Instructional Liturgy of the Catholic Mass

For some Christians who may not be familiar with the historic practices of Christian worship, the Catholic Mass might come as something not only foreign but slightly intimidating.  This is true for anything that we may encounter for the first time.  Even for Christians that have attended liturgical churches for a majority of their lives, it is easy to become accustomed to the movements of the liturgy.  Growing deeper in our understanding of Christian worship can lead us to new ways of thinking about our faith both as we come to receive God's grace, and as we go into the world to serve.  The following video is offered from the Chicago Diocese of the Catholic Church called "Draw Near" that gives an explanation of the Catholic Mass.

This second video gives an explanation of worship from the perspective of a small Anglican church, in Cornwall, part of the Diocese of Truro, St Bartholemew's Church.   It is provided here because it is catholic in its orientation, and shows what worship is like in a small Anglican parish church.

Meditation and Peace from Christ Lutheran

One of the goals of this blog has been to focus on Christian worship that is historic, catholic, ecumenical and sacramental.  It is my premise that all historic Christian worship follows a basic form, and although there is freedom in that form, and there is slight variation between different traditions, it essentially moves the worshippers to the same place, underlined by the same theology of worship.  Some churches may use more liturgy or others less, and sometimes people will speak of "high" church and "low" church, but historical Christian worship always divided into a Liturgy of the Word and a Liturgy of the Sacraments.  There is also cultural considerations as well, musical instrumentation, and other forms of creative expression may vary from place to place.  

Worship should also lead us into the presence of God and help us to enter into a meditative space.  The video above is a peaceful meditation titled "Three and a half minutes of peace" from Christ Church (Lutheran) in San Francisco.  Play it, and take some time to close your eyes.  Draw deep breaths and slowly exhale as you hear the words of this beautiful piece.  

There is another link on this blog "Five Christian Traditions at a Glance" downloadable pdf document that outlines five historic Christian traditions and the movements of worship in each.

Five Christian Traditions At A Glance

ELCA approves Lutheran-Catholic "Declaration of the Way"

In a major step towards Christian unity, the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops and the ELCA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, approved the document "Declaration of the Way".   The document lays out 32 statements of agreement between the Catholics and Lutherans, where there is no disagreement on church, ministry and the Eucharist.

A step prior to this was the joint Declaration on Justification, in 1999.  Below are links to these important documents.


Joint Statement on Justification (Vatican)

Declaration of the Way

Church of England and Church of Scotland Reach Historic Agreement

The Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Church of England has reached a historic agreement almost 500 years after the reformation.  Once these two groups who were once very antagonistic towards each other have not moved to recognizing each other's clergy and members.

Columba Declaration

Anglican News