tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post5308475934950223426..comments2024-02-14T14:53:03.810-07:00Comments on Καθολικός διάκονος: "Go, therefore and make disciples..."Deacon Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01385969740195992108noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post-34593594013774594562011-04-06T09:02:29.818-06:002011-04-06T09:02:29.818-06:00I think that many in the lay movement in the Churc...I think that many in the lay movement in the Church are trying to address the intimidation people feel toward scripture. Things are changing, I think; slowly.Dan Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post-73740103719769157102011-04-06T08:03:17.546-06:002011-04-06T08:03:17.546-06:00I certainly agree about the centrality of liturgy/...I certainly agree about the centrality of liturgy/communal worship and how it shapes and forms us. However, even by saying it is central we imply there are other things. Too often "being a Christian" doesn't consist of much more than going to church, whether you are Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox. Being evangelical certainly requires more than this.<br /><br />One of the problems, as Pope Benedict noted frequently prior to becoming pope, is that the reformed Roman Rite is now enacted as a closed circle, with the priest facing the congregation- lex orandi, lex credendi. I am convinced that if he could think of a way to re-orient the priest at the altar without a massive upheaval, he would do it. Again, we miss something important if fail to understand that Mass implies being dismissed, having received Christ and becoming what we receive together, we are sent forth- "Go..." The Mass does not exist as an end in itself. Henri De Lubac wrote a great piece a long time ago now about how even eucharistic devotion is often defective in much this same way, especially when it is cut-off, or virtually cut-off, from the living liturgy.<br /><br />Another issue today, as one my mentors, Msgr M Francis Mannion used to say, is the laity all want to serve in the sanctuary and priests want to work in the world. Maybe this is the ecclesial version of the- grass-is-always-greener syndrome, who knows? <br /><br />While we don't want to pretend to a kind of absolute certainty we just don't have and probably can't attain, we need to be careful about trying to be too relevant, watering things down too much If I have not found Jesus to be the answer for me, which is rooted in experience, then how can I credibly proclaim Him to others? <br /><br />Having been Catholic for 21 years, I am still amazed at how little Catholics know about Scripture and how intimidated they are by the Bible.Dcn Scott Dodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994604395739905637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254272216866737058.post-7318212048454333082011-04-06T07:38:21.797-06:002011-04-06T07:38:21.797-06:00Perhaps some of the problem is the loss of recogni...Perhaps some of the problem is the loss of recognizing just what liturgy is. The west has developed a sense of passivity in the Mass and I think that this passivity was inherited by the Protestant reformers. Going out is a natural part of the meaning of liturgy (the work of the people).<br /><br />In liturgy, we participate together in community gathered in sacrament (present), in sacrifice (past made present), and in heavenly banquet (eternity made present). Evangelization (the going out)is the continuation of what we celebrate on Sunday. <br /><br />I don't know if many Catholics really understand that and have let that reality transform them. And unfortaunately, many Protestants and Evangelicals have lost that understanding of liturgy in their worship.Dan Snoreply@blogger.com