I can’t stand “low church” Protestant worship; the dearth of symbolism, the arbitrary service structure, music that lacks theological depth (contemporary) or is rarely performed correctly (traditional hymns). I love Orthodox liturgy, but as a Calvinist, I’m fairly uncomfortable in some of the finer but vital points of their theology. I’m wary of falling into the trap of “christian consumersim” and church hopping; commitment to one’s body and community is vital. How would fleeing to another denomination or church body fix this error?

My question is that this post and ensuing discussion clearly spells out the problem at hand; what can be the solution? What can we do, having acknowleged and repented of our poverty, to solve this?

I spent 15 years in a Presbyterian church of solid Reformed orthodoxy. The overarching theme of Reformed theology seems, to me, to be the Sovereignty of God. Irresistible grace, unconditional election . . . so many of the elements of reformed belief highlight the all-encompassing power of God. In my view, if there is an element of the Gospel that likewise permeates Catholic belief, it is the Incarnation. The wonder and scandal of sovereign God becoming truly and fully man was the pivot point of salvation history and, rightly understood, is the organizing focus of Catholic belief and practice.

In my view, that’s the key to the absence of Mystery, Awe and Otherness in Evangelical churches. The Catholic Church is shot through and through with the sacraments — outward expressions of inner actions of God. God really becomes present in Holy Communion; God forms a real bond between the husband and wife in matrimony; God accomplishes full restoration with his Body when I confess my sins in the sacrament of Reconciliation. The power in the individual’s life isn’t based on our intellectual acceptance of God’s truth — it comes from the same invasion into our territory by God himself as the original amazing God-made-man.

In the absence of that real and present dwelling of Christ on the altar and among the people of God, why is it surprising that worship becomes analytical or dry? It’s not the fault of wholehearted Evangelical believers. It’s the fact that you don’t even get to kiss your sister — you only get to kiss the letter your lover wrote you. Cold comfort, in my humble opinion.

PS. For those of your readers that don’t understand, the Latin Rite does not mean that it is celebrated in Latin. It is just a way to differentiate between the Rites of the Catholic Church–I think we have well over 20 of them–I live in KS, where the overwhelming majority of Masses are of the Roman Rite (vernacular).

I just have to chime in and say thanks. Great post and very pervocative. I just can’t figure out why you get in so much less trouble than me for writing these posts

It is like somebody that lived all their lives in say lower Manhattan, arriving in Florence and complaining about the lack of magnificent buildings, because he is looking for constructions 100 stories high – and missing the Duomo.

To receive the Eucharist weekly – that is deep spirituality. To say the Nicene creed together with other believers – that is deep spirituality, especially when you realise that you are saying it in the historically connected church of 2 millenia – “transchronic spirituality”.

Maybe we should ask – what is this “spirituality” that we want? Maybe when we define that, we’ll realise why the modern evangelical church is deficient of MAO.

I can’t think of a better description of the Mass, in Heaven and on earth, the wedding banquet of Jesus and His Bride, the Church.

After being raised mostly in Bible churches I stumbled into an Anglican church mostly as a result of reading Lewis and L’Engle. I found a sense of mystery and a delight in God’s beauty as expressed through the arts that was almost entirely missing from the Evangelical churches I knew. My first Sunday when I knelt with everyone else for the Eucharist (first time in my life in that context) I was struck with a sense of having finally come to a church where I felt I was part of something bigger than myself. It answered my hunger for a beauty that transcended the normalcy of my life.

Incidentally, I think that a lot of people in my generation (twenty-something) are looking for that. Obviously my postmodern generation is in desperate need of a solid, Scriptural grounding for our minds, but I think few of us will respond long term to Biblical knowledge if it is devoid of a beauty to capture our souls. I’m just hoping the Evangelical church can revive its forgotten imagination and bring mystery back to life for this time.