Comments on: Things NOT To Do At A Catholic Mass: Lesson One

By: Curtis

Curtis — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:51:34 +0000

Michael,
Sorry, I did not mean to insinuate anything about anyone else’s practice. I think we can agree on the broader point, that if Jesus is a symbol, then to Hell with Christianity.

By: iMonk

iMonk — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:30:18 +0000

Curtis

***sigh***

By: Curtis

Curtis — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:23:37 +0000

I think the quote, while being a bit inept and illogical, is charming and also true at its core. I’m sorry you’ve heard it used as a description of your creed.

But to be frank, in our Church, symbolism is a penny a pound. And the Eucharist is very costly for us, in terms of emotional involvement, fasting, preparation, confession, adoration and so on, and if it’s just another symbol, then, yes, to Hell with it. We’ve plenty of those already.

It’s like a magician who promises to pull a rabbit out of his hat. He might pull out a few handkerchiefs to build up the crowd’s anticipation, but if, in the end, he doesn’t actually have a rabbit in there, then spare us and get off the stage already!

By: aliasmoi

aliasmoi — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:45:42 +0000

I’m not Catholic and that quote doesn’t offend me. Though, I am proclaiming myself agnostic on the issue. I also think whether it’s the *Real Presence* or not that many Protestant groups don’t treat it with appropriate reverence.

By: iMonk

iMonk — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:42:08 +0000

“I was once, five or six years ago, taken by some friends to have dinner with Mary McCarthy and her husband, Mr. Broadwater. (She just wrote that book, A Charmed Life.) She departed the Church at the age of 15 and is a Big Intellectual. We went at eight and at one, I hadn’t opened my mouth once, there being nothing for me in such company to say…. Having me there was like having a dog present who had been trained to say a few words but overcome with inadequacy had forgotten them.

Well, toward morning the conversation turned on the Eucharist, which I, being the Catholic, was obviously supposed to defend. Mrs. Broadwater said when she was a child and received the host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being the most portable person of the Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was a pretty good one. I then said, in a very shaky voice, Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.”

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:32:07 +0000

I’m having a hard time figuring out what the story is here. Has anyone criticized the PM for this? Seems like a perfectly innocent mistake…one that I observe at just about every Catholic wedding I attend. The priest should’ve been more careful, but mistakes happen, you know.

iMonk: What Flannery O’Connor quote are you referring to?

Random observation: Roman Catholics rarely use say “RC” amongst ourselves. The first time I heard anyone say this, my first thought was “Radio Controlled Church?”

By: sue kephart

sue kephart — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:51:30 +0000

Steve,

I don’t mean to imply any secret knowledge. But like all of Christian belief if one refuses to accept it, it doesn’t make it secret. I am in agreement with you on your comment.

By: iMonk

iMonk — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:45:51 +0000

My point was nothing more than a wink and a prod at those RCs who have enjoyed that famous Flannery quote and cited it as if it were our creed. We find it as inadequate as some of what RCs have read on here.

As a Baptist, I recognize my own tradition has done a lot of damage to its own view of worship, the LS, etc by its rejection of confessionalism, etc.

But it’s not just the “high view” of the sacraments team that feels unappreciated Just a nod in the direction of fairness. No snark.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:45:30 +0000

Sue I disagree to some extent that it is a sort of secret knowledge. Jesus did say no man could come to Him in the Eucharist but by the Spirit, but our brothers and sisters in Christ have the Spirit yet some do not see. I think perhaps the Holy Spirit gave me a nudge toward Christ on the altar but it was the scripture and the historical record of the fathers that I could hang my hat on regarding this teaching. That being said I think just contemplating the beautiful leads us to the truth just the same, and we become what we eat, a mystical participation in the humanity of the second Adam. It must be true because it is beautiful. He holds nothing back that which He can give, Christ humanity is in my flesh as well as my spirit, total union with the divine, I love it! I agree this is not a debate, love is what beholds Him.

By: o.h.

o.h. — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:38:41 +0000

Michael, I don’t understand your point. You’re surely not saying “tit for tat–some of y’all’s team is disrespectful of my beliefs, so my team gets to be disrespectful of y’all’s.”

Having grown up surrounded by Baptists, I’m very grateful for the education you’ve given me about Baptist views of communion (much more theologically nuanced than I imagined or had been explained to me!) and Baptist ecclesiology.

You’ve often, with gentleness, pointed out where Catholics, and others, ignorantly or uncharitably misunderstand or even insult Baptist or Evangelical distinctives. I’m grateful for that, and have learned from that, sometimes with a pang of contrition in my heart from recognizing my own ignorance or lack of charity. And I hope that I would never have “tossed that quote” at you.

But nobody brought up that quote in this thread. Can you give us who object to “styrofoam wafer” sorts of comments the benefit of the doubt–that we, individual brothers and sisters in Christ, and not part of an internet “team”–wish also to be respectful to your beliefs?