prayer

[henrikhank]

Pax et bonum!
A very difficult question:
I see the very bad situation here in Sweden when it comes to the Catholic Church.
Here in Stockholm for example the Tridentine Mass is celebrated only twice a month and then only in a very small chapel. One other problem is that the Catholics eat too much meat and when they serve food in church it’s not much for a vegetarian. Catholicism mean unity, not anti-unity. And then the ecumenical and inter-religious dialogues are sometimes very bad.
So I’ve been thinking that if we pray for this all the problems could be solved. But I am not so sure about this. Doesn’t the Catholics (and other people) always pray to solve these problems? Would it really help if we started to pray to solve these problems?
And if I should pray then should I ask saints in heaven for prayer request or people on earth? What would be most effective?

 

[the_phoenix]

Praying:

Hell dig Maria, full av nåd. Herren är med dig. Välsignad är du bland kvinnor och välsignad är din livsfrukt Jesus Heliga Maria Guds Moder bed för oss syndare nu och i vår dödsstund.

Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

 

[StrawberryJam]

Pax et bonum!
A very difficult question:
I see the very bad situation here in Sweden when it comes to the Catholic Church.
Here in Stockholm for example the Tridentine Mass is celebrated only twice a month and then only in a very small chapel. One other problem is that the Catholics eat too much meat and when they serve food in church it’s not much for a vegetarian. Catholicism mean unity, not anti-unity. And then the ecumenical and inter-religious dialogues are sometimes very bad.
So I’ve been thinking that if we pray for this all the problems could be solved. But I am not so sure about this. Doesn’t the Catholics (and other people) always pray to solve these problems? Would it really help if we started to pray to solve these problems?
And if I should pray then should I ask saints in heaven for prayer request or people on earth? What would be most effective?

Let me get this straight.

Problems are Mass you prefer is not every week, yet you don’t mention if Mass you do not prefer is every week.

Can’t comment when not enough information is given.

Meat served? After Mass? Are you expecting to be given food after Mass in Sweden?

Here we get coffee and dougnuts once a month unless a priest is celebrating his 50th year as a priest. That does not happen often.

I don’t want to argue about why our cultural differences make it hard to understand each other’s point of view, but do you really think these are problems in the world we are living in?
Meat served after Mass?

 

[GratefulFred]

I am old enough to have been raised on the Latin Mass. And I took two years of Latin in school. My missle had the Latin on the left page and English on the right. Many attended without a missle and I am sure they did not understand the spoken Latin. It was an act of true Faith to attend Mass in a foreign language.

The Mass is the most important thing we get to do in life, especially when we also receive Holy Communion. So the Mass should always be prayed reverently. Many current priests cannot speak or understand Latin that well. Many of the faithful do not understand Latin at all and are reluctant to change.

Yet, Latin is an effort to try an reach closer toward Chirst. I think Pope Benedict XVI realizes it will take time for it to become more popular with priest and the faithful. It is certainly a good thing to pray for.

A healthy diet is very good. Less meat and more veggies. Both in moderation. But there is no sin in eating meat except on days of abstinence. I prefer chicken and fish and veggies and fruit mostly and beef on occassion. Moderation is another story.

 

[tonyrey]

Prayer is important but action is also necessary. You have taken the first step by pointing out the problems in Sweden which I - and probably many others - was not aware of. But according to wikipedia it has one of the fastest growing Catholic Churches in Europe. So you have good cause for optimism, Henrik!