“... the vapid Bible thumping orations of the Billy Grahams.”
Right.
Do you not personally interpret Scripture throughout the day? Do you not find yourself reflecting on Scripture, and how it might apply to a particular circumstance in which you find yourself? Isn’t it good for us to personally wrestle with the words Jesus spoke and the accounts recounted about his life?
Of course to all your questions. But for us Catholics belief in the Eucharist and the Mass is the source and summit of all our worship.