Following the Truth: Empty Churches – Where Should We Draw The Line?

FollowingtheTruth.com ^ | May 9th, 2012 | Gary Zimak

[Salvation]

“No one is truly poor but except the one who lacks the truth.” (St. Ephraem the Syrian)

[Salvation]

Catholic Ping!

[Salvation]

Other thoughts from Gary Zimak.

Following the Truth: Empty Churches – Where Should We Draw The Line?
Following the Truth: Listening To Mary’s Voice – Part 7 (Her Final Words) [Catholic Caucus]

Following the Truth: Recognizing Jesus In The Eucharist [Catholic Caucus]
Following the Truth: Follow Me… [into Holy Week]
Following the Truth: No Greater Love… [Catholic and Open]
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Following the Truth: The Easiest Way To End Up In Hell… [Catholic and Open]
Following the Truth: Listening To Mary’s Voice – Part 6 (The Wedding At Cana) [Catholic Caucus]
Following the Truth: Lent: Becoming Uncomfortable About Being Comfortable [Catholic or Open]
Following the Truth: Spiritual Exercises – Week One [of Lent] In Review
Following the Truth: Listening To Mary’s Voice – Part 5 (Losing Jesus), [Catholic Caucus]
Following the Truth: Listening To Mary’s Voice – Part 4 (The Magnificat) [Catholic Caucus]

Following the Truth: Listening To Mary’s Voice – Part 3 (Submission) [Catholic Caucus]
Following the Truth: Listening To Mary’s Voice – Part 2 (Humility)[Catholic Caucus]
Following the Truth: Listening To Mary’s Voice: Part 1, Confusion [Catholic Caucus]
Following The Truth: 3 Suggestions For Hearing And Responding To God’s Voice [Catholic and Open]
Following The Truth: Layoffs, Death and Preparation [Catholic and Open]
Following The Truth: Contemplating Death [Catholic and Open]
Following the Truth: The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Had To Do… [Catholic and Open]
Following The Truth: The Priesthood — A Priceless Gift (Catholic and Open)
Following The Truth: Parents…Are You Doing Your Job? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Confession – Is It Still Necessary? (Catholic or Open)

Following The Truth: The Feast Of St. Stephen – A Case Of Bad Timing? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayers? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: What If Mary Said “No”? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Jesus Is Waiting – Don’t Forget To RSVP! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: So, You Just Received Jesus…Now What? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: An Advent Challenge: Love Your Enemies! (Catholic and Open)
Following The Truth: The Journey To Bethlehem is Not Comfortable! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Does God Want Us To Worry? (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: The Morning Offering – Pray Without Ceasing! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: A (Lenten) Advent “Weight” Loss Program (Catholic or Open)

Following The Truth: Hurry Up, Lord…I’m Waiting! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Evangelize? Sorry, But I’m Catholic! (Catholic or Open)
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Following The Truth: Letting Your Conscience Be Your Guide(What Jiminy Cricket Didn’t Tell You) [Catholic or Open]
Following The Truth: Catholic “Fluff” – The Enemy Within (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Appreciating The Gift Of Suffering (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Satan’s Attack On The Church – What You Can Do! (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: Saying “Y-E-S” to God During Lent (and Advent) [Catholic or Open]
Following the Truth: Spiritual Dryness: “I Don’t Feel Anything!” (Catholic or Open)
Following The Truth: A Biblical Roadmap To The One, True Church (Catholic or Open)

[bicyclerepair]

My relatives from PA, all they talk about is the closing of a Catholic church or school all over.

[Salvation]

I think that is why the Pope sent Archbishop Charles Chaput back there.

People may think that those in the pews want entertainment, but I believe the people in the pews want to know how to keep their faith in this increasingly secular world.

Prayers for your relatives and the good Archbishop.

[svcw]

First I am not Catholic.
The churches I go to are crowded, many going to multiple services.
They tend to be very basic Bible driven, lively music and powerful messages.
The messages do not worry about offending people (sometimes the Word of God offens the sinner).
Much more like what you might imagine the early Christian churches were like.
The Church is not a building or a title it is the people who belong to the Body of Christ.
I think many older groups have lost that vision.

[UCANSEE2]

“Unintended Consequences” (no offense meant to anyone, just wanting all to look at things from outside the box, for a minute)

So... Jesus returns to Earth, and walks into the nearest church.

He looks around, and smack dab in the middle is a huge cross, with his effigy hanging from it, nails through the wrists and ankles, a crown of thorns on his head, obvious puncture wounds to the chest cavity, and dripping blood.

