Why Do We Go To Church?

[gator54]

WHY DO WE GO TO CHURCH?

 

[LDNCatholic]

At the Last Supper Jesus said ‘‘Do this in memory of me’’. Thats one

 

[Miles_Mariae]

One reason might be that your personal well-being is increased greatly by the prospect of eternal life. Such a prospect depends on fulfilling the Precepts of the Church. Thus, in your decision-making, you have concluded that the optimal choice is to give up some leisure time in order to attend church.

Hopefully, the actual reason is more spiritually profound. However, that would require me to read your mind.

 

[Fox]

Another reason is that we unify our prayers together to God as part of the body of Christ.

 

[Dauphin]

Another reason is because of the obligation to attend Mass every Sunday and on certain Holy days, as prescribed by the legitimate authority of Christ’s Church.

 

[pjn6444]

Why do we go to church; first I am assuming you mean why should Christians go to church. I am assuming you do not mean personal reasons for going. Christians go to church for the Mass. The Mass is the memorial of the sacrifice of the cross. When the priest prays the Eucharistic prayers in the Mass the act of transubstantiation occurs. Only the priest is able to do this. So the congregation must go where there is a priest. A church building is convenient. We also go for fellowship and community. Christianity is a communal religion. No man is an island. Christians go on Sunday because the Catholic Church decided that Sunday was the day we should celebrate instead of the Saturday Sabbath to commemorate Christ’s rising from the dead. There is an obligation of attending all Sundays and holy days. This helps to hold people accountable and to keep the community together.

 

[revolutionwench]

in every religion, you have to go to church. at least you don’t have to take off your shoes or get scratches on your head from bowing your head to the floor like Muslims do. their service is like a freaken excise routine.

 

[EasterJoy]

We don’t go to church so much as we are Church. We come together as one, because we are one. The Sacrifice offered is the the one in which we remember–not in the sense of bringing the past to mind, but in the sense of bringing ourselves into the one eternal reality–that our entire life is buried in Him, so as to rise with Him. Obviously, we may not forsake that gathering together.

The building is a physical expression of what we gather there to be and do, no more nor less than that. (Not that this is a small thing!!)

…at least you don’t have to take off your shoes or get scratches on your head from bowing your head to the floor like Muslims do. their service is like a freaken excise routine.

Ahem. Not the most respectful way you could have put that, hmmm? You probably meant the joke at your own expense, but still. The Muslims here are our guests. Play nice.

 

[brotherhrolf]

To know, love, and serve God in this world and be happy with Him in the next.

 

[puzzleannie]

Jesus commanded us to commemorate and re-present his sacrifice for all time, and at the same time told us, “If you love Me you will keep My commands.” So we go to Mass out of our love for Christ and in thanksgiving of His supreme love for us.

 

[Pax_et_Caritas]

I’ll give you two reasons:

1.) Because we have a duty to worship God; and God wills that we worship him by going to Mass. In the old Testament the Jews sacrificed animals; in the new, it is the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins that pleases God.

2.) The merits gained by Jesus at Calvary are distributed to us at Mass.

But be sure to go to a Traditional Mass where the sacrifice is not defiled with sacrilege, and where prayers for unbelievers to remain faithful to their false religion.

 

[puzzleannie]

But be sure to go to a Traditional Mass where the sacrifice is not defiled with sacrilege, and where prayers for unbelievers to remain faithful to their false religion.

who gave you the authority to say this? I doubt if pope B16 posts here, so I doubt you are he.

 

[latinmass]

Traditionalist - To worship

Conservative - To keep the commandment

Liberal - To be energized by the music and the homily

 

[latinmasslover]

who gave you the authority to say this? I doubt if pope B16 posts here, so I doubt you are he.

And who gave you the authority to contradict truth mixed with common sense? Why would any God-loving Catholic want to attend a liturgy full of abuses? The comment was perfectly legit.

 

[buffalo]

Traditionalist - To worship

Conservative - To keep the commandment

Liberal - To be energized by the music and the homily

Bingo!

God calls us to worship. It is a verb. That is why we go to Church.

 

[Pax_et_Caritas]

who gave you the authority to say this? I doubt if pope B16 posts here, so I doubt you are he.

The fact of the matter is that sacrilege is common at Novus Ordo Masses. That’s not a new revelation. And it is also a fact that the Novus Ordo prays for unbelievers to remain true to their religion. How is it not a mortal sin, at least objectively, to pray that prayer? What am I talking about?

The Good Friday Prayer in the Novus Ordo prays to God that the Jews will remain faithful to their convenant, which is null and void, and which leads only to perdition. In fact, the council of Florence teaches that anyone who practices the old Covenant with the intent of being justified commits a mortal sin. Yet in the Novus Ordo, Catholics pray that the Jews will continue to be faithful to that covenant - which it is a mortal sin to do! Talk about antisemitism.

