Why orthodoxy @ Mass matters!

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I went to Mass Sun. where there was a substitute priest. His homily sounded so Protestant… He basically said that Jesus died for everyone and that there is NOTHING that can separate us from Him or keep us from getting into Heaven… (etc, etc). At the end of Mass, when intro’d by the Deacon, people gave him a standing ovation!! :eek: I didn’t stand. I am sorry, but i am sick of this once saved always saved baloney… and that’s what his message was all about… No mention of how SIN is the one thing that CAN and does come between us & God. Of course, if you are a Christian, God isn’t going to throw u into Hell for falling into sin… (unless u refuse to repent…) but that doesn’t mean you would - were you to die immediately after committing it - go straight to Heaven without first going to Purgatory…

I felt so much grace at this other Church i went to later… where everything was orthodox… It was amazing the difference i FELT… and i got healed, etc…
 
Agreed - this Sunday we had a substitute priest also. I’m no expert but I’m sure I have heard all the forms of the Eucharistic Prayers and this priest was surely just making it up as he went along. He was trying to tie in the most Holy Trinity into it and it just sounded so ad lib - I’m not sure it was even licit??

What is more holy than the words and form of consecration?? We got the message of the Trinity in the homily - no need to beat that drum again. Orthodoxy matters - say the words, keep them holy, join the true mass.
 
ltbpoe43 said:
Agreed - this Sunday we had a substitute priest also. I’m no expert but I’m sure I have heard all the forms of the Eucharistic Prayers and this priest was surely just making it up as he went along. He was trying to tie in the most Holy Trinity into it and it just sounded so ad lib - I’m not sure it was even licit??

What is more holy than the words and form of consecration?? We got the message of the Trinity in the homily - no need to beat that drum again. Orthodoxy matters - say the words, keep them holy, join the true mass.
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There are MANY Eucharistic prayers beyond the 6 commonly used that you are familiar with.
 
“It was amazing the difference i FELT”

Feelings are not reliable. We should not base any aspect of our faith on feelings.

You “felt” good about the orthodox Mass and “not good” at the “Protestant-sounding Mass.”

Others might “feel” just the opposite, especially Protestants who are investigating the Catholic Church. Many of the Masses in our parish “feel” Protestant (although they are liturgically correct). This was a nice transition for us as Protestants. We very likely would have been scared of the more traditional Catholic Masses. (Now we’re OK with them.)

I was just reading Imitation of Christ last night. Book Three, Chapter Six: "All is not lost if sometimes thou hast not that sense of devotion towards Me or My saints which thou wouldst have. That good and delightful affection, which thou sometimes perceivest, is the effect of present grace and a certain foretaste of thy heavenly country, but thou must not rely too much upon it, because it goes and comes.

A great Protestant teacher, Dr. Bill Bright, uses the train illustration. The train is pulled by the engine, which is FACT. Our Christianity is based on historical events, not someone’s “revelation.”

Next comes the coal car, which is FAITH. We have to accept the teachings of Christianity by faith; we can’t “prove” God or the Trinity or salvation or sanctification, we can only have faith.

Finally comes the caboose, FEELINGS. Without the caboose, the train will still run. It’s nice to have feelings, but you don’t need them to follow Christ.

In fact, quite a few of the chapters in Imitation of Christ
talk about the necessity of ignoring our lack of feelings and relying instead on faith and obedience to Christ. It’s quite a concept to wrap my “Protestant-trained, abundant-life” mind around!
 
ltbpoe43 said:
this priest was surely just making it up as he went along. He was trying to tie in the most Holy Trinity into it and it just sounded so ad lib - I’m not sure it was even licit??

.
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the scary thing is that so many priests are doing these unorthodox things these days. I read this book once that dealt w/ the subject of seminarians. There are some Seminaries that actually turn away men for the priesthood who are orthodox (follow the pope). I just wonder what percentage of seminaries are like that??
 
