My fiancé’s Aunt came to town one day and learned I was Catholic. She pulled everything she could out of the Anti-Catholic handbook. When it came to the mass, all she said was “It’s all a ritual!” and I simply responded “Yes, exactly, it’s a ritual.” She had a confounded look on her face thinking as to why someone would agree with her statement. I ended up explaining that the Old Testament had many rituals, and comparatively we don’t have nearly as many. I feel bad for those who don’t know the beauty of rituals. I don’t think you can fully comprehend the bible without some form of ritual in your life.
I always say thank God for tradition and ritual. Without it, in a few years, even Orthodox worship would likely become a concert and a lecture. I like knowing that I could bring a Christian from anywhere in the world from any point in time in the first millennium to my Church on Sunday and he/ she would know exactly where they were, exactly what was happening, and be able to jump in and fully participate. I was just in Latvia in East Europe, in a Russian Orthodox Church. I don't understand Russian, but I easily participated in the Liturgy as if it was being celebrated in English.
I have never had a problem with many of the rituals or practices of Catholicism. My problem is with the corrupt hierarchy of “The Catholic Church”. The power struggle of man is deep within the Roman Catholic Church. Many of the rituals are designed around this. So I’d rather not start with sifting through my religion to find what is and isn’t actually of Christ.
I like this guy and his sincerity. Just started watching, but feel compelled to comment. Rituals embodie "values,idea, ideals." You're missing it. Rituals are intended to enable us to experience the presence of Christ. From making the sign of the cross to receiving the Eucharist and everything in between, all of it puts our focus on Christ. Protestants can say they don't need it, and it works for them. But for me, just making the sign of the cross and saying the Jesus prayer throughout the day keeps me connected to Chist.
As a non-catholic and non-chtistian I have to agree. His definition of ritual doesn't even make sense in the context of my faith traditions and their rituals.
I'm a convert to Orthodox Christianity who recently had a crisis of faith over matters somewhat related to this issue. I was disturbed by two things I noticed - among some cradles, a lack of understanding of the deeper symbolic and theological meaning of the rituals, and among some converts, an obsession with getting every little bit of ritual right and having intellectual knowledge of what they related to, but by doing so missing the very basics of the Faith: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." What I realised is for many of the cradles, while they may not have the intellectual knowledge of the reasoning behind some of these things, they have deep associations between those rituals and their faith in God and their love for others. And that for the converts I mentioned, often they were just trying to get things right, and to make up for a lack of earlier grounding in the Faith by making an effort to learn these things now, and that over time these things would hopefully be integrated and become something that helped them to live out those commandments rather than something that gets in the way. The rituals of the Church allow people to participate no matter what their level of understanding. Even if we just take them at the most basic level they bring people together. I also realised that focusing on and criticising the way others approach these things is not particularly helpful for my soul, my repentance, my salvation, or even my sanity. You do a great job on this channel, I always find your videos interesting. God bless.
Love your thoughts. Rituals are a demonstration of each person's spiritual tie to worshipping God, no matter their intellect, knowledge or life experience. A humbling equaliser.
Many cradles were formed with just an elementary understanding of everything, right into adulthood. I've heard many sources say that catechesis has not been good for the past 50-60 years. Also, unless everything is very much emphasized in the home also, it won't mean much to a child who is dealing with issues with friends, school, and very possibly problems in the home too. The faith just doesn't fit with everything else that screams louder on a daily basis. As an adult, when we are mature and can put many of those things behind us, and study on our own, it can have much more meaning. This is known as reversion or a deeper conversion among cradle Catholics who take the time to learn deeper on their own. Then there is the risk of scrupulosity, trying to get everything "right" to make up for the time that was lost in childhood, adolescence, and sometimes much of adulthood, being lukewarm due to lack of understanding, and good examples, for many years.
@@julieelizabeth4856 I was fortunate enough to be raised in a parish that had the means to educate us all growing up. I can see that with parishes with less means :(
Our little parish is mostly converts, our priest chides us cradles that the converts know more. It is humbling. He also teaches, and that really helps all. ✨
My wife and I were both raised Catholic, converted to Evangelicalism and returned to the Catholic Church. When we were Evangelical we used to get a good laugh when others would say that they didn't have rituals. Every week it was a greeting, some hymns, a hymn done by the choir, the Scripture reading, another hymn so the choir could get to their seats, the sermon and a closing prayer. It was just as much a ritual as the Mass was.
NO! Often mistaken for habits, rituals involve the execution of conscious and deliberate actions. Mass is a re-presentation of Calvary, and the altar itself the place where heaven and earth meet. The graces that our blessed Lord merited by his death on the cross now flow down to us through the Most Holy and Eternal Sacrifice of the Mass. It is the holiest act of religion not just routine.
What cracked me up when I was an Evangelical was how sometimes we would purposely switch things up purposely so there wasn't a ritual. "This week we're going to do the prayer BEFORE the scripture reading." Oooooo... Curve ball...
Hi Austin, thanks for being such a kind and generous Christian! I’m a cradle Catholic who was just going through the motions for a long time. But at one point, I noticed some friends who kneeled very reverently…for some reason they caught my attention. I became aware that their actions during mass were full of reverence and love. It caused me to start thinking about all of our beliefs and everything we do at mass- I started looking at my own behavior during mass. Anyways, it set me on a path of re-discovering and loving my Faith practice! It’s amazing how one faithful action, done with sincere love and devotion, can inspire/teach others.
I’m in the same boat as you Mary. For a while I went to church and as a sacristan/altar server, was quite involved in the mass both pre, during, and post service. However, I had a while where even all that didn’t “do” anything for me, but finding other Catholics who did things like more reverent kneeling, bowing, and even veiling got me back to loving all the little parts of the mass and developing a deeper prayer life. Sometimes the best evangelization of the faith really is just living it out as fully as one can. 🥰
On my way to the Catholic Church, I was at an Anglican service and during the words of institution at the elevation, I saw a man cross himself (first at the elevation of the Bread and then of the wine). I was struck by the look of intensity and devotion on his face. Ever since then, I do the same. Also once when sharing the peace many years ago, pre -covid, someone looked me in they eye and said: "the peace of christ". That also struck me and I realized sharing my peace doesn't mean much but sharing Christ's peace means everything. So I have done the same at masses where they still share the peace (not at my current parish generally).
I am also a cradle Catholic and I also notice people that kneel more reverently or longer than I normally kneel whether that be at adoration or at Mass passing the altar or the Tabernacle and it makes an impression on me as well.
I'm a Catholic, was baptised at age 8. But my family were not religious, so naturally over time I stopped going to church. Went to Isreal before my 20th birthday. I didn't think much of Orthodoxy, but decided to converted to Judaism, which is full of rituals. And I appreciated them. But I never did converted (though my mother tol me I was already Jewish) My sister-in-law asked if I would listen to the missionaries from her church future this time and just to make her happy I did. Which I regretted now. But anyway I came Morman, was never fully happy there. But I did meet my husband there. Anyway 14years ago we left the Morman church. My husband want to go Anglican. Where we stay up to 18mths ago and now full circle back at the Catholic church and go to Liturg everyday except Saturday and church on Sunday. My husband is happy too. Yes, ritual is very important.
Born and raised Catholic, spent 40 years in the Evangelical movement, now in love with my Catholic faith. Ive seen both sides of this and you just hit the nail on the head. This was one of your best. Thanks for sharing it. Next time I go to a Catholic Church, Ill remember to kneel before I enter the pew:) I don’t need to avoid that any more.
The reason we kneel before entering a pew is because of stored hosts in the Tabernacle. After transubstantiation, the ‘left over’ hosts are stored in the Tabernacle. Which means Our Lord is physically present in the Tabernacle, to alert us of this, a red light/candle is lit next to the Tabernacle- that’s when and why we kneel when we either walk past it or enter our pews. Hope this helps. I didn’t realise this until later in my life.
Question from a relatively new Catholic - if the tabernacle is in a different part of the church (as is often the case here in France), does one still genuflect toward the altar before sitting, or would it be more appropriate to genuflect toward the tabernacle, even if it is situated off to the side? My husband and I have questioned this and can see a rationale for both. TYIA for your response.
@@DrSheri.teaches We always genuflect towards the altar before sitting down in the pew, whether the tabernacle is there or not. If you pass before a tabernacle that has host in it (door closed) you genuflect because you are before the King. If the tabernacle is empty (door open) it is appropriate to simply bow towards it. Also when crossing before an altar with a crucifix it is appropriate to bow. Hope that helps.