The more I think about that point, the more I see just how evil has invaded the Church. Think about it: In the Novus Ordo Mass itself, Catholics pray for the Jews to commit a mortal sin. God help us!

On a related note, let me end with this…

Marie-Julie Jahenny was a mystic and Stigmatist. She was February 12, 1850, in a little village in Brittany (in the West of France), called Blain. In 1873, she received from Heaven that most remarkable mystic gift, the Stigmata. From the age of twenty-three until her death, some sixty years later, she bore in her body the Wounds of Our Lord to a more visible degree than had any other stigmatist in the Church’s history. In addition to the Five Wounds of the Sacred Hands, Feet and Side, Marie-Julie suffered the Wounds inflicted by the Crown of Thorns and the Cross on Our Lord’s Sacred Head and Shoulder respectively, the Wounds of His Scourging, those caused by the ropes with which He was bound, as well as other Wounds of a more mystic nature. Like Padre Pio and others, she lived miraculously on the Blessed Sacrament alone for many years. She was also favored with frequent visions of Jesus and Mary, as well as many prophetic lights.

Let’s read Marie-Julies’s prophecies concerning the new liturgy:

On November 27, 1902, Our Lord warned of the new liturgy which would one day be instituted:

*"I give you a warning. The disciples who are not of My Gospel are now working hard to remake according to their ideas, and under the influence of the enemy of souls, a Mass that contains words which are odious in My Sight. When the fatal hour arrives where the faith of my priest is put to the test, it will be these texts that will be celebrated, in this second period.

“The first period is the one of My Priesthood, existing since Me. The second is the one of the persecution, when the enemies of the Faith and of Holy Religion will impose their formulas in the book of the second celebration. Many of My holy priests will refuse this book, sealed with the words of the abyss. Unfortunately, amongst them are those who will accept it.” *

On May 10, 1904, Our Lady describes the new clergy and its liturgy: “They will not stop on this hateful and sacrilegious road. They will go further to compromise all at once, and in one blow, the Holy Church, the clergy, and the Faith of my children.”

She announces the “dispersion of the pastors” by the Church herself; true pastors, who will be replaced by others formed by Hell: “…new preachers of new sacraments, new temples, new baptisms, new confraternities.”

The more I consider the fact that the Novus Ordo prays the antisemetic prayer for the Jews to remain faithful to their old Covenant, which the council of Florence teaches is a mortal sin, the more I realize how serious a crisis we are in.

Thankfully, there were a few who refused this Mass “sealed with the words of the abyss”.

 

[I_Believe]

who gave you the authority to say this? I doubt if pope B16 posts here, so I doubt you are he.

“What if some novel contagion seek to infect the whole Church, and not merely a small portion of it? Then he will take care to cling to antiquity, which cannot now be led astray by any novel deceit.”
*St. Vincent of Lerins *

 

[EasterJoy]

…be sure to go to a Traditional Mass where the sacrifice is not defiled with sacrilege, and where prayers for unbelievers to remain faithful to their false religion.

The fact of the matter is that sacrilege is common at Novus Ordo Masses. That’s not a new revelation. And it is also a fact that the Novus Ordo prays for unbelievers to remain true to their religion. How is it not a mortal sin, at least objectively, to pray that prayer? What am I talking about?
The Good Friday Prayer in the Novus Ordo prays to God that the Jews will remain faithful to their convenant, which is null and void, and which leads only to perdition. In fact, the council of Florence teaches that anyone who practices the old Covenant with the intent of being justified commits a mortal sin. Yet in the Novus Ordo, Catholics pray that the Jews will continue to be faithful to that covenant - which it is a mortal sin to do! Talk about antisemitism…
The more I consider the fact that the Novus Ordo prays the antisemetic prayer for the Jews to remain faithful to their old Covenant, which the council of Florence teaches is a mortal sin, the more I realize how serious a crisis we are in.
Thankfully, there were a few who refused this Mass “sealed with the words of the abyss”.

The religion of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, the religion by which God gave us our Savior, the religion practiced by our Lord, a false religion? The Jews are afflicted by a veil over their eyes, but you go too far.

You characterize the new prayer for Good Friday (which of course is not a Mass at all) incorrectly. Consider the actual words of the prayer:

“Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to His covenant. (Prayer in silence. Then the priest says) Almighty and eternal God, long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and his posterity. Listen to your Church as we pray that the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

It* does not* pray for the Jews to remain faithful to the "old covenant”! It prays that they grow in faithfulness to God’s covenant, and that they arrive at the fullness of redemption! The Church still teaches that there is no salvation outside the Church. “The fullness of redemption” is nothing, if it is not full unity with Christ. The Church does not and has not ever taught differently.

