A question for those who attend liturgical churches

[judson1982]

Do you ever get tired of saying the Lord's Prayer, one of the Creeds (Apostolic/Nicene), singing the Gloria (in some churches this occurs after reciting a creed), singing the Doxology (usually after the offering has been passed), "passing the peace", reciting a corporate confession of sin, and/or even taking Communion every week? To me, repeated use of these worship elements can get too ritualistic--overlooking the purpose for doing these things.

 

[Paidiske]

Short answer, no, I don't get tired of it.

There are times when my sense of connection to two thousand years of Christians backward in time, and to millions of Christians around the world, all of whom used the same hallowed words of prayer, is almost palpable. Our liturgies are, to me, a very precious living connection and a demonstration of the unity of Christians (despite our institutional divisions).

 

[Unofficial Reverand Alex]

I did, for a while, until I started listening to what I was saying. It's amazing how God speaks to you when you give Him the chance; so many things stood out to me that I never paid much attention to before.

Also, I recently purchased a book called "A Biblical Walk Through The Mass". (By Edward Sri, if anyone's interested). It's a fantastic breakdown of everything we do & say in Catholic mass, and the deep Biblical & historical significance of everything.

I've gone to a few Protestant services where they don't repeat anything like that (and one where they repeat a song called "Weave" that I've never heard of anywhere else), and it just doesn't feel right. The more I go to Protestant masses, the more I love being Catholic, because Protestant masses don't seem to be based in anything. I've heard that some less radical protestants (Lutheran, Episcopalian, Anglican, conservative Methodists, and others) are somewhat based in Church traditions, but not as much as Catholics & Orthodox. The masses I've gone to are from United Church of Christ, a Methodist "contemporary worship", and a non-denominational service the Christian Campus House puts on.

It's easy to forget the significance, but as soon as you remember the importance of what your saying, everything becomes so much richer because of these repeated prayers.

 

[seeking.IAM]

No, I do not. I take great pleasure and comfort in those things. I came late to Anglicanism. I did grow tired of my former church trying to create something new each week that would out-do the Sunday before. It's why I left.

 

[dzheremi]

No. This is the faith of our fathers, from the apostles down to today.

 

[TuxAme]

It only gets boring if you aren't paying attention or don't care for what any of it means. The Creeds are taken as a visible sign of our communion, an affirmation that we all share the same beliefs. The sign of peace goes beyond that in affirming our mutual love for one another. The Confiteor is a public acknowledgement of our sins and a sign of repentance. In the Gloria, as the USCCB puts it, "the gathered assembly joins the heavenly choirs in offering praise and adoration to the Father and Jesus through the Holy Spirit." I would hope that none of us consider such things as "merely boring".

Regardless, I'm not particularly looking for the boring or the exciting. I'm looking for, "Where does God want me to go every week?", and I have reason to believe that it's the Mass.

 

[1watchman]

The replies here are correct as to the repeating of a word of praise. It is much like singing Christian songs of praise to the Lord, which many saints do every Lord's day in worship. It is not something to get "tired of", which is praise to God. Just routinely chanting is not the thought, but earnest voices of adoration.

 

[hedrick]

The more I go to Protestant masses, the more I love being Catholic, because Protestant masses don't seem to be based in anything.

Much of this changed in the 1960s with the liturgical renewal movement. The communion service typically used today in the Presbyterian Church USA is based loosely on the Anaphora of the Apostolic Tradition, which I believe is older than the models currently used in the Catholic Church. Largely through the work of Gregory Dix, it has been influential in the recent liturgies for a number of Protestant groups.

The main compromise is in the location of the Words of Institution. Originally it was near the beginning, as a warrant for the service. However in the Protestant tradition, following Western tradition in general, it is seen as the consecration, and is thus normally said right before the elements are served. I believe that in the Eastern tradition with which the Anaphora is based, the Epiclesis as seen as the consecration. That is still present in our liturgy, but probably most participants don't understand its original significance.

The liturgical renewal movement also affected the Catholic Church. E.g. an epiclesis was added in 1969. This is based on Wikipedia: I'm not personally familiar with Catholic liturgy.