@@DrSheri.teachesto the altar we bow, to the tabernacle we kneel if the light is on. In nchurches where the tabernacle is positioned at the center, usually over the altar (in major altars) or behind them (for modern eucharistic tables) then we kneel (usually a genuflect), but not because of the altar, but because of the tabernacle behind/over it. The reason we bow to the altar is both because it its the altar of the sacrifice, because it represents Christ, and also because it has some relic embeded into it. Whenever I go to a church which has an eucharistic chapel, I bow to the altar, then proceed to the chapel to kneel and pray a while before mass.
I as a protestant I have said many empty prayers creating an empty ritual myself usually right before bed. Now that I am transitioning to Orthodoxy as an old man, I welcome the Lord's Prayer and then go into my regular repeated prayers most if not every night. I have discovered that rituals are important and realize are a crucial practice for an effective and consistent prayer life as long as my heart is in the right place. But even if I am distracted some nights, I still go through them. I think consistency and faithfulness are important. Appreciate your thoughts.
Leo, I'm not sure I would have the open mindedness to change late in life. It had to be the Holy Spirit guiding you. You should listen to Thomas Hopko's explanation of the Lord's prayer. He talks about how poorly translated it is into English. And how it has much deeper meaning than we may think from the English.
Leo, one more thing, you should try to attend the matins/orthros services, which typically begin 1 hour before the Divine Liturgy. All of our theology is in these services, as told through the Psalms, the prophets and the Gospels. In one year, you'll have it all.
@@frankbilotto I did listen to Thomas Hopko on TH-cam just a week or so ago and heard that very teaching. I was surprised when he exegeted the "Give us this day our daily bread..." - need to listen again- He was a gifted speaker and teacher. I stopped going to church for several years. I would just listen to various speakers on TH-cam. To make a long story short, my interest in the early church led me on a journey. I Listened to David Bercot (former Jehovah's Witness turned Mennonite who extensively researched the early church), Jay Dyer and his guests, Brother Nathaniel Kapner, Brother Augustine, Fr. Josiah Trenham, and Fr. Peter Heers. I read Fr. Josiah Trenham's Book, "Rock and Sand". I eventually became convinced that Orthodoxy was true to the traditions of the early church and maintained continuity of the faith (Apostolic Authority). Last year "happened" to meet the new Priest of the Greek Orthodox and now attend it. I meet with him Wednesdays as a catechumen. The Bible makes more sense now. It is hard to explain, but I used to just overlook or block out mentally passages that seem to conflict.
@@leoandolino4668 your Priest will teach you more than all the internet videos combined. For me, the Orthodox choice was about God's plan of Salvation, which makes us different from both Protestants and Catholics. For us, sin is an illness that causes death and Christ voluntarily died for us to conquer death. For Protestants and Catholics, God sent his son to be punished for our sins to satisfy the wrath of God. If you don't already know the details, ask your priest to tell you on Wednesday. The idea that sin is a crime that has to be punished is an 11th Century idea codified by Anslem of Canterbury. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide you. God bless you.
Faith without rituals is like loving your partner without hugging or kissing. Am a Catholic and i can't explain what i feel everytime i cross myself when i pass infront of the church. Our rituals reflect our passion.
Rituals may reflect one's passion, but if you study the church founded by Jesus with the Apostles (the Eastern Orthodox Church, from which the Catholic broke) you will find that there are deep meanings to the rituals of the original Christian church (Eastern Orthodox).
@@djondjon i agree with the part "rituals have deep meanings". I was just giving our Protestant friends an analogy. As for the Eastern Orthodox Church(s) vs. The Catholic Church, we have alot in common that what makes us differ. We just pray for the Unity of our Church and end these sad schisms.
Hey brother, I would direct you toward two pivotal things I read by the late Thomas Howard: “Evangelical is Not Enough” and “Being Catholic”. Howard was an evangelical and he became Catholic in his discovery of the human need for sacraments and ritual. His writing is in a style like CS Lewis and Peter Kreeft. Brother I still pray you go all the way and become Catholic. I pray you do it with abandon. Yes, counting the cost, but as we begin Advent, to be sober and be ready! Id like you to be Catholic so we can share more deeply and I can give you the Eucharist! This is honestly what I thought 11 years ago when I became Catholic: “I cant imagine going another day without the Eucharist. I cant fathom how I lived so long without the true Manna from Heaven, our Daily Bread. I cant believe I missed John 6 and treated Jesus’ repeated warnings so flippantly, such as “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you don’t have life in you.” I realize this decision is a hard one. But the moment you know it to be true, even if it will cost you temporal loves, don’t delay. Love and prayers for you Austin! Have you looked at Cameron B.’s decision?
That passion so many Protestants, especially evangelicals, feel for Christ can wax and wane after a while. I have seen it happen numerous times. I truly think the Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Orthodox are blessed to have these rituals to fall back on in those times, and these same rituals help bolster the good times.
There is an understanding within the Orthodox and Catholic churches that faith is not a feeling or experience, it's a long term and unchanging commitment to Christ, which includes action, regardless of whether you feel like it or not. The Greek word "pistis" which is typically translated as "faith" in English bibles actually means something more along the lines of firm conviction and assurance than what modern Christians have viewed faith to mean.
The same thing can happen with marriages, with "feelings" waxing and waning for one's spouse, but that doesn't mean we do away with the Sacrament/Covenant/Vow. To love is to will the good of another person, not just think about what's in this for me. We create a history to fall back on in challenging times, and it also helps to bolster the good times. Married for 32 years, speaking from some experience.
My Brooklyn roommate who had fallen in love with Caribbean culture tried making the infamous _Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken._ It turned out to be a strange Cuban/American/Caribbean dish, as he had Cuban heritage. When I later made it, (using the same ingredients,) he wanted to know why mine was authentic, but his not? So I replied, *"That is how my grandmother and mother made it."* At the time I never understood the importance of tradition... Tradition is a preservative. It is tradition that preserves the correct results---even when ingredients fall short. So, while all may have the same Biblical ingredients, not having the Apostolic Tradition in Orthodoxy---including its rituals---will only result in distasteful and inauthentic brands of Christianity, as we see today in Protestantism.
Thank you for this video. I am an Orthodox Christian, converted from Methodism (though the church I attended was more evangelical than mainline Methodist). The Methodist church I attended had stopped doing things I was used to in the past such as saying the Lords Prayer and a creed. When I was leading a small group and presenting on the Nicene Creed, I read someone (Catholic) on Twitter who challenged readers to memorize the Nicene Creed. I did, and in the process became interested in the history behind the Creed, and visited an Orthodox Church where the creed is recited in every service. It is beautiful, and I think many churches are struggling with weak doctrine because they don’t do this. As for prayers, m finding that praying from a prayer book, whether it be from the Orthodox Church or the Psalms is very helpful. I struggle so much praying with my own words. I wind up praying both ways actually- with a prayer book (emphasize worship, praise, and confession) followed by a prayer from the heart (emphasizing personal intercession).
Deeply imbedded biases. My Protestant friends reject Catholicism based on misunderstood biases they have grown up with. In fact, if I were to accept what they believed, I would also reject Catholicism. It starts with understanding. This is why this channel has become a vital landing spot for honest seekers. Thank you, Austin!
I’ve been Orthodox since my family converted in 2013 when I was 12. I would say I’m half and half cradle Orthodox and convert. For a while I loved the rituals and the cool things we did that I didn’t grow up doing, but as I got into my teen years I felt like everyone was doing these rituals without meaning while some Protestant friends of mine were very strong in their relationships with Christ without the rituals. It was a very frustrating and confusing time and I lost my faith for a while, but in the Grace of God He brought me back. I am still Orthodox and relearning how to love the rituals that help me towards Christ as I develop my relationship with him. Your videos were actually a huge part of my story, especially as I was also listening to other voices on the more agnostic, atheistic side on TH-cam, but you seemed to be so genuine and gentle and inquisitive towards the people you interviewed. So I do like these “your thoughts” videos too! I’d love to hear more!
From your post, the best thing you can do is learn why we do everything we do. I'm 62 and still learning. Every little thing that is done in every service has purpose and meaning. And when you fully participate, that's when the ritual comes to life and you are fully engrossed in the presence of Christ. I was 50 before I really began to understand it and feel it. I always say, if you don't enjoy the divine liturgy, you're not going to like heaven very much. Read Revelations. In that book, there's a complete description of our Liturgy.
@@frankbilotto Yes, where, and why isn't it in the Book of Acts or any writings of Paul or the Apostles? Revelation was compiled of many scriptures from the Old Testament, so it may not be describing Heaven at all.
My favorite thing to do is pray the rosary. I think so deeply about the mysteries now that I sometimes feel like crying. It’s like seeing Jesus with his mothers eyes.
