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sdreidy
Member
| Joined: | Sat May 5th, 2007 |
| Location: | Oklahoma USA |
| Posts: | 9 |
| First Name: | shawn | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Assembly of God, Southern Baptist |
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Posted: Sat May 5th, 2007 11:39 pm |
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Hi,
I am brand new to the Forum. Most of my contact with the Catholic Church is still through books right now. I read a book Catholic Matters by Richard John Nuehaus last week and found it interesting. He talks alot about the church pre Vatican II and Post Vatican II. Most of what he talked about was new to me. Has anyone read it? What did you think about his observations?
I attend Mass at a university parish. Things seem traditional to me, but the Priest seems progressive in his homilies. Are there a wide variety of styles in the American Parishes?
shawn
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5080 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sun May 6th, 2007 02:17 am |
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sdreidy wrote: Hi,
I am brand new to the Forum. Most of my contact with the Catholic Church is still through books right now. I read a book Catholic Matters by Richard John Nuehaus last week and found it interesting. He talks alot about the church pre Vatican II and Post Vatican II. Most of what he talked about was new to me. Has anyone read it? What did you think about his observations?
I attend Mass at a university parish. Things seem traditional to me, but the Priest seems progressive in his homilies. Are there a wide variety of styles in the American Parishes?
shawn
First of all, welcome to CHN, Shawn. We're glad to have you here with us, and we welcome you to the Catholic faith as well. We welcome your questions, and we'll do our best to answer any questions you might have. All questions, sincerely asked, are welcomed here.
I haven't read the book you mention. Maybe some of our other users have. We have talked in several threads about the differences in the Church before and after Vatican II, and how that has affected the average Catholic. As you look around you'll see some of the threads; let us know if you need help finding them.
Yes, there is a huge variety of styles among Catholic parishes in the United States. University parishes, as with universities themselves, tend to be someone liberal in thought and action, as students tend to be more liberal in their thoughts than they will be later in their lives. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Styles vary by area, ethnic concentration, age of the population, etc. And yes, the priest has a lot to do with the style of a parish.
There is also a tremendous variation between the various Rites of the Catholic Churches (Roman Catholic Church, Byzantine Catholic Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church, Maronite Catholic Church, etc.). Depending on where you live, anywhere from many to just one of the various Churches might be available. And the expressions of faith vary from Charismatic to African American to Polish to Greek to Latin to the standard English mass, and even an Anglican liturgy, all fully Catholic and fully united to Rome. They are all a vital part of the Universal (i.e., "Catholic") Church.
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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JasPax
Member
| Joined: | Wed Nov 22nd, 2006 |
| Location: | North Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 214 |
| First Name: | James | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Episcopal to Catholic |
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Posted: Sun May 6th, 2007 07:00 am |
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Hello Shawn: Welcome. We hope to see more of your questions.
I have the book, Catholic Matters, and I enjoyed it and have referred to it again from time to time.
Fr. Neuhaus, a convert, was a Lutheran Minister. He is a very busy man being Editor of First Things magazine and President of The Institute on Religion and Public Life.
And, most importantly, he is a Parish Priest. I love the last few lines of the book Catholic Matters: pp.247-248
"If the Catholic Church is what she claims to be, and I am convinced that she is, then every moment from Pentecost to the coming of the promised Kingdom is the Catholic moment. Despite the unfaithfulness of many, including bishops, popes, and Catholics beyond numbering, Christ is faithful. From the assurance of the risen Lord to Peter and the frightened disciples by the Sea of Galilee to the election of John Paul II in October 1978 and of Benedict in April 2005 His word is sure. 'Be not afraid.' The center holds. The adventure continues."
And then he writes: "It happened again this morning. At my working-class parish of Immaculate Conception at First Avenue and Fourteenth Street in Manhatten. The older Italians and Irish, the younger blacks and Hispanics, along with the preternaturally devout Filipinos who are almost a third of the parish. The familiar ritual, the familiar words, and Christ did it again, just as he said he would. ...It is the Mass that holds the Church together, which is to say it is Christ truly present in the Mass. It will continue to happen until he returns in Glory."
There's a lot more where this comes from. I recommend the book to everyone. But, Shawn, I choose these lines to illustrate that no matte what diverse things you might see or hear from an individual priest or catholic layperson, the essential Church will never change. Individuals can't stray too far from the historic Faith - it pulls them back to the Truth. That's why I am Catholic.
God's Many Blessings,
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James
"Abide in me, and I in you..." John 15:4
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." John 6:56
RSV-2CE
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