“In other news, night is dark,...” Amen. Anyone who ever went to a Catholic mass or a Protestant service could tell you that.
For us Catholics, the Eucharist is what brings us to church. The readings from the Bible are OK, but we’ve heard the same stories over and over and over. I mean really, you are either going to grasp the meaning of love your neighbor as yourself the first few times you hear it, or you are never going to get it. The music can be entertaining on occasion. And the homilies are for reading the bulletin and daydreaming.
>>And the homilies are for reading the bulletin and daydreaming.<<
Not in our parish!
Father Norbert would notice a couple people nodding and BOOM! His voice would echo in your ears with fire and brimstone!
Our bulletins are handed out at the end.
“For us Catholics, the Eucharist is what brings us to church. The readings from the Bible are OK, but we’ve heard the same stories over and over and over.”
Well I don’t pretend to speaking for all Protestants but what brings me to church is the fellowship with other believers and with Christ. These things that you call “readings from the Bible” are what we call sermons. Yes, we all know what the Bible says but it is nice to hear the Pastor read from a passage and then maybe explain how it might affect our lives in a personal way. Our Pastor has even been known to take questions from time to time DURING a sermon. On top of that, at my church we have a mens Bible Study Group, and a Womens Bible Study Group on alternating Teusdays and of course the usual Wednesday evening Prayer meeting.
How many times can you hear the same message about loving your neighbor as yourself? I guess until the world listens.
Starting with those of us that CLAIM (self included) to follow Jesus Christ.
That statement makes me sad. I teach an adult Sunday School and am very strong on meat over milk. I love it when someone suddenly realizes the significance of a passage she never noticed before, or never understood before. There is so much in there, a life time of study cannot grasp it all.