I have had Catholic radio on lately out of interest.

I was baptised a Methodist.

I have a Mass on this morning. There are men chanting like monks and bells ringing I hear. I've seen pictures of them performed on videos too. The priests kiss the altar.

I'm now asking myself, "Where in the Bible is Mass, bells ringing at the altar, chanting and genuflecting covered"?

What is the biblical manner in which Jesus Christ prescribed worship, sacraments, liturgy and rituals? Where are holy days of obligation and "ascension" covered?

I do know that Christ covered the Lord's Prayer and I hear that said during the Mass on the radio but Catholics leave out "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever".

Jonathan Bailey said:

I was baptised a Methodist.

I have a Mass on this morning. There are men chanting like monks and bells ringing I hear. I've seen pictures of them performed on videos too. The priests kiss the altar.

I'm now asking myself, "Where in the Bible is Mass, bells ringing at the altar, chanting and genuflecting covered"?

What is the biblical manner in which Jesus Christ prescribed worship, sacraments, liturgy and rituals? Where are holy days of obligation and "ascension" covered?

I do know that Christ covered the Lord's Prayer and I hear that said during the Mass on the radio but Catholics leave out "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever".

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Obviously the scriptures aren't telling everything that happens in the mass. What could it mean? I think it means just that. Not everything is written down.

Jonathan Bailey said:

I'm now asking myself, "Where in the Bible is Mass, bells ringing at the altar, chanting and genuflecting covered"?

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The mass is a liturgical celebration of Jesus' life and message, with the high point being the Eucharist (communion), which is a commemoration of Jesus' command to "take and eat... take and drink... do this in rememberance of me".

Genuflecting involves a short prayer to commit ourselves "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit", so I fail to see why you think that's so wrong.

Kissing the alter is giving honor and respect to Jesus because the alter itself is symbolic of Jesus' tomb.

Jonathan Bailey said:

What is the biblical manner in which Jesus Christ prescribed worship, sacraments, liturgy and rituals? Where are holy days of obligation and "ascension" covered?

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Since Jesus was Jewish operating out of Judaism, he well would know and practice rituals and special days set aside for worship. Catholic holy days take on what happened with Jesus, like his ascension into heaven, and some other holy days commemorate some other things. So, what's supposedly so wrong about this?

Jonathan Bailey said:

I do know that Christ covered the Lord's Prayer and I hear that said during the Mass on the radio but Catholics leave out "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever".

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The latter is called a "midrash", and it does not show up in the earliest copies of the gospel. It probably was added by some scribe but we don't know when nor whom.

Where in the Bible does it say to post to the internet questions and statements about itself? It does not exist yet you posted about it .

David T said:

Where in the Bible does it say to post to the internet questions and statements about itself? It does not exist yet you posted about it .

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Nowhere. And I admit "Methodist" or "Protestant", like "Catholic" doesn't show up in the Bible. I can't even recall seeing the term CHRISTIAN in the Book but Christ had original followers called DISCIPLES.

But CHURCH, GOD, LORD, JESUS CHRIST and HOLY GHOST are enumerated in the King James Version.

metis said:

The mass is a liturgical celebration of Jesus' life and message, with the high point being the Eucharist (communion), which is a commemoration of Jesus' command to "take and eat... take and drink... do this in remembrance of me".

Genuflecting involves a short prayer to commit ourselves "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit", so I fail to see why you think that's so wrong.

Kissing the alter is giving honor and respect to Jesus because the alter itself is symbolic of Jesus' tomb.

Since Jesus was Jewish operating out of Judaism, he well would know and practice rituals and special days set aside for worship. Catholic holy days take on what happened with Jesus, like his ascension into heaven, and some other holy days commemorate some other things. So, what's supposedly so wrong about this?

The latter is called a "midrash", and it does not show up in the earliest copies of the gospel. It probably was added by some scribe but we don't know when nor whom.

Click to expand...

I thought the altar was a place of sacrifice and a place of redemption from our sins in the case of Christ. Christ made His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary for our salvation and not directly in the grave. It might seem more fitting to kiss the foot of the cross to revere the Ultimate Gift from God, his only begotten Son, to die that we might be saved. The grave symbolizes death. The cross symbolizes eternal life.

Jonathan Bailey said:

I thought the altar was a place of sacrifice and a place of redemption from our sins in the case of Christ.

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It's both. [see below]

Jonathan Bailey said:

Christ made His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary for our salvation and not directly in the grave. The grave symbolizes death. The cross symbolizes eternal life.

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The cross and the grave were involved in Jesus' death, and it's his rising from the grave that's also quite significant. If you go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, you can go into where it's believed Jesus was laid in the tomb, and it is very much a moving experience for the faithful as you'll see people from all different branches of Christianity there whom recognize it as a very special place.

Therefore, both the altar and the cross have significance for the faithful.

Jonathan Bailey said:

I do know that Christ covered the Lord's Prayer and I hear that said during the Mass on the radio but Catholics leave out "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever".

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It is the prayer from Luke which is the shorter version. The thinking is that it would have been unthinkable that Luke would have deleted the prayer spoken by Jesus, and that Matthew added to it.