Fagerberg's Explanation Of The Sacramental Liturgy

The book then addresses the Church and discipleship and looks at some basic questions, baptism, the body of Christ and the visible Church-Community. The book also covers Saints – members called by God. Included in this chapter is sanctification

The liturgy refers to the set order of services and structure of each service True

“Christianity has developed into a highly ritual-filled tradition and many of its significant practices are acts of public worship associated with the sacraments.” – Living Religion, 4th edition pg. 266.

For the Life of the World authored by Fr. Alexander Schmemann an Orthodox priest was originally intended as a “study guide” in the 1970’s for students preparing themselves for Missionary work, giving them a “world view”, helping to speak about Christian view points along with an approach to how they coalesce through the eyes of the Orthodox Church. A key theme Fr. Schmemann discussed is Secularism, which he believes developed from our progressive alienation of the Christian culture. Additionally, he presents his interpretation of the transforming biblical themes of creation, fall, and redemption through a sacramental understanding. Fr. Schmemann’s experiences within the Orthodox Church liturgy reveal unity in the meanings of these three themes. It is through these understandings he believes can effectively offset the disastrous effects of secularism while revitalizing the sacramental understanding of the world.

1. Discuss the use of music in Catholic and Protestant worship practice, from the development of polyphony, through the music of J.S. Bach. In so doing, discuss the shift in responsibility for musical development from the Catholic Church to the Lutheran Church.

In Michael J. Himes captivating and influential piece of work on the ‘The Mystery of Faith’ (2004), he argues that “the sacramental principle might be expressed in this way: If something is always and everywhere the case, it must be noticed, accepted and celebrated somewhere sometime.” (Himes 2004, p.13). I whole heartedly agree with this statement as I believe God is a pure and powerful spirit which creates wondrous and extraordinary things in our world out of the goodness of his soul. This act clearly exhibits the presence of God and his grace, “The whole of creation exists because it is engraced...If one lost grace, that is, if one ceased to be loved by God.” (Himes 2004, p.12). There are seven great communal sacraments which are present in church and are closely linked to the church’s life and these sacraments celebrate Gods creation and

Why should one lie awake over the relation between canon and creed? The oddity of this question is the focus of Robert W. Jenson’s work, Canon and Creed. Produced within the Interpretation series that seeks to give resources to the church catholic, Jenson takes on the burden to show how the two resources of the church are enmeshed, interpreting and being interpreted by one another. The “bewilderment” that many contemporaries have over the interplay between canon and creeed, as Jenson sees it, has “slipped through our grasp,” probably causing modern Christianity to lose other parts of the church’s life (2). Before delving into the meat of his book, Jenson frames the context for the canon and creed by the analogy of the telephone-game.

John Wesley wrote in his Sermon 16 that the means of grace are understood as “outward signs, words, or actions ordained by God… to be the ordinary channels whereby (God) might convey to men preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.” Means are what happen outside of oneself and the grace is what does the work inside of ourselves or another way to say this is to say the ways we receive and experience grace. When we speak of the sacraments we refer to them as outward signs of an inward and spiritual grace. The means of grace in the sacraments, means are the bread and cup of communion and the water of the baptism and the liturgy spoken. These act in an outward and physical way, but the real work is that of the invisible grace we receive.

Sacramentality, mediation, and communion – three properties of Catholicism that are central to its understanding. Like Catholicism, these three properties are universal and can be found in the writings of Catholic authors dating back thousands of years ago. From the first written Scriptures found in the Bible to the modern day works of writers like Flannery O’Connor, these three properties can be found portrayed in works of both fiction and nonfiction. However, these properties are not always easy to find for the untrained mind or even to differentiate for those who do have a better understanding. Sacramentality is the notion that all of creation potentially bears the presence of God. Essentially, one experiences the invisible God through the visible world. Mediation goes hand in hand with sacramentality. It occurs when God is not only present in creation but also works through it. Instead of something symbolizing or reminding you of God, it actually speaks to you and brings you closer to Him. The last property of the Catholic Church is communion. Communion is God’s way of reaching us through the communities in which we live. All three of these properties have close ties to each other. Flannery O’Connor portrays all three – sacramentality, mediation, and communion – in her book Mystery and Manners.

The last sentence of the poem, ““There is still murder in your heart” (14), is a powerful claim that suggests that a routine consisting of prayer, communion, or hymn singing will not dissolve the sin of the heart. However, seeing this claim from a different standpoint, this can also suggest that this dull routine is convenient when it comes to preserving an appearance of purity and grace. There is an image in the middle of the poem, “light swords” (7), that possibly represents sharp members of the congregation trying to deceive the church authorities and God. Their comfort to the routine is remarkable because it does not really make a difference at the end; the only thing that truly matters is the masked life they are trying to keep hidden. Readers may consider the arguments presented in this poem as the truth reaching out to the contemporary church and its followers to improve their relationship with

He presents the five maladies that plague worship in the churches in North America. 1. Trivializing worship 2. Misdirecting worship 3. Deadening worship 4. Perverting worship and 5.

Breaking from Protestant tradition, in which church services tended to be muted and formal, Methodist services often included “crying, moaning, and shouting”8. For Methodists, this expression of true rapturous love for God was an outgrowth of the great personal love each person had for his or her creator; for Methodists, loudly and passionately expressing your religious feelings was to embrace God with all of one’s being. This was a common thread among many reformers during the time period: the idea that the church services being practiced by the mainstream Protestant church were too far removed from the passionate love of God that many believers felt from within their hearts. Methodism and its focus on personal relationships and contact with God would prove very popular among disaffected Protestants, and would eventually become among the most well-known and populous Protestant

The point of entry into the world of Catholic ritual is the Mass, the main worship ceremony of the Church. Rituals such as Mass generally include singing, prayer and sermon. The seven sacraments are very important in the Catholic Church. They are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important for Catholics. They consist of three different categories, which are: the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist), the sacraments of healing (Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick), and the sacraments of vocation (Marriage, Holy

This premise is predicated on the hypothesis that music plays an independent and important role within scripture itself; that is to be an elevated carrier for liturgy and prayer, the use of which is mandated by God for corporate worship. Both corporate worship and individual faith would suffer if music were removed. As an act of worshipping obedience, and a way of more readily understanding and relating to God, we will examine

Catholics go through a cycle of events in their spiritual lives known as the seven sacraments. Although all Catholics can not partake in each sacrament, the majority receive the Holy Eucharist and are baptized as children. The sacraments are the rites of passage in the Catholic faith. Some of the sacraments require proper preparation and knowledge of the one’s faith. The seven sacraments include Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and the Holy Orders. Faith ties the people of God together. We are united through our belief in faith. I see the sacraments as the acceptance of faith in God and of our faith. With all the diversity that exists among God’s people,