 

[hedrick]

There's also a logic to the organization of the service outside of the communion section. Generally speaking it tends to be centered on the Word, both from Scripture and the sermon, with preparation for the Word before it and response after it. The preparation generally includes a thanksgiving and celebration of being in God's presence, confession and absolution. The response includes prayers of the people and an offering.

 

[Tutorman]

Do you ever get tired of saying the Lord's Prayer, one of the Creeds (Apostolic/Nicene), singing the Gloria (in some churches this occurs after reciting a creed), singing the Doxology (usually after the offering has been passed), "passing the peace", reciting a corporate confession of sin, and/or even taking Communion every week? To me, repeated use of these worship elements can get too ritualistic--overlooking the purpose for doing these things.

Hi,

I do not. I got tired of not knowing what we were going to do from time to time when I was an evangelical. I love all the things we do as a Liturgical Church and my I look forward to the Real Presence every week. It is comforting that we are doing something that the Church has done from the very first.

 

[Radagast]

Do you ever get tired of saying the Lord's Prayer, one of the Creeds (Apostolic/Nicene), singing the Gloria (in some churches this occurs after reciting a creed), singing the Doxology (usually after the offering has been passed), "passing the peace", reciting a corporate confession of sin, and/or even taking Communion every week? To me, repeated use of these worship elements can get too ritualistic--overlooking the purpose for doing these things.

 

[Snow_Princess]

Do you ever get tired of saying the Lord's Prayer, one of the Creeds (Apostolic/Nicene), singing the Gloria (in some churches this occurs after reciting a creed), singing the Doxology (usually after the offering has been passed), "passing the peace", reciting a corporate confession of sin, and/or even taking Communion every week? To me, repeated use of these worship elements can get too ritualistic--overlooking the purpose for doing these things.

Absolutely not. It's always incredibly beautiful to hear the chanted Psalms, prayers, etc. Plus, it's not always the same 52 weeks out of the year, there are various seasons within the church calendar like Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, etc. where there is going to be variation. I find the ritual to be incredibly powerful, and the prayers give me a sense of connection to the church I found unmatched outside of liturgical churches.

 

[tampasteve]

Do you ever get tired of saying the Lord's Prayer, one of the Creeds (Apostolic/Nicene), singing the Gloria (in some churches this occurs after reciting a creed), singing the Doxology (usually after the offering has been passed), "passing the peace", reciting a corporate confession of sin, and/or even taking Communion every week? To me, repeated use of these worship elements can get too ritualistic--overlooking the purpose for doing these things.

Not at all. Liturgy is a powerful way for us to pray, to relate to the heavenly courts and God. Knowing these prayers, creeds, etc. by heart and mind helps us to focus on the core beliefs of the Church and focus more on the purpose of the Faith. At least if one takes it seriously. But using a church for social gathering or similar is not limited to liturgical churches and in my experience can actually be worse in non-liturgical churches.

 

[1watchman]

In our assemblies there are a number of songs most suited to worship at the Lord's Table/Supper, some at a prayer meeting, some to encourage the saints, some to guide, some for a public Gospel meeting, etc. I suppose one could see that as liturgical, but then they are not always the same ones each week; and the choice is left to whichever saint feels led to offer. "To each his own" as the saying goes.

 

[JCFantasy23]

Do you ever get tired of saying the Lord's Prayer, one of the Creeds (Apostolic/Nicene), singing the Gloria (in some churches this occurs after reciting a creed), singing the Doxology (usually after the offering has been passed), "passing the peace", reciting a corporate confession of sin, and/or even taking Communion every week? To me, repeated use of these worship elements can get too ritualistic--overlooking the purpose for doing these things.

No, it's always been one of my favorite parts of service, and I feel a stronger unity and and strength when reciting as a church body the Creed or Lord's Prayer. I love the Doxology. I find the ritual of it empowering and unifying rather than formulaic and dry. I know not everyone feels this way, though, since I've spoken to people who prefer contemporary services without any of these traditions.

