn’t find this in the music. In fact, I couldn’t find any hymns below 300 or 400.

This is a common occurrence at my parish, too - we use two different hymnbooks, and usually, one of them is missing from the pew.

1. The priest went so fast through everything and with little feeling or emotion, it seemed like he was trying to just get it over with. Obviously, this will vary from Priest to Priest.

This sort of thing is very common, especially at weekday Masses. The trick is to listen to what he is actually saying, rather than to his tone of voice.

1. I forget what they called it, but each person turned to each other and wished each other “peace be with you” or something. I was completely taken off-guard and my neighbors must have thought I had some mental illness. I didn’t know what to say and just stammered something unintelligible. I bet it looked very comical.

They were saying “Peace be with you.” The proper response is “And also with you.”