So, he sets fire to the place and leaves, gets on his horse, takes out his sword, and heads out to destroy as many of these ‘violence worshipping’ abominations as possible.

[Tax-chick]

“Where should we draw the line?” How about where Mason and Dixon drew it! In many cases, places where people are leaving the churches empty are places where people are leaving period. This makes sense: the liberal ideology that destroys cities is the same liberal ideology that destroys dioceses.

“Come out from among ‘em” to the South, where people have jobs and kids and trucks, and the churches are packed. Ours was put under observation by the fire department when the alarm went off during Mass one day, and the captain saw how full the place was. Now we have fire lanes marked off with tape on the floors, as well no-exception-you’ll-be-towed lanes in the parking lot.

[SuziQ]

So, he sets fire to the place and leaves, gets on his horse, takes out his sword, and heads out to destroy as many of these ‘violence worshipping’ abominations as possible.

I'm curious as to why you think Jesus would do that. He knew how he was going to die, and didn't fight it. He even encouraged his disciple, Thomas, to put his hands in the wounds so that Thomas would believe that He had risen from the dead.

The crucifix isn't displayed to 'worship violence', it is displayed so that WE never forget WHO it was who died for our sins, and made it possible for us to attain salvation with Him. It is there to humble us, not whip us into some sort of violent frenzy. The proof of that can be seen when folks get out of Mass on Sunday. The only 'violence' you'll likely see is somebody getting cut off on the drive out of the parking lot.

[sayuncledave]

Your feeble ruse didn’t work. Perhaps a better idea might be to comment upon the article at hand, rather than use the opportunity for referring to Catholic churches as “violence worshipping abominations.” Which you just did.

[netmilsmom]

>>In many cases, places where people are leaving the churches empty are places where people are leaving period. <<

Exactly! People are crying in Detroit because they are closing and clustering parishes.

I keep trying to tell them, the entire state should be either closed or clustered.

[Salvation]

Likewise with my Catholic Church. We have four Masses. One Saturday evening — not so full.

Sunday monring at 8:15 and 10:30 and the Spanish Mass at 12:30 — all bursting at the seams.

Powerful messages based on the Bible is what we get. And the numbers prove it.

In fact our Capital Campaign to build a new Church has not been going on that long, and we have alomost reached the point when we can obtain a loan from the Archdiocese and start the building — I think their goal is the first part of October.

The present building will be turned into classrooms or completely re-designed.

[Salvation]

**So, he sets fire to the place and leaves, gets on his horse, takes out his sword, and heads out to destroy as many of these ‘violence worshipping’ abominations as possible.**

This is very strange. Care to explain further? Why would this happen?

[Salvation]

On earth Christ is perfect mercy.

At the moment of our death, Christ is perfect justice.

Something to ponder.

[itsahoot]

Deu 5:8 Thou shalt not make thee [any] graven image, [or] any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the waters beneath the earth:

Does Jesus not reside in Heaven?

[svcw]

Powerful messages based on the Bible

These churches do not lack for full pews.

[Persevero]

I disagree with Sheen, here. The “organized religions” losing members, at least among Protestants, are the loosy goosey liberals. I hope they go totally empty unless they get back to the Bible.

“Organized religions” that are Christian conservatives are growing by and large.

[Persevero]

“So, he sets fire to the place and leaves, gets on his horse, takes out his sword, and heads out to destroy as many of these ‘violence worshipping’ abominations as possible.
“

I am not a defender of the use of crucifixes, but I don’t think it is a worship of violence. Jesus did indeed die a violent and hideous death for us, truly suffering throughout. The crucifix is an attempt to remember and honor that.

However, one problem with it (from my point of view) is that it focuses the believer on the death and not the resurrection.

[jafojeffsurf]

To your question: ““Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Mt 28:19-20)”

It says “I am with you always” So I guess the three persons in one (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) can both be in heaven and with us all the time. I think God can do things like that because he made the rules, spoke the Word to bring all about and Made Man from the Earth.

[SuziQ]

Well graven images are a bad thing, if you worship the statue, and forget about who it is supposed to represent. We don't do that.

Remember, even Moses and Aaron had 'images' in the form of the Ark of the Covenant, and used it in their worship, all apparently approved by God, who told them how to build it.

Jesus is the new 'Ark', and we have statues and paintings to remind us of him. We know those images are not Him, but we use them in our worship, just as Moses and the Hebrew people used the Ark of the Covenant in theirs.