Have you ever done the Stations of the Cross through the eyes of Mary? I bought the little booklet when I was on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje one time. Will send you a copy if you want , ( just need your email address). I think it's beautiful. Makes me feel that I am there.
When I do the rosary, I like to use St. Louis de Monfort's suggestion of adding a clause referring to the mystery being contemplated such as "crowned with thorns" . The phrase is said after "...fruit of they womb Jesus". So in his suggestion it is always said after "Jesus". You could say "who was crowned with thorns" or just "crowned with thorns". Also, I try to slow down when I pray the rosary - not rushing to "get through it". If my soul turns toward speaking with God or just thinking about him or being with him , I go ahead, and then return to the Rosary. That is true for me with all devotions and spoken prayers. Of course, with a group, the experience is different and I just go with it.
This is similar to my reply on this video today. I was so engrossed in the joy of each mystery of the rosary today that I couldn't stop crying. It hits so perfectly in the advent season.
Scripture records that King David prayed seven times a day. Daniel prayed give times a day. For most Jews, including Jesus, this was a practice learnt from childhood as every household did. In my younger days, I thought that the Liturgy of the Hours / Divine Office/ Breviary was an empty ritual for priests and monks. Recently, my eyes were opened to the fact that this was a continuation of the ancient Israelite tradition carried forward and preserved in the early Church into modern times by the Catholic Church and some mainline Protestant/Anglican traditions. This encouraged me to begin exploring the Liturgy of the Hours. To my utter surprise and amazement, it dawned upon me that over 95% of the Office consisted of Psalms and meditative reading of the Scriptures. The prayers and hymns drew extensively from scripture and the salvation story I've begun with the Office just once in the day... either morning or night (hope to find time for more). It has virtually revolutionized and revitalized my relationship with the Lord and His people.
I was raised southern Baptist and became Catholic as a teenager. The rituals are so important. I’m physically disabled, but I willingly take the pain of kneeling before getting in the pew, and then the longer bouts of kneeling and standing. I love receiving the Body Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus through the Eucharist. I cling to my Marian Traditions. The Blessed Virgin Mary brings me so close to her Son our Lord Jesus Christ!!
Rituals are empty unless the scales have fallen off one’s eyes. Liturgy informs our faith and restates the gospel in so many different ways. I’m an evangelical who has converted to the Anglican tradition of the Church. It has been a “deeper conversion” for both my husband (who is an Anglican priest now) and me. Thanks be to God!
Ritual and Ceremony are not so much essential, as they are inevitable. Evangelicals have rituals. It is another instance of "Not whether or not, but which." So, it is a matter of which are the best rituals and ceremonies to be adopted.
I think I agree. Traditions seem to pop up no matter how much people try to be anti-traditional. What makes it dead appears to be the heart rather than the actual practice itself. The low church has ceremonies and rituals that differ from the high church.
For the last two years, I've been praying a daily rosary while driving to work. And I admit there are times when I just go through the motions. This morning, I felt so much joy going through each of the Joyful Mysteries that I just started crying and didn't stop through the whole "ritual". In each of the 5 mysteries, I felt the joy of all of the people in these mysteries: Mary, Gabriel, Elizabeth, John the Baptist (in utero), Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna in the temple. It was amazing to feel this deeper connection with God's saints.
I have a great little book I use every time I say the Rosary. It's titled, "The Scriptural Rosary." It gives a verse from the Bible to concentrate on for each recitation of a Hail Mary. It helps to keep the focus on the specific mystery, yet with a different verse every 30 seconds or so, depending on how fast you recite. I find this helpful in avoiding going through the motions. I wish there was a recording of it (there's an idea, maybe I'll make one for myself) to use while driving too.
@@julieelizabeth4856 Could you send me a link if you find it or come up with something? I’ve been looking for something like this. It’s too easy for me to zone out during the decades or to shallowly ‘meditate’ on the mystery.
going thru the motions enables you to maintain a habit of prayer because you do it even when you dont feel like doing it, and some days you dont feel any pleasure while you do it.
As a Catholic, I love ❤️ tradition. I truly enjoy The Latin Mass or Divine Liturgy at The Byzantine Catholic Church. FYI: Divine Liturgy is usually 15 to 30 minutes longer than a Mass 😁
@@CrankyGrandma The modern Latin Church precepts on fasting & abstinence are minimal compared to older traditions even in the West, but we (I'm Latin/Roman Catholic too) can _always_ feel free to try a stricter discipline if God gives us the strength physically & spiritually. E.g. fasting from dairy &/or eggs in addition to meat (at least on Fridays that aren't feast days) & a 3-hour Eucharistic fast prior to Holy Mass. Of course, for the benefit of non-Catholic Christians, we believe fasting without prayer is just dieting.
@@CrankyGrandma yeah, we're supposed to fast almost 1/2 the year. We're in a 40 day nativity fast now. And we still fast every Wednesday and Friday. But remember what St. Paul said, it's more important what comes out of your mouth than what goes in it. And someone commented that without the spiritual component, fasting is just dieting. Great comment!
Great message, Austin - thank you! As a Catholic convert, I’m totally blown away by the power of the ‘rituals’ to strengthen and deepen my relationship with Christ and my awareness of my position in his church.
Very well explained. I left evangelicalism after almost 30 years. So glad I did. The rituals of Lutheranism and Orthodoxy have definitely shaped my faith and kept me grounded. It also gave me a great peace and assurance of God's love without the constant striving to be and do more. I find evangelicalism to be very "works righteous" - the thing evangelicals would absolutely decry. It's always some "new thing" which never allows one to rest in God.
Great video. As a convert to Orthodoxy from Protestantism, I’ve found great value in the Tradition and rituals of the Church. I think another important aspect of rituals is that they are virtually always tied to some form of physicality (crossing oneself, kneeling, bowing etc.) In many corners of Christianity, the value and importance of the body has been lost. At best it considered peripheral, at worst a curse or prison to be escaped. We are not merely spirits contained (or worse, imprisoned) in a body. Our bodies are an intrinsic part of who we are. We can pray with our minds, but we can also pray with our bodies. And often, when we’re struggling to engage internally, the body can help lead the way.
@YAJUN YUAN that is a devotion not part of regular liturgical practice (not that I think there is something wrong with it). But why do you for instance reject making the sign of the cross as a ritual (if you do)?
@YAJUN YUAN I suspect we might be saying different things when I say that for Orthodox Christians the body is an intrinsic part of who we are and when you say SDA have a high respect for the body. We pray with our minds, but we also pray with our lips, our hands, our knees. Our sense of sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch are a part of our worship of God because they are an intrinsic part of us as humans. So much so that in the Resurrection, we will be reunited with our bodies in a glorified state for all eternity.
@YAJUN YUAN So you only talk to your loved ones and never do a gesture of affection? A kiss, a stroke, a cuddle? Do you think those are useless? And why do you think so about your love for God?
I used to think traditional churches were boring. I grew up a pastor's Kid in the pentecostal church, I've attended non non denominational church over the last few years and just recently I started to become so unsatisfied with church (I still love God so deeply). I literally asked a friend recently "what was church like in the Apostles' day?". Because I seriously don't know why I'm going to church now. Our services are so self centered and focused on how we feel, and a good message to pump us for the week. We grew up thinking that rituals were bad and "religious". I'm struggling with having some kind of structure and guidance in my faith. It seems to me that everyone just kinda does whatever they want or what God "told" them, lack of reverence in the services and there is such a lack of harmony in our church. Pray for me because even going to church on Sunday is becoming difficult.
If you attend a Catholic Mass you will see EXACTLY how the early Christians worshipped. Of course, the language will be English, there may be more contemporary music, but the format has stayed pretty much the same. Writings from St Justin Martyr (written in the early 2nd century) clearly describe what you will find in any Catholic church on every Sunday of the year today. Acts 2:42 is still very much the Catholic experience.
I feel this. Had a serious experience with God that shook me from atheism at 23 then was in Pentecostalism for maybe 3-4 years because they were the “happy ones that were welcoming and weren’t religious”. Seeker friendly obviously. As time went on, I felt the hollowness and became confused. Started a house church but that felt just as surface level at times so stopped. Now I’m seeking ancient, original Christianity so many people are claiming I have a “spirit of religion” and are genuinely scared to look into church history even just a century or two ago in case they become religious. It’s an odd mix.
