Happy Sunday Zig Forums! How was Mass/Divine Liturgy/Church for you today?
I went to a Greek Catholic Church church today to see what the Divine Liturgy was like, I thought it was beautiful but definitely not for me. I feel a little guilty for not being at my regular Parish today.
Divine Liturgy is certainly something special. I've been once when I was curious about the EO and I'll always remember, especially the procession of the Body and Blood through the congregation. I'm an organist though so RIP me.
I had to play at an Episcopagan church today. Thankfully it wasn't a "ban the guns" homily this time, though I think the woman celebrant was heavily implying a "let's love the gays" message in her homily. It always makes me sad when I'm there because they have such a beautiful translation of the Mass (I'd say it might even be the best English version) and a great hymnal, but it's ruined by some of the most rampant modernism out there. I'm sure C.S. Lewis would not be pleased.
It was nice, actually. We had a really large crowd today because Wrestlemania is in town (New Orleans). I got to meet a whole bunch of new people and share fellowship with them.
God bless you user
Kudos to you man, I don't know if I could tolerate more than a few minutes of that. The divine Liturgy was unique, but I prefer my Gregorian Chants and having moments of silent contemplation.
That's one of the most American things I've ever heard but still pretty heart warming
God bless you too!
I tried going to church for the first time today, and I didn't like it much. I want more of a personal relationship with God and will keep praying at home instead of going to church.
What about church do you not like? I used to be pretty nervous about going out in public and I'm the only member of my family in this town so going somewhere new was initially pretty hard. But now Iv'e come to love my parish and enjoy the time I get to spend there.
Good times. Sermon was very true but, oddly, God had taught me the exact lesson of the sermon about two weeks early so really could have used that sermon three weeks ago but… God must've wanted to teach me personally.
Worship always nice, although the pentacostal songs are sometimes theologically unsound, with bugs the crap out of me almost as much as the fact that my pastor agrees but doesn't change them.
Iv'e experienced things like that before, I always felt that It was God's way of reaffirming this to me, encouraging me to stay fast in my faith
it felt forced and not very religious. Also things I disagree with.
You should look around, it took me awhile to find the parish that I felt like I fit in with, it just takes time
It's Pascha, so it was my first Paschal vigil. I got to carry the cross for the procession.
Christ is risen!
may heaven smile upon you all this week
yikes!
It was a Melkite Parish, they where friendly enough but I felt pretty out of place being mostly familiar with the Latin Rite
Christ is risen indeed
Truly He is Risen! Congratulations on joining the Church and what a great way to celebrate it all!
It was my first Pascha too, today everyone was pretty tired from the service last night, but it was well worth it because it was AMAZING.
I keep feeling miserable: wanted to go to confession, but too many conflicting thoughts kept crawling from the recesses of my mind…I keep on doing the same sins over and over, and I feel less and less regret, just a sense of tiredness, like I have already reached the bottom of this hole and I'm now gnawing away at the dirt of the ground.
I believe, but I also cannot let go of the past and accept his forgiveness for I cannot forgive myself.
I stood there, there was God waiting for me behind that priest to hear me confess my sins and help me start again, instead I brooded and stood still with gloomy intents passing through my mind and hiding the sun of His love.
So no man sins against his will, so no man is forgiven against his will. If you wish to order yourself, user, you must accept your God-given life and thereupon God's infinite mercy which sustains it. Go to your priest as soon as possible and explain what you have written to him, and confess to him with God in mind. Our Lord wishes you nothing but the best, as you know.
In all honesty, I’m fed up with priests and with people in general…the first are too foolishly mundane in their emasculated “kindness” (their words always come out like hypocritically gentle, and they do not instill fear of sin and a true desire to repent in me), and people are like myself only I don’t know what horrors lurk under those bags of skin and flesh.
I’m sorry to come out like this, but I’m tired of this masquerade and facade of “joy” as hollow as my heart is right now.
God has risen indeed, but I’m still in the fetid tomb of my sins, which squirming movements make it look like my carcass is still alive.
From a merely “Western” point of view, just looking at my material successes, I am a borderline failure: sure, I got a job and I save some money et the end of each month, but everything else is as a mess as , if not a reflection of my internal chaos, mental and spiritual. I read and still chew through books on all this, from the teachings of the Bible and great saints of God to the modern snake oil-tier self-aid and organisation books. I’m able, from time to time, to hold on to hope; yet after only a few weeks it wains away as it was nothing…maybe God revoked His faith from me, and this is but a taste of the Hell which awaits me, forever removed from His light, left in the dark to maniacally blame Him for my faults and punching others and myself in the darkest gloom whilst tormented by fallen angels.
Stop whining like a petulant child. Go to your priest and confess you sins.
I tried, but this sense of disgust overwhelmed everything: can’t make a good confession when you feel nothing but contempt for the confessor and hatred for yourself.
Read the bible and pray for wisdom friend, you don't need a man to tell your sins too, confess and repent to God, life isn't about material successes its about being righteous and worshiping the Lord. The only material success you should look for is a job that pays well and you somewhat enjoy I used to think that life is money also soon I learned it was a foolish and vain and would only bring me pain and misery, now I work for God and because of this God has blessed me with a nice job and more opportunity to work for him and continue enjoying life.
My Friend, you come across as an angsty teen going through "that phase". You may think that belittling yourself like this is somehow being humble or putting you in your place but you are very much deceived in this thinking. Your posts reek of pride and self aggrandizing. Looking down on your fellow man, especially the clergy whose sole lot in life is to bring you to the Lord our God, is selfish and evil. Cease your haughty ways you Pharisee, learn to accept in humility and trembling the love of God, it is time you put away these childish things.
Easter schedule was:
Saturday, 10pm - reading of Acts
12pm - Complines + Divine Liturgy
Sunday, 3am - agape
2pm - reading of the Gospel in several languages
I got back home at 6am after talking with a hieromonk for two hours.
Honestly, this Easter was very difficult. I'm sick, so I had to go outside a couple of times to breathe some air and to sit down.
I missed the 2pm thing because I overslept.
Le Christ est ressuscité ! If you're curious, there were hymns in Russian, Greek, French, Arabic, and Georgian I believe. And we said "Truly He is risen!" in I don't know how many languages.
I hope my priest is getting some rest, it must have been a tiring week for him. He did Divine Liturgy on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and of course for Easter.
You want fear of sin? Pay more attention on Sunday then.
Look at the icon of the Resurrection. Christ does not only rise out of the tomb, we rise out of the tomb with Him, because He comes down to our pathetically low level and reaches out His hand to us.
Go confess, and have communion.
We confess because we are spiritually dead to begin with.
This thread shouldn't be so dead.
There was a visiting priest this week, actually just for one mass time, and he happened to be doing the mass right after the regular weekly confession time. He seemed to see right through my attempts at appearing not depressed and asked me right away in the confessional if I love myself. Sadly he's Hispanic and is attached to a different parish community so there's little chance of seeing him again soon, but the few minutes I spoke with him were very productive.
The multilingual gospel readings/responses sound amazing, the best I get at my parish is the Spanish Mass time which is bi-lingual for the most part. Blessed be the priests working during the Easter season, especially if there's only one doing everything.