I'm a fan of Paltalk. People from all over the world come together to discuss...whatever. Can't give a link to it, but if you Google it you can find how to join the community. Anyhow, I'm a former Roman Catholic and every time I visit a Catholic room I'm beckoned to come back to the Eucharist. I'm told how every Protestant is not receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist when receiving Holy Communion. I have such a hard time with that. In our church, we have weekly communion and it is an awesome experience.
Furthermore, I have issues with every this and that from all the communities that profess that they have some special enlightened discernment of God's word. I have issues with the InJesus community, as I do with the Roman Catholic community. I have issues. But I don't have issues with how Christ works in each and every individual who approaches Him in faith. I pray that every individual who seeks the love of Our Lord finds it...and grows from it. I believe that God is bigger than denominations, and that He works in us all, individually, to bring His glory to the table. Period.
4 comments:
Hey, we all have issues. I wrote a post yesterday about eucharistic theology. Regarding that, I agree that God works in all of us individually but also that God works in us as a community as well...
I tend to be fairly ignorant of Catholic doctrine, but it saddens me greatly when any of two parties who both claim to have faith in Jesus choose to shoot the other down rather than build them up.
I have friends with a Catholic upbringing who are very much joined with us but still enjoy going to mass occasionally. I totally applaud that and I intend to go with them myself some time. But they sometimes get hassle off some other Catholics who tell them that they've left the faith - implying that they're no longer saved. (Interestingly, also via the Internet, not in person as far as I know.)
Yet I've met many Catholics who I would describe as born again - placing their faith in Jesus and not in the Catholic religious experience that they also love/prefer.
I find the diversity in Christ's body to be quite beautiful, reflecting the diversity in creation and in created man.
I think in all churches, regardless of denomination, there are those who place their faith in Jesus and those who place their faith in the religious experience.
Our responsibility has to be to help those in our care to place their faith in Jesus and only in Jesus. This is equally an issue, regardless of denomination, "stream" or what have you. People are initially attracted/intrigued/comforted by the way we do things. We'd better make sure it all points to Jesus as the sole basis of our faith.
We are not "the only way" - He is!
Art, Mark,
Thanks for your input. I sometimes go into a tirade when decent, respectable Christians get too caught up in their cultural religious perspectives. It is, after all, all about Jesus. I don't care if a Catholic believes in transubstantiation (the bread and wine truly becoming the very essence of Christ's presence) or whatever other "substantiation" there is...I believe that Jesus is with us, each, individually at the time of communion. Imagine this...Jesus says, "come dine with me". That's enough for me. Yep, I'll come and enjoy the presence of this wonderful host.
Just got home from weekly communion tonight and I have to say, I dined with Jesus. It was totally, as always, awesome.
(I deleted and reposted as I misspelled "transubstantiation".
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