The non-denominational church I attend is God focused. The songs praise God, not man. They also acknowledge that we are sinners unable to save ourselves. All the glory goes to God. You may have to do some digging for theological richness but not all non-denom churches are like that. I would be careful about switching to the RCC or EO. You are effectively transferring your trust from solely God to God, the church, AND yourself. You would have to meditate on the spiritual implications of that. I love my RCC friends but don't think scripture backs up their theology. Before the "you are your own pope" stuff comes up in the RCC you are the arbiter when YOU decide to believe the church has equal authority with scripture...
@@Daniel_McDougall Cardinal St John Newman wrote that "to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant". It is a general observation that Church history argues against Protestantism and that those Protestants who study history deeply many times realize that the Catholic Church is the true Church. For many, just the very thought of that shakes their self-concept and has implications for how they manage their families and wider social relations. Ultimately, belief in the truth of Catholicism is a gift of faith given by God that must be accepted and acted upon or not by the recipient. My deepest sadness is that to maintain that self-concept, too many protestants (especially evangelicals) buy into cheap stereotypes of Catholicism to straw man "the enemy", without actually trying, with an open mind, to find out just what and why Catholics believe what we do.
@@Gondor149 Just where did you hear that drivel. The Catholic Chuch's theological method is based on three aspects (1) Scripture, which we believe is infallible and inerrant and materially sufficient for our faith; (2) the early church which was the witness of the apostles and their disciples which ended the apostolic age and (3) the teaching office of the Church which helps us best understand what the first two put together mean. What I decide to believe is irrelevant for Catholic teaching.
Went from Non-Denominational Evangelical to Anglican Catholic and it has been the best decision I’ve made in my life. I never thought I would be so connected to God through ritual and it has been healing and joyful!
Have you read Thomas Howard’s “Evangelical is Not Enough?” He was Elizabeth Elliot’s brother. He went from evangelical to Anglican/Episcopal (when he wrote the book he was Anglican, though he later became Catholic.). He wrote the book as a gentle explanation to those who loved him and didn’t understand why he moved to a ritualistic denomination.
My goodness you articulate things so well., and with a beautiful humility and charity. You are such a clear thinker who really probes into deeper meanings. God bless you. And to what you are saying here, the Mass has really come alive to me in the last couple months as I’ve been focusing on each word prayed and what they mean in the context of this holy meal where we literally commune with God, his angels, and all Christians in both heaven and on earth. When doing this and realizing at each Mass we are truly present with Christ at His Last Supper and at Calvary, it changes my perspective. I’m filled with awe that God gathers us all in and then shares Himself with us in such a profoundly intimate way. It’s impossible to fully understand. All I can do is say, “Yes, Lord” and accept Him, and strive to make that “Yes” a more complete “Yes” every time I go to Mass, allowing the medicine of His very Body to heal me and mold me more into His image by grace each time I receive Him. This is His design. I am compelled to believe and to trust Him.
Your channel makes room for unity. I pray that Christ will one day unite His church as He always wanted. We ALL need to humble ourselves. One holy Body of Christ! Thank you and God bless you ❤️🔥🙏
I appreciate my Protestant brothers and sisters, and I understand that they are hesitant to end up worshipping incorrectly. However, that fear could be hindering them from the possibility of experiencing the fullness of the faith. I needed something more ancient and closer to the apostles. So for me it came down to Catholic or Orthodox. The way I chose between the two was by going to the Church that changed the least. Which is why I ended up in the Orthodox church. I don't want any change to something that was already beautiful, perfect, meaningful and helps me truly feel the presence of Christ with all my senses; in other words, with my whole being. I love wearing my cross, that points to Christ. I love smelling the incense that points to Christ, having my eyes see the holy icons that point to Christ, hear and sing with my voice the ancient holy hymns that point to Christ. touch holy relics that were sanctified by and point to Christ, and finally, taste the body and blood of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ himself.
Pray for me brother, I am a Protestant currently attempting to decide between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and share many of the sentiments you described. God bless you.
@@kasiosseijuro8494 I actually will pray for you 😎. Just a few things to keep in mind, not that I'm trying to school you up (that could be insulting), just pointing some things out that you might or might not know. From the beginning the Church Christ founded via his apostles worshipped and taught the following (of course verify for yourself in due time): 1. Eucharist with levened bread. (Changed by Rome, circa 600ad after being conquered by Arians). 2. Change only came about through ecumenical councils (not by pope of Rome, since no man is infallible). 3. Never taught immaculate conception (Immaculate conception doesn't allow us to relate to Mary) 4. Always allowed priest to be married (Changed by Rome) 5. Churches face east, we pray to the east, even priest faces east (Changed by Rome). 6. Original Nicene Creed that confesses the procession of the Holy Spirit from the father alone (Changed by Rome) If you see a shoe with a Nike check, you recognize it immediately. If you see a shoe with a "similar" check, but not identical, then it no longer is the same thing, no matter how similar they look, it's not the same. For me at least, if you change something, than you are not original, you have altered it outside of your authority, and therefore you are running the risk of losing the grace of God by doing so, because you are no longer professing the same "exact" faith. There is room for speculation in doctrine, but the dogmas are not something you change lightly. Lest we offend God and lose touch with his revelations. Once a priest or pastor professes and practices a different faith, how can we be sure that the Holy Spirit still resides in his parish? If the Eucharist is dependent upon the proper worship and confessions in order to bring about the mysteries through the priest/pastor, then a priest or pastor who is heretical cannot bring about the mysteries of the eucharist and therefore hinder your diefication/theosis (purification to obtain ever lasting life). I do believe God will save people outside the Church, by his mercy and grace, but that's a whole other discussion, and does not diminish the importance of joining oneself to the one true Church. I hope that helps in your search for the truth, you are definitely on the right path, just one more major fork in the road. God be with you.
If Isaiah and John heard the angels in Heaven singing " “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" and “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” wouldn't it be a good idea to imitate the worship going on there?
The problems is that the Evangelicals have a wrong view of Matthew 6:7, they translate babble as "vain repetition" and then they assume all repetition is vain, appealing to this verse as a response to any ritualistic practice, the rosary, hesychast prayer, centering prayer, repeating the same grace prayer, having other repeating daily prayers, having liturgical services, etc. But that verse obviously talks against "many words", not "repeating words". Jesus taught us to repeat prayers, look at the parable of the persistent widow, also he himself practiced repetitive prayer, as mentioned in Matthew 26:44 and Mark 14:39.
You're right. And it is also important to note that the word in the original Greek text is a single word - a verb that doesn't exist in english. It doesn't actually directly say "vain repetition" this is an attempt to best convey the message. In the translation into my language for example, it doesn't say "vain repetition" and as a result this misunderstanding doesn't even arise which further demonstrates that it is a modern misunderstanding
The only prayers that are in "vain" are those that are said to false gods. That was the point of that teaching in the Bible. Jesus himself "repeated the same prayer" to God the Father. "Empty phrases" is another translation of "vain repetition" in some English Bibles.
Recent convert to Anglicanism from Evangelicalism, and I can say that rituals have deeply shaped me. The daily office of the BCP, the Anglican Prayer Beads, the graudal before Gospel readings, all just to name a few. The 1662 BCP lectionary has kept me more faithfully reading the Word this year than ever before, and my prayer life has become richer, and more layered in Scripture. If you have the opportunity to visit an Anglo-catholic liturgy, I highly recommend it. Our nearest Anglo-catholic church sings and chants almost all of the service, and incorporates many traditional mass elements into their liturgy. E.g. the priest facing away from the congregation, and towards the altar for the Eucharist.
I've been trying to understand and use the BCP and Daily office. Definitely moving towards either the Lutheran or Anglican tradition as of recent, really appreciate how most of the service the congregation is involved.
@@yanalbertoagudelo9687 it's a little tricky at first! As someone who went from zero experience with the BCP I spent a couple month learning the ins and outs of the book. I love my Lutheran friends! But I ended up heading towards Anglicanism for a handful of reasons. One prominent one being that Anglicans are open table! Christians of all denominations can partake in the Lord's Supper with us. I appreciate that kind of ecumenical spirit.
Join the Ordinariate we retain morning and evening prayer, have a anglican style mass (-and it’s actually the body and blood of christ!) and we dont have questionable theology and Protestant origins. No women priests and bishops, no gay priests, no official support of abortion and gay marriage. No orgins as a Protestant denomination in which the common book of prayer calls belief in purgatory, saintly intercession and transubstantiation as abominable before God. Most of the Anglican ritual is just catholic ritual slowly added back in the 1800s and so on. The Catholic Church existed from Christ until now, the main reason anglicanism exists is the Tudors wanting an heir. Im an ex Anglican. God bless.
