Posted on 06/12/2012 6:03:28 PM PDT by Salvation
Now that's just plain silly. I can not think about the crucifixion without simultaneously thinking about the resurrection. How could it be any different for any Christian who knows the story?
The suburban churches where I live are always full. However, the churches in the downtown area of the city where I grew up are having trouble with attendance because the parishes where they are located don’t have many people living there anymore. Some churches have closed or merged with other parish churches. I believe it has a lot to do with the location of the churches.
There are some churches that have the crucifix as well as the Risen Christ statue nearby.
“Now that’s just plain silly. I can not think about the crucifixion without simultaneously thinking about the resurrection. How could it be any different for any Christian who knows the story? “
Perhaps you link the two automatically, but I don’t know that this is true of all.
If a simple cross was posted up, (He is risen!), would you start thinking about the crucifixion? I don’t know.
But I don’t think my observation is “silly,” even if I may be wrong, perhaps you can take it as food for thought.
In most cities, “downtown,” or as we call it in Charlotte, “uptown,” is not where a lot of people live. Uptown Catholic churches in Charlotte have good congregations if they are heavily into traditional liturgy and devotions, not because there’s a local congregation on the ground. This is Billy Graham country - we don’t have a lot of center-city Catholic Churches from the old days, like they do Up North.
We have big congregrations in all our churches in the Charlotte area, though. My parish is over 1/4 Spanish-speaking, but we’re also SRO at the English Masses. Parishes in the main residential areas of Charlotte, especially those with notably orthodox priests and liturgies leaning traditional, are also packed. We have a Vietnamese parish, a Filipino-majority parish, and more than one that are majority Spanish-speaking. Our problem is expanding the facilities (past the zoning boards and the EPA ... my parish is having to move because of an endangered freshwater clam!!!).
Last one to leave Michigan, please turn out the lights. You’d be welcome in Charlotte - there’s even a regular Polish Mass, held at the diocesan high school chapel, and “specials” at St. Matt’s, which has more congregants than some cities I’ve lived in.
” However, one problem with it (from my point of view) is that it focuses the believer on the death and not the resurrection.”
Excellent post however don’t forget that St. Paul wrote, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness: “.
A crucifix is a sermon in material substance.
I agree. The early assemblies consisted of people who were believers and they came together to worship, to pray together, to share what they had with the needy, fellowship, encourage and break bread together in the remembrance that they made up the "body of Christ". These believers went out and lead other people to saving faith in Christ and brought them to the assembly so they could, in turn, grow in their faith together and learn how to lead more people to Christ. I think too many church people forget that it is their job, and not just the pastor and elders, to go out and speak the gospel to everyone they meet. Today, people invite their neighbors and friends to "church" hoping they will get saved and, though that certainly does happen, it works far better if the visitor already knows the gospel.
I've been to some churches where all they ever preach about is the gospel, as if they think nobody is saved yet or nothing else is important. They give an "invitation" at the end and nobody comes forward because everyone there is already a believer. That says to me that the pastor may be lazy or doesn't care that the believers need more than just the "milk" of the word - they need the "meat", too. I know it must be hard being a pastor, one I had (one of the BEST) had a full time job in addition to being pastor. But I think a man of God that is put there by God has an obligation to be sensitive to the needs of his congregation and to never be afraid to say what God is leading him to say after much prayer and study. When that man is saying what God is leading him to say, the people WILL hear it and receive it because God has been preparing them as well. THAT kind of church is what keeps on growing.
True; we must remember the crucifixion AND the resurrection, not to make one more important than the other.
I would love it.
As long as Dad has a job, we are here.
We might be turning the lights out....
I am Catholic
The Parish I go to is crowded, many going to daily Mass. (there’s two every day and six on the weekends)
They masses are Bible driven, with Holy music and powerful messages.
Our Priests don’t worry about offending people (we even had one tell us that if we didn’t stand up for Christ, we would be saying “Allah Akbar”)
Thank God we don’t have to worry about what the early Church did, but with Slovak priests, they know the evils of communism and teach us to appreciate our freedoms.
Our parish is bursting. We just bought another building after completing our last expansion only 4 years ago. You’re right svcw, the church is not a building, and it takes the congregation hearing the truth of sin to know that there is redemption. It’s not a party and it’s not all Social Justice, which is the focus in many churches today. What can I do for someone to make me feel better instead of what can I do to make myself right with Our Lord. The collective salvation churches of any stripe are bad news. In many churches and parishes, that is what they are teaching.
>>Most of these northern cities are being overtaken by Muslim immigrants and the churches converted to mosques.<<
I’m north of Detroit and FAR north of Dearborn.
We are surrounded by Chaldeans. I really don’t know of any Catholic Churches converted to Mosques in my area.
Thank you, my FRiend. You are most certainly one who spends a lot of time and effort spreading the Word. God bless you.
I just LOVE that quote from Archbishop Sheen.
The political chant of fallen Christians, New Agers and anti-Christian activists is that Christians are spiritual and not religious. It’s a slogan.
This is intended to separate Christians from congregational communities so they are isolated and weak, morally, politically and socially. Young people are falling for it and it provides the popular justification of superiority for the open-minded and evolved spiritual ones who have dropped out of church compared to their ‘religious’ inferiors who go to church.
If liberals can get Christians to stop passing on the religion to their children by denying them a structured method of teaching young Christians their religion within churches, they can make the US majority atheist and subject to amorlity for lack of knowledge and understanding. Christians won’t follow when there is no leader.
Nice. Churches who preach basic Biblical concepts are not empty.
Funny; I sniff a little violence worship in your post.
“Remember, even Moses and Aaron had ‘images’ in the form of the Ark of the Covenant, and used it in their worship, all apparently approved by God, who told them how to build it.”
The ark was kept closed off in the holy of holies of the Tabernacle so that only a blood sprinkled priest could approach it...it wasn’t kept in public view as a “reminder”. The only reminder the Hebrews had was the daily ministration of manna until the day they entered into the Holy Land. Then the manna ceased as the final reminder of God’s power was the Land they were in possession of as he had promised! Later on one of the future leaders of Israel had the Serpent’s rod, that Moses used to save a rebellious people from the bites of poisonous serpents, destroyed so that the people wouldn’t worship it. Moses himself was buried by God(probably via Michael the ark angel as the NT hints in a brief comment regarding Michael’s dispute with Satan over Moses’ body) in a place that “no man ‘til this day’ knew of” because he knew that Israel would venerate and worship Moses’ bones.
I think I get UCANNSEE’s point!
So much more than just this. It is a visual expression of the mystery of God's Incarnation. It is a visual expression of the mystery of atonement, and of every human soul's call to conversion in Christ and acceptance of our own crosses in response to this call. It signifies Jesus's unreserved gift of self for the sake of his spouse the Church. It signifies the liturgical mystery of the Eucharist. Each of these elements is worthy of an eternity of contemplation; the crucifix is a bottomless reservoir of mystery offered to every Christian.
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