"Would Jesus Recognize Catholic Worship?" An Article

[mdgspencer]

see http://www.ncregister.com/blog/longenecker/would-jesus-recognize-catholic-worship

Yes, Jesus would have, this article explains, speaking of Jesus’ own knowledge of and participation in the worship of synagogue and Temple.

“The assumption is often made that Jesus is a simple, wandering preacher.”

But, this article points out, Jesus would recognize
“Splendid and ornate temple of God
Priests in fine vestments
Set readings from the Old Testament
The chanting of psalms
The burning of incense
An altar of sacrifice
Golden candlesticks
The bread of the presence
The holy of holies (the Catholic tabernacle)
The lamp of the presence
Processions of priests and people
The offering of the holy sacrifice
The laver or font for cleansing the offerings
Water fonts for ritual ablutions before entering worship
Beautiful decorations of fabrics, carvings and embroidery”

 

[guanophore]

I was amazed, the first time I went to a synagogue service, how much of the structure is similar to the Mass. It is easy to see how the Mass took it’s roots from traditional Judaism.

 

[Anesis]

Oh, that’s nice to hear. All of the synagogues I’ve been in looked like hotel meeting rooms. Very stark, no pews just those fabric chairs like they have in mega churches, nothing to indicate it’s a religious place. I’d love to see some more ornate ones

 

[goout]

Sixteen characters…

 

[guanophore]

I was talking more about the liturgy than the surroundings, but yes this must have been a more traditional setting. It actually reminded me of a Novus Ordo parish - semi-circular.