@@King-uj1lh @King 🤴🏻 the Ordinariate is an interesting rite! In the ACNA, we don't have women bishops, or support of any of the things you mentioned. Although, some diocese will ordain women to the diaconate and priesthood. Of course, in the 39 articles you have the statements you mentioned concerning Romish doctrines... but those articles do not deny, rather affirm, Real Presence in the Eucharist. Anglicans simply do not define what are the myseries of God. Also, I'd check out the original BCP (1549)... very ritual based indeed! Although I'm not arguing about the resurgence in the 1800s thanks to the Oxford Movement. I would dispute your understanding of the origins of Anglicanism... we too have existed from Christ until now. 😊 Think more Eastern Orthodoxy's relationship to Rome than other Protestant denominations... continuing Apostolic Succession included. I would conclude that I have a strong love for Rome, but land pleasantly in a place where the historic church passed through the much needed Reformation. Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
I was raised in the Assemblies of God church in the UK, but at the age of 52 left Pentecostalism to become a Confirmed Anglican. I have found such depth and meaning within the ritual that has massively impacted every area of my spiritual life and led me into a more profound walk with God.
As a born and raised and practicing Roman catholic, may God bless you and protect you with his holy and sacred blood. Thank you for not blasting our faith but rather embrassing the love we have in our faith and rituals. May mother Mary embrace you in her arms and nurture you with the same love she gave her son, Jesus christ, amen.
Reading the book "When the Church Was Young" I'm blown away by the fact that I've been neglected in my protestant upbringing of early church history when it comes to the foundational fathers who built Christendom!
@@pigetstuck CRC (Reformed) learned a lot about Calvin, Luther, remember learning about the reformation in school. Catholics were bad people, weren’t Christians. Sanctification + salvation OSAS etc. Didn’t make much sense to me.
As a rabbi, Jesus was intimately knowledgable of synagogue rituals and no doubt led them. The Passover Meal (Last Supper) that He famously led was another ritual. Great video!
I like to watch you evolve on your faith journey since you began Gospel Simplicity! Ritual gets to the body in its meaning long before we come to the use of Reason, and so children taken to liturgies on Sunday are grounded by the same sense processes in church that they use for every other aspect of life for learning, long before their intellects are able to kick in and understand the "why" of faith. The Reformation began in the minds of thinking adults, not in the minds of children. We have our senses for learning to see into our reasons for acting. By the time we begin to understand the items in our creeds, we can sing them already if we grow up in a liturgical church. Just "going through the motions helps." Thank you for this video, Sir!
I attended WofF (Word of Faith) churches in my young adulthood in the 80s and 90s. While not the Prosperity Gospel it was a good place to learn and understand the Bible. When I started to attend the Protestant mainlines again I realized the importance of Liturgy. How many young Evangelicals know about the Doxology, the Decalogue, the Kyrie, the 3-fold Amen, the Nicene and Apostles creeds? I learned these growing up in the A.M. E. church. It's not merely "vain repetition." They were teaching tools created at a time when most people were illiterate but trained their memories to be attentive.
That last point is something I really try to emphasize to friends that question me about liturgy and traditional tools of the Church for education. I think of it in a similar vein to the the initial use of icons and symbols must have had, emphasizing important points of the gospel through visual representations. Most people couldn't read so the more tools you can use to help them understand and live out the gospel the better. And just because now we have access to read the Bible doesn't negate the great usefulness that remains in them.
Thank you for your wonderful video. As a cradle Catholic and a 40 year absence from my faith I did for the most part believe it was nothing but a magic show. In 2019 I came back with a humble and contrite heart and it felt like starting all over again and the work never ends, that's the best part. I started with Mass, Confession, Communion the Rosary etc. Then I found the Liturgy of the hours and it has changed my life. Through the rituals of my faith, my commitment and a lot of God's grace I'm happy to say I can mentally pray with the distractions getting fewer and fewer. But like with anything else faith must be maintained through regular exercise. Praying the Divine Office every day will help you. My priest is ex military and I told him it feels like doing basic training for the soul. He laughed at first but then said that was a pretty good analogy. Thank you for your open heart and mind. May God bless you and all your viewers.
Ritual is one of the most powerful tools for allowing for authenticity and connection with others. I'm an experience designer and they, experience designers, talk about and teach rituals constantly. Like in game design or Hollywood or a ride at the magic kingdom. Authenticity needs a structure to attach to - you can't just get together and authenticate all over each other - rituals provide safety to connect with others. Think of going to a restaurant when dating (all the rituals give you things to do). Working with others to achieve a task, like teaching a class, painting a building, or coaching a little league team provides the ritual infrastructure and social safety for relationships to form. This is why fellowship groups never really work, you can't just meetup and decide to be friends because you're supposed to, it's scary and puts pressure on everyone bringing out their natural tendency to inauthenticity.
As a Lutheran, I am very much in favor of ritual. We're evangelical Protestants, but the sign of the cross and a rich liturgy is a strong characteristic of our service.
im having presumptions these last 3-4 uploads of Austin. either way what ever his future decisions in life; I commend his pursue of truth and his approach to it. definitely an exemplar college student.
Interesting....before becoming Orthodox I was of the same low-church anti-ritual/tradition as you mentioned. Looking through fresh eyes one can't help but see that ritual (read Liturgy) is everywhere, and our worship, the structured liturgical life in and out of the local church is soaked in it. Even the Bible was a liturgical instrument, assembled to be used within the Church services. I'm curious as to how this show will discuss this for Protestants, especially those in the non-denominational or other low-churches. Even many mainline denominations, I'm afraid, have moved away from ritual and tradition to where it is only a shell of itself from where it was 30, 50, 100 years ago. I spent time in my youth as a Lutheran (Missouri Synod) and 40 years later taking my mother to services in various churches I didn't recognize the worship....
@@CristianaCatólica I should the same to you....I suggest justchecking the doctrinal changes the RCC has made throughout the centuries and see if your doctrinal faith is the one "Once delivered to the saints."...
Quite right as a Catholic (revert) i had no idea what the sacraments and mass represented. It seemed so remote - I couldn’t have been more wrong. Bible in a Year podcast / hallow app was an important tool to my eyes; ears and heart to be opened🙏
Wonderful video and insight Austin 😊You hit the nail on the head, it’s very much to do with what’s happening in your MIND. I just wanted to clarify, Catholics kneel before entering a pew yes but they are meant to be kneel for Our Lord’s presence IN the Tabernacle. After transubstantiation, the ‘left over’ hosts are stored in the Tabernacle. When this is the case, a red light/candle is on next to the Tabernacle, to alert you of Our Lords physical presence. That is what people are meant to be kneeling to before entering a pew as well as any time they walk past it. They stop and kneel - Priests are meant to do this too. Hope this helps. A lot of Catholics don’t actually realise what they are meant to be kneeling for. Hope this is helpful.
Good stuff, I was a Baptist seminarian now I’m Episcopal. Learning 2nd century history made me fall in love with liturgy, apocrypha, ritual, community, orthodoxy, 2nd Temple literature, Benedictine piety, Cassian, Martin of Tours, Desert Fathers, Greek church, prayer books, feel like a new person. Catechesis is missing.
Oh man, this was so good! I've been loving your channel since finding it about a month ago. I grew up hearing the "empty ritual" warning but have recently begun to understand how these things can engage our whole being in worship and prayer. I've really enjoyed listening to you unpack since visiting these other churches. Keep bringing it!
Keeping searching. Keep understanding. Keep being amazed by what you find, Austin. You are on yr Emmaus Road to opening yr eyes & heart at the breaking of bread. Then, that will be yr time...'welcome home' to the Catholic Church. Glory be to the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I'm not an Orthodox but have been considering at least attending a service, to see what its all about. I do like the Orthodox idea that communion has an actual connection to the divine, rather that it just being "symbolic" like in my Protestantism. I've always felt there was more to it than just mere symbolism.
As a person who came up attending Catholic Schools, went secular, got into Zen Buddhism after college, got interested in Christianity again thanks to Thich Nhat Hanh, got into Vajrayana (Vedic, mantraic, ritualistic) Buddhism, became interested in the similarities between Vajrayana and Catholicism (there are *many*), was introduced to a deeper Catholicism by St. John Cantius online, attended Orthodox services for half a year, and am now pan-Religious (attending a Congregationalist Church and still sitting with my Liberal Sangha) -- I have greatly appreciated your internet presence. You are calm, kind, intelligent, sensitive, insightful, and critical. Thank you very much.