 

[Believer144000]

2 Corinthians 4:16:
“Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.”

This daily renewal takes place through the daily recital of the Lord’s Prayer. Once we know the true meaning of the Lord’s Prayer we’ll want to keep saying it daily. Unfortunately most churches today don’t teach this:

“Give us this day our daily Bread, and forgive us our sins.” Is one connected sentence. The Bread is the body of Jesus, not our earthly needs!
Those of us who know God well and know Jesus and understand his teachings through constant reading of the Bible, know that Jesus repeatedly denounced our concern for earthly needs (when he says seek God first then these things will be added to you). And instead stressed the Bread of life, which is His body.
This Bread is spiritual. We have it by reciting this prayer faithfully. How often should we recite it? Daily, just as the prayer says “this day our daily Bread”.

 

[Mountainmike]

How can anyone get tired of the miracle of heaven meets earth in the Eucharist?

So the question is less what is done, than what you think it REPRESENTS..

The confession is so that you can become worthy…

The catholic liturgy is wall to wall biblical quotation, rotating the text.

It also varies a little, in my adopted Portugal, whilst there are no hymns, it’s hard to beat the spontaneous singing of “ I come that you shall have life! “ As an entrance.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Short answer, no, I don't get tired of it.

There are times when my sense of connection to two thousand years of Christians backward in time, and to millions of Christians around the world, all of whom used the same hallowed words of prayer, is almost palpable. Our liturgies are, to me, a very precious living connection and a demonstration of the unity of Christians (despite our institutional divisions).

I could not have said it better myself.

 

[Techo]

As 1watchman implied... a lot of Churches, maybe even most, have a liturgical structure, even if it is not recognized as such, when they go through the same basic things each week. e.g. A prayer, singing, testimonies, a word, announcements, and a prayer to close or variations on the theme.

The thing to watch out for is... what happens if the Lord interrupts or... perhaps more importantly... can the Lord interrupt? Can the Holy Spirit step into the midst and blow away any preconcieved ideas of what should be happening or how things should be done to meet and touch people in a way that is going to change them into what God has for His Church? Periodically, in diverse places, this is what happens. Some might call it a revival.

Liturgy can, for some, become a really meaningful way to come to worship and God can often speak through elements within that service. The other side of the coin is that it can also be a way for people to opt out of meeting with the Lord and just feel ok about themselves. After all, they have gone to church, they've sat through the pomp and ceremony bit so now they must be considered righteous... or something like that. It sort of comes down to where people are in they're relationship with God, I expect.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

As 1watchman implied... a lot of Churches, maybe even most, have a liturgical structure, even if it is not recognized as such, when they go through the same basic things each week. e.g. A prayer, singing, testimonies, a word, announcements, and a prayer to close or variations on the theme.

The thing to watch out for is... what happens if the Lord interrupts or... perhaps more importantly... can the Lord interrupt? Can the Holy Spirit step into the midst and blow away any preconcieved ideas of what should be happening or how things should be done to meet and touch people in a way that is going to change them into what God has for His Church? Periodically, in diverse places, this is what happens. Some might call it a revival.

Liturgy can, for some, become a really meaningful way to come to worship and God can often speak through elements within that service. The other side of the coin is that it can also be a way for people to opt out of meeting with the Lord and just feel ok about themselves. After all, they have gone to church, they've sat through the pomp and ceremony bit so now they must be considered righteous... or something like that. It sort of comes down to where people are in they're relationship with God, I expect.

Likewise, the oposit can be said about a Structured liturgy; for example In Lutheran Service Book there are Biblical references given for every portion of the many ligurgies that we have (5 settings of the Divine Service--Mass; Matins, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Vespers, Litanies, Sufferages, shorter offices for personal and institutional use. All have references where from Scripture it is taken.

God prescribed a formal worship form, in a formal setting (Tabernacle), and through this worship came to His chosen people. This continues to this day. Certainly, personal worship could and was often informal, but as a community worship was always formal. Infollowing this this ancient pattern we ensure that worship remains biblical in content; following a formal schedule of readings insures that the Bible is taught; preaching on those readings ensures that people understand the Bible, and following a liturgical structure follows the biblicaal example of how God directs his people to worship.

If we read The Revelation of St. John we see that formal liturgical forms continue to be followed in heaven. Christian Liturgy is modeled on this.

There is a great (and inexpensive) book that explains this: Heaven on Earth: The Gifts of Christ in the Divine Service - Concordia Publishing House