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the importance of spiritual growth
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It is a common notion that Tootsie pops are not truly satisfying until one discovers what is on the inside. You have to get through the hard-crunchy layers in order to find something good in the end. My experience from emerging myself into the Catholic faith was something quite hard to do in the beginning. The stereotypes of the Catholic faith and even my own faith all played factors into making this immersion plan very difficult. However, with stepping out of my comfort zone, and attending The University Parish of Saint John the Evangelist Church, I discovered The Order of Mass and many similarities with my faith and Catholicism. I have always been interested in the Catholic faith, but always petrified to step inside a Catholic church. …show more content…
It was what I had be waiting patiently on all day; The times for The University Parish of Saint John the Evangelist Church. After receiving the times for the church, I immediately started questioning myself as if I had made the wrong decision.
“Is this something I really want to do?”
“What will I really get out of this?” It was a bright Sunday morning and it was the day I would attend a Catholic church. I woke up at 10:00 prepared to prove to myself that I could attend this church and not have any worries. Upon arrival at The University Parish of Saint John the Evangelist I was quite nervous. I did not know what to expect.
“Was the church going to be
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The song is a very simple song that goes, “The Lord be with you, and your spirit.” The Liturgy of the Word, ‘includes another prayer as well as the same song. ‘The Liturgy of the Eucharist,’ includes the Eucharistic prayer with notes to sing a song.
As if this was all, the priest surprised with all of similarities between the Catholic Faith and my faith. We both read the same bible. We both believed that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. It was even to my surprise that the priest spoke in and English. All my stereotypes about ‘Catholics being mean’ were broken just like that. I never knew that by simply emerging myself into a different faith that I would discover so many beautiful aspects. If someone were to speak negatively on Catholics, I would tell them that they are the nicest people ever and are really welcoming, just based on my experience with
Lawrence S. Cunningham's The Catholic Faith: An Introduction is a difficult book to muster up a response to. One is tempted to quip "there it no there there,"although more accurately I would say that there is little there that inspires much more than an indifferent shrug in response. Perhaps the blame lay in the purpose of the book, which is set out first to not be "an encyclopedia of Catholic trivia" (Cunningham, 8). I was disappointed to read this, since while an explanation of the meaning of the different titles and offices in the Catholic hierarchy, or an explanation of the various vestments and ceremonies may be "trivia" to some, at least it is information. Had I spent my time with this book acquiring a knowledge of these facts, I could claim to have added something to my education, albeit maybe only some banalities, lacking in profundity. Instead, what does the book set out to be? Cunningham seeks to "provide an account, as fully as space allows, of the texture of the Catholic experience and the bases for that experience" (9). I have learned to be a little nervous on reading words like "texture" used in this way; usually the author is unintentionally trying to warn the critically-trained reader away. Doubly so with the word "experience," as in hackneyed phrases like "the African American Experience" or the "Gulf War Experience." Such writings have established that they do not wish do deal in facts, nor in reasoned argument to support their conclusions. They deal in "impressions," to complement the "textures" that they will be skimming the surface of. Their primary justification for their existence is that each person's "experience" is of value, and no one...
The church external appearance was quite different than other churches that I have seen. It was basically a big white stucco block with a gold dome on top and four decorated spikes on each corner of the building that surrounded the dome. The people of course were all Greek and were very well dressed. Most of the men and boys all wore suits, and If not they had some kind of vest on. I don’t know if this was some kind of rule or tradition, but it mostly seemed as a respect to God. The women all wore the basic dresses, and all the skirts fell down below the knee. Everybody was proper and ordered. As I walked in the church I entered a lobby of some kind. What I saw hear was something like social hour. Everybody was in there. They were all speaking Greek, and I felt as if I was in a family reunion party. The children were all together; the adults talked together and the young adults all were together. The way they all socialize is when someone comes up to say hello, they give each other a kiss on the cheek and a hug. These people are all very close to each other. It seems as if the church is the center of their lives. I admire that trait as well. To enter the auditorium you must enter this little room, which has a piece of garment from St. Constantine and St. Helen. Also there were candles lit. As they walked through this little room they lit a candle and knelt down for a moment to pray, and then touched each garment and made a cross over their chest.