I would say that the essence of ritual, from an Orthodox perspective, can be summed up like this: we are what we are because we do what we do. In other words, ritual is not simply things we do to deepen our faith, but rather are the things that form the core of what we are. When engaging our rituals, we are participating in the reality that makes us what we are. Our engagement with our rituals is much like an infant/toddler learning to speak its parents' language. They hear the sounds and try to mimick them, and in doing so begin to communicate, even though they don't necessarily understand everything they are saying. Over time, that understanding deepens. But we would never say that the kid wasn't truly speaking English just because he was 3 and didn't know the definitions of words. He was *being* an English speaker from the beginning. We engage our rituals whether we understand them or not, because it is through them that we are being Christians. Hopefully over time we understand them more, but understanding is not what makes them real or meaningful. It is doing them faithfully that makes them real and meaningful, in the same way that eating a meal in and of itself is what makes the meal meaningful, no matter what you do or do not understand about nutrition science.
Praying I can be a true christian, light, salt, ambassador of Christ. And I am reading the "Cathecism of the Council of Trent" and I am amazed, because I was kinda anti-catholic.
I think a lot of people are jumping on you and assuming you are saying there isnt intrinsic meaning to what we do. You were clear that you are just talking about HOW we approach ritual. Thanks, appreciated the reflection.
As a Catholic, I'm even turned off by those liberal Novus Ordo masses. I like my church experience to be pure 15th century. I find that an evangelical meeting just wouldn't cut it. Partly the informality is horrendous to me, but also because evangelicism lacks the great theological depth that the Catholic church has including 2000 years of mystery that you can ponder on. Just what I like.
The “new Mass” is quite beautiful if done in a respectful and devoted way. And 100% Vatican II. No dancing. No drums. No immodest dress. No Father doing his “own thing!” I find myself totally absorbed in worship through the singing and responses required by the NO Liturgy. Attending an older, more traditionally decorated Catholic Church helps too. A lot of these 1960s, suburban parish churches look like high school gymnasiums. Yuck!
When I travel I refer to a website called Reverent Catholic Mass. I'm blessed that my home parish is on that list. I've rarely attended a TLM, but my priest says other Masses ad orientem and very reverently.
" And they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."-Acts 2:42. The early church practiced a liturgy. Notice that it says " the prayers", not simply prayer. It was liturgical prayer that went all the way back to the beginning of the temple worship using the Psalms and other scriptures.
@@frankbilotto Good point, but it's obvious that the apostles used the Old Testament scriptures to support their teaching, and as time went on they also used the New Testament writings as they became available. For instance, Paul quotes the words of Jesus from Luke 10:7 when writing to Timothy in 1st Timothy 5:18, which shows that Luke's gospel was already written and being circulated in the church.
@@jamestrotter3162 I understand. We think the same way. My point was that they "devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles", which is a whole lot more than just the scriptures. It's what I pray that the Church has maintained to this day. Just like, "communion/fellowship", really means doing whatever it takes to completely care for the needs of faithful, and breaking of bread is obviously the Eucharist, as it's highly unlikely that they would be "devoted" to food. I know that I often fail miserably in all 4 of those principles.
... the Lords supper for me is - a moment of extreme importance; it's the single most important meal of the week. I found a pastor here on you tube who enables you to come every week, and - he, Mr James Snapp, even includes a little sermon. I can't thank James enough; and I can't thank Jesus Christ enough - for the help of James! Thank you for this interesting video. Kind regards Kim
“A failure of catechesis” So true! I would love to see our priests take one ritual, symbol, action, response, per week and explain its origin at the beginning of their homily. A small, teachable moment. So many feel Mass is empty because they have never learned the richness of what is happening. And a priest who rushes through Mass, does great harm by his example.
I’m a former seventh day Adventist converting to Orthodoxy, but I love your channel for now open minded you are for exploring church history unlike many Protestants I know. Super cool, keep at it. Best!
You are totally correct. Evangelicals seem to believe that those who 'practice' rituals are not really 'true' Christians. The Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The text does not say. The Lord Jesus came into the world to save evangelicals or presbyterians or Anglicans etc etc. I trust that what you have highlighted is heard by evangelicals and that they have the humility to change their thinking, their mind set and hostility to 'rituals'.
The Lutheran Litergy and service at least used to be similar to the Catholic church. For me they are full of meaning. The bad news is many Lutheran churches are moving to the band in the front model.
Rich Mullins said it so long ago in his brilliant album, "Liturgy, Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band"... In the song "Creed"... "I did not make it. No, it is making me." And Austin, you have grown so much. I so appreciate you. You have become such an "elbow" in The Body of Christ. That we may be one...
Austin, What a clear, balanced and helpful discussion of ritual! I understand the Mass and so choose to participate frequently. Rather than boring me, its beauty and message never fail to bless, uplift and inspire me.
I love this, Austin! Very good points of awareness and ritual. It did always puzzle me why people said rituals are empty, but will celebrate birthday parties, Flowers and date on an anniversary,etc. Rituals are a normal part of relationships and they both strengthen and reflect the relationship. Humans need rituals and if we don’t have them, we will invent them. Any ritual can be empty but my experience is ritual lcan refocus us on Christ when we feel as though we are empty. Ritual is about the Incarnation. The now physical reality of God himself.
I took a class in college on Christianity and Ritual and my professor always gave a great example. He said that often when people would insist that there isn't a human need for ritual he would ask them what they have for Thanksgiving dinner. Those same people would have an exact way that they wanted side dishes to be prepared.
Thank you for this. It puts into words what I have been experiencing. I grew up Catholic. I have been Evangelical for the last 40 years. I got tired of the profane commercialized worship and finally left. I started worshipping at home by keeping Sabbath. I didn't know how to have a Holy Convocation by myself. I started to create a formal worship by incorporating ritual on the Sabbath by lighting a menorah and burning incense as described in the Bible. I got an Orthodox Prayer Book and started praying formal prayers. I am extremely blessed. Like you said, I don't have to reinvent the wheel every time I worship. Holy people of God have already paved the way with ritual that is pregnant with meaning. The rituals and prayers help me to focus and enter into the presence of God.
Yes, I absolutely agree that living with intentional action underpinned by understanding is key to every endeavour in life & rituals then have power to immerse our souls in our Father, the Lord Most High. You know the passing of the peace that many churches do, it too can be meaningless. But if you understand that peace (Shalom) comes only from the Lord Most High & is to be found nowhere but in Him, then what you are doing by passing the peace is engaging with The Father to convey His blessing upon another soul. You are a vessel the transmission of the most important and significant blessing of all time. It is the blessing that Jesus came and died to impart. It is the blessing heralded by angels before the roughest & toughest of men, the shepherds guarding their sheep from predators such as lions at on the hills around Bethlehem that night. It is the blessing that we are to carry to others to discover who is receptive to Jesus His Son, that we may productively deliver the good news that brings salvation & eternal life. It's the blessing that imparts healing of the deepest of wounds. Wherever you go, let your peace rest on those you find there, that they too may be blessed of God Most High.
I never spent much time in church growing up. As an adult with a small child we wanted to raise her in church so we ended up in the Methodist church. It started out as a contemporary service early church. All of the older people of the congregation did not care for it. I liked it because it wasn't focused on ritual until it came time for communion. The early service finally ended and went back to the sanctuary. I moved on to a PH church with contemporary service. I now have a real distaste for the way they treat communion. No liturgy at all and not very reverent in the way it is celebrated. At 64 now I have looked into the first 300 years of Christianity and am considering an orthodox service.
Would like to thank this channel and people commenting. You have all made a valuable contribution to my ability to verbalise the value of Christian rituals that I have been practising, knew the value of, but never really analysed. Glory to Christ our King.
This is great, thank you. I love what you say about ritual. As someone who, quite early on, moved from the Baptist Church to a high Anglican one, I was - - and am - - really tuned in to and in love with the beauty of the service. I think cradle high church people sometimes can't even see the rituals, they are too familiar. I have just subscribed. ☺
I just watched this video. It is very good and I will say when you decide like you talked in the video, I’m not going to pay attention I’m not going to allow this to affect me. You were in fact, creating a ritual that will fulfill its intent of not listening. This is something that is in all of us. The thing we were told in scripture not to do was to follow the traditions of men, but we were to follow God, intended, rituals.
When you said "empty ritual" what donned on me are the two empty rituals of the Baptist Church: baptism and communion. They are full of symbolism, but empty of any real purpose or power, thus they are ordinances we do because of traditions and scripture, but are optional and not at all mandatory. I get more kick back in my Baptist Church for not saluting and reciting the flag pledges to the American and Christian flags than I do for ever missing a communion Sunday or for my 6 year old not being baptized yet.