Cat said:
Feelings are not reliable. We should not base any aspect of our faith on feelings.
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I don’t base my faith on feelings. If i was one to do THAT, i would have ditched the Catholic religion a long, LONG time ago! (Some “religious” people are enough to drive you :hypno: :whacky: !)
You “felt” good about the orthodox Mass and “not good” at the “Protestant-sounding Mass.”
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Actually, what i should have said was that i felt the Presence of Christ more strongly at the orthodox Mass… 😦
Others might “feel” just the opposite, especially Protestants who are investigating the Catholic Church.
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Like you said, feelings shouldn’t be what we base faith on…
Many of the Masses in our parish “feel” Protestant (although they are liturgically correct). This was a nice transition for us as Protestants. We very likely would have been scared of the more traditional Catholic Masses. (Now we’re OK with them.)
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Like you said, feelings shouldn’t be what we base our faith on.
Plus, why be “scared” of traditional Masses? Maybe that fear isn’t such a bad thing. For one thing, fear is just another “feeling”…
Maybe that fear is good - maybe it indicates a rightful fear of God (fear of His holiness), which fear is, as the scriptures tell us, the beginning of all wisdom…

Interesting… that those few times in the past when i have seriously wondered about the Church and wanted to leave (long story…:mad: :eek: 🤷 ), the thing that kept me from doing so was this “feeling” of the Real Presence…:highprayer:
 
distracted said:
I went to Mass Sun. where there was a substitute priest. His homily sounded so Protestant… He basically said that Jesus died for everyone and that there is NOTHING that can separate us from Him or keep us from getting into Heaven… (etc, etc). At the end of Mass, when intro’d by the Deacon, people gave him a standing ovation!! :eek: I didn’t stand. I am sorry, but i am sick of this once saved always saved baloney… and that’s what his message was all about… No mention of how SIN is the one thing that CAN and does come between us & God. Of course, if you are a Christian, God isn’t going to throw u into Hell for falling into sin… (unless u refuse to repent…) but that doesn’t mean you would - were you to die immediately after committing it - go straight to Heaven without first going to Purgatory…
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That is heresy. I would write a letter to the pastor, explaining that it does not help the Faithful to hear things that go against the teachings of the Church, even if it is what they want to hear. Sure, I’d love it if I could do whatever I wanted and still be guaranteed to go to heaven when I die. It just doesn’t work that way. I feel sorry for those led astray by priests who preach this heresy. I feel even more sorry for the priests who preach it. Even more, I feel sorry for the bishops who do not correct the priests- move them- do whatever they have to do in order to get them out of public ministry until they change their position. They will not only have to answer for their own souls, but for the lost souls of their flock.
 
m134e5 said:
That is heresy. I would write a letter to the pastor
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I am wondering why i didn’t think to do this. I have done that before. I think the answer is that sometimes when people write letters, nothing much is done. But oh well, that shouldn’t stop me…
Sure, I’d love it if I could do whatever I wanted and still be guaranteed to go to heaven when I die. It just doesn’t work that way.
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I believed this lie at one time in my youth (i pity youth more than i envy them anymore 😦 ). I can’t say in words how much suffering it caused me. When i came back to the Church, i saw how much damage this kind of thinking/living had done to me… and to others… [This isn’t the best quote i can think of but for some reason, that line from Shakespeare came to me just now: “If you prick me, do i not bleed?” Sin is very prickly…
I feel sorry for those led astray by priests who preach this heresy. I feel even more sorry for the priests who preach it. Even more, I feel sorry for the bishops who do not correct the priests- move them- do whatever…
The problem is: where do they move them? I do know that the more orthodox priests are given large parishes… and the ones who have some “problem” or another are sent to smaller ones… I think they should be reprimanded beyond that… but i am not sure how… 🤷

They will not only have to answer for their own souls, but for the lost souls of their flock.
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Just wondering, have you read any of those TAN books about Hell and Purgatory? If that doesn’t scare a person into repentance, what can?? :eek:
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ltbpoe43 said:
this priest was surely just making it up as he went along. He was trying to tie in the most Holy Trinity into it and it just sounded so ad lib - I’m not sure it was even licit??
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I’ve experienced this myself. One time this elderly sub priest did the exact same thing (i want to say “only worse” because i can’t imagine ad libbing worse than what he did… :eek: ). As far as it being licit, i think as long as he says the Words of Consecration (more or less??) correctly, its licit?? But i don’t really know. The weird thing w/ the aforementioned priest was that the Consecration was THE ONLY thing he didn’t ad lib, out of the whole Mass… Another member of the Church seemed to think he was senile… but still… I know a man who is almost 90 and has mild memory loss, yet he can recite the prayers of the Mass, probably in his sleep… :rolleyes:
Orthodoxy matters - say the words, keep them holy, join the true mass.
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Amen… As stated previously, one can sometimes sense when there is a disorderly spirit of un=orthodoxy in the Mass and when there is not… even before the Mass really beings… I know i can…
(Kind of mysterious…)
:highprayer: :angel1:
 
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