And peace be with you also...but doesn't this spread our worship elsewhere, dilute our worship of the Lord.
If our minds and heart are not directed at Him and Him alone...aren't we diluting our worship.
He wants a direct and personal relationship with you...not via intermediaries standing between the Two of you.
Isn't this what you want? Don't you hear His voice.
Of course, his mother is the holiest woman who ever lived...of course the Pope is trying hard to lead the Church forward to Him.
But in the end...isn't it just between you and Him?
When you meet with others for Sunday worship, is your worship of the Lord diluted? Neither is mine when I worship with others as a corporate body.
If our minds and heart are not directed at Him and Him alone...aren't we diluting our worship.
Is your mind and heart directed to the congregation around you or to the Lord when you worship in church? I can worship the Lord in the presence of many others, just as I'm sure you can too.
He wants a direct and personal relationship with you...not via intermediaries standing between the Two of you.
If I ask you to pray for me, are you standing between me and Jesus? Are you interfering in my relationship with him? Of course not. We are sharing in the communion of saints (the church militant, the living church on earth). As Catholics we join the Church triumphant in heaven in just the same way. It's a union not an interference.
But in the end...isn't it just between you and Him?
In Hb 10:25 we are cautioned not to neglect communal worship. So no, I don't believe it's a "Jesus and me" thing as many other Christians do. (Very devout Christians, I might add. I am not slamming them. I just disagree with them.) I believe Jesus created his Church for a purpose. And that it is very much a community in worship together as described in Hb 12:22-24.
Peace be with you.
“Christianity is not a new philosophy or new morality. We are Christians only if we encounter Christ... Only in this personal relationship with Christ, only in this encounter with the Risen One do we really become Christians...
Therefore, let us pray to the Lord to enlighten us, so that, in our world, he will grant us the encounter with his presence, and thus give us a lively faith, an open heart, and great charity for all, capable of renewing the
world.”
- Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican City, Sept. 3, 2008
“Our knowledge of Jesus is in need above all of a living experience: Another person’s testimony is certainly important, as in general the whole of our Christian life begins with the proclamation that comes to us from one or several witnesses. But we ourselves must be personally involved in an intimate and profound relationship with Jesus.”
- Pope Benedict XVI, Rome, October 4, 2006
“Thus, the apostles’ adventure began as a gathering of persons who open to one another reciprocally. A direct knowledge of the Teacher began for the disciples. They saw where he lived and began to know him. They would not have to be heralds of an idea, but witnesses of a person. Before being sent to evangelize, they would have to “be” with Jesus (cf. Mark 3:14), establishing a personal relationship with him. With this foundation, evangelization is no more than a proclamation of what has been experienced and an invitation to enter into the mystery of communion with Christ (cf. 1 John 13).”
- Pope Benedict XVI, March 22, 2006
He stresses a relationship with Christ all the time... whether in church, world youth days or addressing/writing to the seminarians.