My humble 2c: if you find that your "denomination" lacks something "essential", and it can be demonstrated that the ancient church had those essential things, then perhaps the right move isn't to try and add those essentials to your current "denomination". Perhaps the right move is to make a move to the church that has always had those essentials...for me that was converting from Evangelicalism to the Orthodox Church.
Every church has a liturgy... low or high church. Every church has rituals. It is funny how they don't realize it sometimes or take pride in "not having" them.
I realised this when I regularly attended a non-denominational (or was it Full Gospel?) church a few years ago. The same attendees who scoffed at Catholic & Anglican churches for being too "ritualistic" couldn't discern the obvious pattern/sequence of events that was repeated every week at their own service, at the same time & location. Sermons were always done after a lengthy "praise & worship" (as with liturgical churches, the songs & Bible readings were rarely ever the same from one week to the next) & the pastor always began praying "from the heart" for everyone & everything after specific parts of the service were out of the way.
Yep, unless the service is a completely random, mixed up format every week there's ritual there. You stand for this song sit for this song listen to the message, have an offering time, have a final song ect. That format and pattern is a ritual.
Empty rituals are a poison to the soul. It is up to each man and woman to give meaning to the rituals that we pass on to our children, and to instill in them the sense of the spiritual reality that they embody in us.
I have enjoyed accompanying you on your ecumenical exploration through your Gospel Simplicity channel. You appear to have returned with some riches and old wisdoms. Bless you and many thanks.
I agree with you about rituals. A ritual is only as empty as the person or persons performing and participating in it. If you aren't connected to the purpose of it, and have little or no understanding of its purpose, you will not reap from where you have not sown. Ritual reinstates order, and is done regularly to reflect the ritual order of God's creation. The sun and moon rise and set everyday. They have a regular order, a ritual. The seasons have a regular order, and Christian holy days coincide with the order of the seasons. Family dinner every evening is a ritual, just like the family gatherings on holidays. Taking a bath or shower every night can be a ritual. A regular exercise regime can be a ritual. Most often, people only associate a ritual with a habitual religious routine. But, any routine can be a "ritual." Daily prayer is a ritual even if it is not a standard form. A ritual is about establishing and maintaining some worthwhile behavior because it produces a benefit in some way. Whether it is spiritual, health, family, community, or career, most successful people develop habits, or rituals, even political elections, that establish patterns for getting things done on a regular basis because it (the ritual) gives order to our lives and puts things in categories of priorities. Now, a religious ritual, is not empty just because you don't have a mystical experience or emotional response everytime you participate in one. The ritual of going to church on Sunday and listening to a sermon can be just as empty as any other ritual by those standards. Especially if you have heard it all before. But, while a regular exercise routine may not be enjoyable either, the purpose is not entertainment. And, I think that when people refer to "empty rituals" they are often saying more about themselves than they are the ritual. It is kind of like people who think they can stop loving someone, or fall out of love, because they don't "feel" like they did before. For people like this love is a transient "spirit" that possesses them, instead of a virtue they have developed. And, it is the virtue of love, the habit of love, the duty of love, that we are supposed to develop, according to scripture, if we are to love our enemies and our neighbors as ourselves. The rituals of the church develop the habits of spiritual virtues. Not mystical experiences, emotional excitement, or entertainment. They ground the church in the religious virtues of worship, prayer, faith, love, and hope, by demonstrating perseverance, commitment, and sacrifice even when you "don't feel like it," for the benefit of the community, the family, the marriage, and parenting. The godly virtues of righteousness are about DOING the right thing even when you don't want to, and sacrificing the flesh, the emotions, the entertainment, and all the other things that you would rather be doing in order to fulfill your duty of love. It is about the virtues of security (loyalty), stability (emotional as well), trust, and dependability. Sameness may be boring, but it is peaceful and dependable. Order, can also be boring, but it takes hard work and tenacity to fight off the chaos and destruction of the enemy. Constantly and repeatedly having to work, cook, clean, do laundry, and pay bills can be tedious and boring, but still necessary and meaningful. Of course, the place where a ritual does become "empty," is when your motives are "empty" and you only do it because you have no choice, or when you think the ritual is like a bribe or a trade off. In the OT, in the prophets, God was harsh towards people who made sacrifices with wrong motives. Their sacrifices and rituals were unacceptable because their hearts were "empty." They used sacrifices like bribes, or like someone who calculates the price of commiting a crime, and decides the benefit of the crime is worth the price. In instances like that, there is no true repentance, and the lack of repentance was why the sacrifices were unacceptable. Likewise, people who believe that rituals are "empty," are either misunderstanding the Bible, and/or, just don't care about understanding it.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ❤️ THIS VIDEO… Would you, please, do a sequel?! And maybe 🤔 if you can get deeper with particularly the rituals of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Thanks in advance. 🙏 Bless you abundantly…
I can understand that. I love my Novus Ordo celebrated with a schola, gregorian chant (schola sings polyphonic masses for feasts), the Roman Canon, communion on tongue at rail made available, lots of incense. And generally singing/chanting the entire liturgy(the people join the chanting of the Ordinary). It's a Dominican church. They also celebrate according to the Dominican Rite (and calendar) for certain feasts and other occasions. One thing I appreciate and value is a sung liturgy - as the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholics do. I dislike the innovation of a "low mass". Even chanted without a choir very simply - that is the way the divine liturgy was done for centuries. I realize I am lucky to have such a parish with such a Novus Ordo. Many have to accept contemporary hymns , EPII on Sunday etc.
Love how you make the sign of the cross the correct way. The Orthodox Way. You are already Orthodox. You may not realize it yet, but you will soon. God bless!
The gong at the end is a nice prize for those who stuck around. I feel it you're working for the unity Christ wanted us to have but have been losing since maybe the 300s.
It was the liturgy that brought me to Lutheranism out of the Evangelical church. The Jesus I worshiped did not change, but how I experienced him only deepened
My fiancé’s Aunt came to town one day and learned I was Catholic. She pulled everything she could out of the Anti-Catholic handbook. When it came to the mass, all she said was “It’s all a ritual!” and I simply responded “Yes, exactly, it’s a ritual.” She had a confounded look on her face thinking as to why someone would agree with her statement. I ended up explaining that the Old Testament had many rituals, and comparatively we don’t have nearly as many. I feel bad for those who don’t know the beauty of rituals. I don’t think you can fully comprehend the bible without some form of ritual in your life.
I pray that got her thinking.
The rituals teach scripture! They make us part of it and aid in expressing it.
I always say thank God for tradition and ritual. Without it, in a few years, even Orthodox worship would likely become a concert and a lecture. I like knowing that I could bring a Christian from anywhere in the world from any point in time in the first millennium to my Church on Sunday and he/ she would know exactly where they were, exactly what was happening, and be able to jump in and fully participate. I was just in Latvia in East Europe, in a Russian Orthodox Church. I don't understand Russian, but I easily participated in the Liturgy as if it was being celebrated in English.
@@frankbilotto I also appreciate that fact. Going on holiday and going to Mass and feeling part of the Universal Church. Praise God
I have never had a problem with many of the rituals or practices of Catholicism. My problem is with the corrupt hierarchy of “The Catholic Church”.
The power struggle of man is deep within the Roman Catholic Church. Many of the rituals are designed around this. So I’d rather not start with sifting through my religion to find what is and isn’t actually of Christ.
I like this guy and his sincerity. Just started watching, but feel compelled to comment. Rituals embodie "values,idea, ideals." You're missing it. Rituals are intended to enable us to experience the presence of Christ. From making the sign of the cross to receiving the Eucharist and everything in between, all of it puts our focus on Christ. Protestants can say they don't need it, and it works for them. But for me, just making the sign of the cross and saying the Jesus prayer throughout the day keeps me connected to Chist.
Everything in the church is about salvation... Acquiring the grace of God.
@@danielmiller2069you would think that but the RCC has made it about Mary
@Ducky Momo Our mother Mary has an important part to play in our salvation. She is closer to Christ than we are, and pleads on our behalf
@@duckymomo7935 You would think that, but the Catholic Church does not teach that. Mr. Miller is right.
As a non-catholic and non-chtistian I have to agree. His definition of ritual doesn't even make sense in the context of my faith traditions and their rituals.
Former evangelical here. I converted to Catholicism a while ago and it’s amazing. My prayer and faith life have grown exponentially.
take 1 step further and join a TLM or SSPX parrish.
@@spoonysmalls I go to the TLM occasionally
Welcome home!
welcome home!