You also imply that the Novo Ordus is “sealed with the words of the abyss”, that is, a defilement of the Eucharist by its very nature, and congratulate yourself for refusing it? Do you not know that anyone who holds his brother in contempt risks the fires of Gehenna? (Mt. 5:22)

“If you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift at the altar, go first to be reconciled with your brother, and come and offer your gift.” (Mt.5:23-24)

I cannot read your heart, but your writings concern me. Should you be approaching the altar of the Lord? It is bad enough that you are so openly contemptuous of other laity, whose hearts you seem to presume to be able to read. Are you not holding in contempt even the successors of the Apostles who have been given authority to define what is and is not an acceptable offering of the Eucharist?

Be true to your screen name, and let us be reconciled on this: “Lose no time; settle with your opponent while on your way to court with him. Otherwise, your opponent may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the guard, who will throw you into prison.” (Mt. 5:25-26)

Let us ally ourselves not with the Accuser, but with the Advocate.

 

[Pax_et_Caritas]

The religion of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, the religion by which God gave us our Savior, the religion practiced by our Lord, a false religion? The Jews are afflicted by a veil over their eyes, but you go too far.

You characterize the new prayer for Good Friday (which of course is not a Mass at all) incorrectly. Consider the actual words of the prayer:

“Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to His covenant. (Prayer in silence. Then the priest says) Almighty and eternal God, long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and his posterity. Listen to your Church as we pray that the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

It* does not* pray for the Jews to remain faithful to the "old covenant”! It prays that they grow in faithfulness to God’s covenant…

Here’s my question: Do you believe this prayer is referring to believing Jews (Catholics), or unbelieving Jews?

The prayer asks that these Jews continue to grow in faithfulness to his covenant. Which covenant do you think it is referring to? The one they reject (the new covenant)? Or the one that claim to adhere to (the old covenant)?

Keep in mind that John Paul II believed that the old Covenenat was “never revoked by God”. It is difficult to twist those words in such a way that they fit in with what the Catholic Chuch teaches (as some have attempted) when you consider the context.

He spoke of a dialogue between two groups. These two groups were “the people of God of the Old Covenant never revoked by God, and that of the New Covenant” (John Paul II).

And don’t forget the document issued by the USCCB back on August 12, 2002, which taught…

Reflections on Covenant and Mission: “The Roman Catholic reflections describe the growing respect for the Jewish tradition that has unfolded since the Second Vatican Council. A deepening Catholic appreciation of the eternal covenant between God and the Jewish people, together with a recognition of a divinely-given mission to Jews to witness to God’s faithful love, lead to the conclusion that campaigns that target Jews for conversion to Christianity are no longer theologically acceptable in the Catholic Church”.

What did they base this belief on? If you said they based it on the teachings of John Paul II, you were correct…

Reflections on Covenant and Mission: "John Paul II has explicitly taught that Jews are "the people of God of the Old Covenant, never revoked by God,"2 "the present-day people of the covenant concluded with Moses,"3 and “partners in a covenant of eternal love which was never revoked.”

Compare that teaching of John Paul II and the USCCB with what the Church defined de fide at the council of Florence:

Council of Florence, the bull Cantate Domino: "It [the Holy Roman Catholic Church] firmly believes, professes, and teaches that the matter pertaining to the law of the Old Testament, of the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, sacred rites, sacrifices, and sacraments, because they were established to signify something in the future, although they were suited to the divine worship at that time, after our Lord’s coming had been signified by them, CEASED, and the sacraments of the New Testament began; and that whoever, even after the passion, placed hope in these matters of the law and submitted himself to them as necessary for salvation, as if faith in Christ could not save without them, sinned mortally. … after the promulgation of the Gospel it asserts that they CANNOT BE OBSERVED without the loss of eternal salvation. " (Council of Florence)

In the same Bull, we find the following: "“It (the Catholic Church) firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that those not living within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart “into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels” [Mat. 25:41], unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock…” (Council of Florence).

What it comes down to is this: Since Vatican II, the majority of the hierarchy no longer believe what the Church teaches - and what it defined de fide. They erroneously believe that the old covenant “was never revoked by God”, and will still save. That is why the Novus Ordo mass prays that Jews “continue to grow in faithfulness to his covenant”.

For a person who believes the old Covenant will save, this prayer is fine; but for a Catholic who still believes what the Church teaches as defined at the Council of Florence, it is a prayer that asks for the Jews to commit a mortal sin.

If you disagree, please make your case.

 

[Miles_Mariae]

“What if some novel contagion seek to infect the whole Church, and not merely a small portion of it? Then he will take care to cling to antiquity, which cannot now be led astray by any novel deceit.”
*St. Vincent of Lerins *

Great quote. I like to break that one out once in a while.