...wledge of the Catholic Church and its rituals. In my life, I have always placed all of my interest towards life sciences such as chemistry and biology. That is the reason why I am studying chemistry on a pre-medicine route here at Saint Louis University. Although, after taking a tour of the Cathedral Basilica and almost completing Theological Foundations 1000, I have gained a better appreciation for the Catholic faith. It may seem at times as though I am uninterested in the topics discussed, but that is not always the case. Learning about faith to someone who did not grow up with it can be difficult and frustrating. It is all a learning process, and I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunities I did this semester. I hope in the future, I will be able to take more time to appreciate the Catholic faith, and to dig deeper into what it truly means to be a Catholic
I love the feeling I get every time I step into the youth room at my church. It’s a reassuring feeling that, no matter what I’ve been through during the day, everything is going to be just fine. I grew up knowing that God was in control of my life and He has a plan for me. I know that I can rely on Him for everything. Walking into the youth room Wednesday nights serve as a sweet reminder that I’m supposed to be here, doing what I’m doing.
Once the service started, my friend showed me where the schedule for the service was and what each number meant. There were different colors of numbers in the book and those indicated what section the reading or song was coming from. This was different from the church that I attend because we have a choir and a band that plays the songs and if you wish to join in you can but for the Catholic Church there is, no choir and the members of the church are the ones who sing. After some singing, the priest came up to talk and this is very different from what I expected. I was used to flipping through the channels and seeing the catholic churches with the priest who were a ...
I should probably give you a little background to the story first. Imagine an awkward, lanky little eleven-year-old girl. Yep, that girl would be me. I had just started going to this new church called The Church in St. Amant, a small church filled with a bunch of country people from the back roads of St. Amant. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating; they aren’t that bad, but this setting is a lot different from the traditional catholic churches I am used to attending.
My first stop was the grand city of Philadelphia. There, an incredible 8,000 souls turned out to hear the Word preached. I scarcely could believe my eyes at first. We couldn’t fit in any church, so we were forced to go outside.
The church was like a second home to me. The familiar smell that lingered with you, but you’d never think it had existed, until you got the scent of it. I had gone to many different churches, but the smell of them was the only thing that stuck with me. They all smelt the same, felt the same; but today felt different.
As I stood at the front of the church I could taste the salty tears that silently rolled down my cheeks. I could hear people crying, sniffling, and consoling each other. It was an endless routine of shaking hands or giving awkward hugs trying to keep it together.
My journey through this course has greatly influenced my perception on faith. As I mentioned in the beginning of this course, I grew up practicing the Catholic faith. I was baptized, received Communion, and was Confirmed in the Catholic Church. Growing up, I never thought my perception of faith would change. I was raised a Catholic, attended Catholic school my whole life, and attended Church every Sunday. The Catholic teachings and traditions were practiced in my family for years before I was born, but this course has opened my mind to many different ideas and beliefs. Some beliefs that have influenced my thinking are Monasticism and Inclusivism. Given that religion is a very personal aspect of my life, I decided to analyze what I’ve learned during this course in depth.
In my life, I am defined as a Catholic through and through. Unfortunately, being a Catholic has an incredibly negative reputation in the U.S. making it rather difficult to identify as such. Frequent persecution, questioning, dirty looks, a never ending torrent of 'did you knows,' but I take it in stride. Like many of those around me, I questioned the Church from a young age so I began to seek out why exactly people believed these crazy ideas. Much to my surprise, there was more than enough information and resources to answer even my most critical questions. Hungrily, I would search prayers, saints, laws, sins, every little bit of information I could get my hands on and, unlike many would expect, I became a more accepting, more loving person
I conducted a church site visit to a church by the name of Blessed Family of God on Sunday November 20, 2016. Service was scheduled to start at 1030 am. It did not get underway until approximately 1045 am. My visit to this church is a visit that I will always remember. This church was located next to a used tire shop. So needless to say the outside looked nothing like a church besides a small petite sign taped on the bottom right side of the door. They had a little parking sign that the church had made to show that the parking lot was to the rear of the building. As I walked into the church it was a sight, there was nothing but chairs, and a media box office that they built, but from the picture and symbols all around the building I knew I was in a church of God. I haven’t been in any church for a Sunday service in at least 20 years. I felt out of place. Walking in a was met by three people first a young lady named Mrs. Renea who handed
Instead I went into the church, took a Bulletin, dipped my finger in Holy Water and genuflected. The inside of the church smelled like damp wood and furniture polish, not alive at all. My father took off his coat and draped it over the edge of the...
The people there were all extremely nice and would try to help me understand. They understood and accepted the fact that I wasn’t religious, but was showing interest in their faith. There were not as much people there as I had expected, but that might have been because it was a smaller church. It also wasn’t as racially diverse as I had expected. I thought that because it is the world’s biggest religion, that it
It may seem a little bit strange, but my favorite place in town in none other than this beautiful Evangelic Church. However, it wasn’t always so.