Reading Scripture in "Liturgical Way"
I do not have the authority or wisdom to argue with anyone using Scripture ... it's difficult just to remember the chapter number I read the previous night! Perhaps with time I will get more guidance, maturity and wisdom.
I had read the entire Bible when I was in my teens ... and retained less than half, at the very most. What strikes me now as I re-read the Bible is that I am definitely interpreting and understanding through the Church teachings.
The warnings of St Paul in his letters seem to cry out to not forget the early Church teachings of the Apostles. The stories and parables of Jesus seem to strongly illustrate the easier and fun path may not always be correct, and that noone can be guaranteed salvation.
More to point, how can the following not be a direct and emphatic illustration of the holiness of the Eucharist?
John 6:53-60:
Another takeaway about Liturgical worship is the emphasis that Jesus wants us to worship and adore God the Father. When the people ask Jesus to teach them how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13), he taught the people the prayer of the 'Our Father'. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, his explanation to John (Matthew 3:15) was simply
I had read the entire Bible when I was in my teens ... and retained less than half, at the very most. What strikes me now as I re-read the Bible is that I am definitely interpreting and understanding through the Church teachings.
The warnings of St Paul in his letters seem to cry out to not forget the early Church teachings of the Apostles. The stories and parables of Jesus seem to strongly illustrate the easier and fun path may not always be correct, and that noone can be guaranteed salvation.
More to point, how can the following not be a direct and emphatic illustration of the holiness of the Eucharist?
John 6:53-60:
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, you must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. Otherwise, you won't have real life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. The living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father. So whoever eats me will live because of me. I am not like the bread your ancestors ate. They ate that bread and still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats this bread will live forever." Jesus said all these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. When the followers of Jesus heard this, many of them said, "This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?"
Another takeaway about Liturgical worship is the emphasis that Jesus wants us to worship and adore God the Father. When the people ask Jesus to teach them how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13), he taught the people the prayer of the 'Our Father'. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, his explanation to John (Matthew 3:15) was simply
"We should do all things that are God's will"
Comments
1. We having different date for Pascha since 1951 based on some quick decision made by others
2. Our relatinship with majority of Orthodox Churches in America because of Chalcedon
3. Our wish to remain as a cocoon within Indian and more especially Malayalee community.
I have requested this to some ,but no luck this year. Last two years Fr. Mathew Chacko was kind enough to provide for American diocese which we could use in family. If you have acess to a set for 2008, please let me know
So many of these small details are continuously overlooked in our Church as a whole :(
http://stgregorioschurchdc.org/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=1