I'm a convert to Orthodox Christianity who recently had a crisis of faith over matters somewhat related to this issue. I was disturbed by two things I noticed - among some cradles, a lack of understanding of the deeper symbolic and theological meaning of the rituals, and among some converts, an obsession with getting every little bit of ritual right and having intellectual knowledge of what they related to, but by doing so missing the very basics of the Faith: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
What I realised is for many of the cradles, while they may not have the intellectual knowledge of the reasoning behind some of these things, they have deep associations between those rituals and their faith in God and their love for others. And that for the converts I mentioned, often they were just trying to get things right, and to make up for a lack of earlier grounding in the Faith by making an effort to learn these things now, and that over time these things would hopefully be integrated and become something that helped them to live out those commandments rather than something that gets in the way.
The rituals of the Church allow people to participate no matter what their level of understanding. Even if we just take them at the most basic level they bring people together.
I also realised that focusing on and criticising the way others approach these things is not particularly helpful for my soul, my repentance, my salvation, or even my sanity.
You do a great job on this channel, I always find your videos interesting. God bless.
Love your thoughts. Rituals are a demonstration of each person's spiritual tie to worshipping God, no matter their intellect, knowledge or life experience. A humbling equaliser.
Many cradles were formed with just an elementary understanding of everything, right into adulthood. I've heard many sources say that catechesis has not been good for the past 50-60 years. Also, unless everything is very much emphasized in the home also, it won't mean much to a child who is dealing with issues with friends, school, and very possibly problems in the home too. The faith just doesn't fit with everything else that screams louder on a daily basis.
As an adult, when we are mature and can put many of those things behind us, and study on our own, it can have much more meaning. This is known as reversion or a deeper conversion among cradle Catholics who take the time to learn deeper on their own. Then there is the risk of scrupulosity, trying to get everything "right" to make up for the time that was lost in childhood, adolescence, and sometimes much of adulthood, being lukewarm due to lack of understanding, and good examples, for many years.
@@julieelizabeth4856 I was fortunate enough to be raised in a parish that had the means to educate us all growing up. I can see that with parishes with less means :(
Our little parish is mostly converts, our priest chides us cradles that the converts know more.
It is humbling.
He also teaches, and that really helps all.
✨
My wife and I were both raised Catholic, converted to Evangelicalism and returned to the Catholic Church. When we were Evangelical we used to get a good laugh when others would say that they didn't have rituals. Every week it was a greeting, some hymns, a hymn done by the choir, the Scripture reading, another hymn so the choir could get to their seats, the sermon and a closing prayer. It was just as much a ritual as the Mass was.
Welcome back home 😁
Do you know that in 20 years more than 25 thousand Protestante Ministers have become Catholics
NO! Often mistaken for habits, rituals involve the execution of conscious and deliberate actions. Mass is a re-presentation of Calvary, and the altar itself the place where heaven and earth meet. The graces that our blessed Lord merited by his death on the cross now flow down to us through the Most Holy and Eternal Sacrifice of the Mass. It is the holiest act of religion not just routine.
What cracked me up when I was an Evangelical was how sometimes we would purposely switch things up purposely so there wasn't a ritual. "This week we're going to do the prayer BEFORE the scripture reading." Oooooo... Curve ball...
@@eyefisher They tried that at the Evangelical church we attended. Once.
I'm not a Catholic (yet) but boy have you nailed it.
Hi Austin, thanks for being such a kind and generous Christian! I’m a cradle Catholic who was just going through the motions for a long time. But at one point, I noticed some friends who kneeled very reverently…for some reason they caught my attention. I became aware that their actions during mass were full of reverence and love. It caused me to start thinking about all of our beliefs and everything we do at mass- I started looking at my own behavior during mass. Anyways, it set me on a path of re-discovering and loving my Faith practice! It’s amazing how one faithful action, done with sincere love and devotion, can inspire/teach others.
Thank you for sharing this! What a lovely story
I’m in the same boat as you Mary. For a while I went to church and as a sacristan/altar server, was quite involved in the mass both pre, during, and post service.
However, I had a while where even all that didn’t “do” anything for me, but finding other Catholics who did things like more reverent kneeling, bowing, and even veiling got me back to loving all the little parts of the mass and developing a deeper prayer life.
Sometimes the best evangelization of the faith really is just living it out as fully as one can. 🥰
On my way to the Catholic Church, I was at an Anglican service and during the words of institution at the elevation, I saw a man cross himself (first at the elevation of the Bread and then of the wine). I was struck by the look of intensity and devotion on his face. Ever since then, I do the same. Also once when sharing the peace many years ago, pre -covid, someone looked me in they eye and said: "the peace of christ". That also struck me and I realized sharing my peace doesn't mean much but sharing Christ's peace means everything. So I have done the same at masses where they still share the peace (not at my current parish generally).
I am also a cradle Catholic and I also notice people that kneel more reverently or longer than I normally kneel whether that be at adoration or at Mass passing the altar or the Tabernacle and it makes an impression on me as well.
❤
I'm a Catholic, was baptised at age 8. But my family were not religious, so naturally over time I stopped going to church. Went to Isreal before my 20th birthday. I didn't think much of Orthodoxy, but decided to converted to Judaism, which is full of rituals. And I appreciated them. But I never did converted (though my mother tol me I was already Jewish)
My sister-in-law asked if I would listen to the missionaries from her church future this time and just to make her happy I did. Which I regretted now. But anyway I came Morman, was never fully happy there. But I did meet my husband there. Anyway 14years ago we left the Morman church.
My husband want to go Anglican. Where we stay up to 18mths ago and now full circle back at the Catholic church and go to Liturg everyday except Saturday and church on Sunday. My husband is happy too. Yes, ritual is very important.
Welcome back home!!
Born and raised Catholic, spent 40 years in the Evangelical movement, now in love with my Catholic faith. Ive seen both sides of this and you just hit the nail on the head. This was one of your best. Thanks for sharing it. Next time I go to a Catholic Church, Ill remember to kneel before I enter the pew:) I don’t need to avoid that any more.
Kneeling communicates our recognition of Christ as our Lord and King of Kings.
The reason we kneel before entering a pew is because of stored hosts in the Tabernacle. After transubstantiation, the ‘left over’ hosts are stored in the Tabernacle. Which means Our Lord is physically present in the Tabernacle, to alert us of this, a red light/candle is lit next to the Tabernacle- that’s when and why we kneel when we either walk past it or enter our pews. Hope this helps. I didn’t realise this until later in my life.
Question from a relatively new Catholic - if the tabernacle is in a different part of the church (as is often the case here in France), does one still genuflect toward the altar before sitting, or would it be more appropriate to genuflect toward the tabernacle, even if it is situated off to the side? My husband and I have questioned this and can see a rationale for both. TYIA for your response.
@@DrSheri.teaches We always genuflect towards the altar before sitting down in the pew, whether the tabernacle is there or not. If you pass before a tabernacle that has host in it (door closed) you genuflect because you are before the King. If the tabernacle is empty (door open) it is appropriate to simply bow towards it. Also when crossing before an altar with a crucifix it is appropriate to bow. Hope that helps.
@@DrSheri.teachesto the altar we bow, to the tabernacle we kneel if the light is on.
In nchurches where the tabernacle is positioned at the center, usually over the altar (in major altars) or behind them (for modern eucharistic tables) then we kneel (usually a genuflect), but not because of the altar, but because of the tabernacle behind/over it.
The reason we bow to the altar is both because it its the altar of the sacrifice, because it represents Christ, and also because it has some relic embeded into it.
Whenever I go to a church which has an eucharistic chapel, I bow to the altar, then proceed to the chapel to kneel and pray a while before mass.
I as a protestant I have said many empty prayers creating an empty ritual myself usually right before bed. Now that I am transitioning to Orthodoxy as an old man, I welcome the Lord's Prayer and then go into my regular repeated prayers most if not every night. I have discovered that rituals are important and realize are a crucial practice for an effective and consistent prayer life as long as my heart is in the right place. But even if I am distracted some nights, I still go through them. I think consistency and faithfulness are important. Appreciate your thoughts.
Leo, I'm not sure I would have the open mindedness to change late in life. It had to be the Holy Spirit guiding you. You should listen to Thomas Hopko's explanation of the Lord's prayer. He talks about how poorly translated it is into English. And how it has much deeper meaning than we may think from the English.
Leo, one more thing, you should try to attend the matins/orthros services, which typically begin 1 hour before the Divine Liturgy. All of our theology is in these services, as told through the Psalms, the prophets and the Gospels. In one year, you'll have it all.
@@frankbilotto Thank you, I will.
@@frankbilotto I did listen to Thomas Hopko on TH-cam just a week or so ago and heard that very teaching. I was surprised when he exegeted the "Give us this day our daily bread..." - need to listen again- He was a gifted speaker and teacher.
I stopped going to church for several years. I would just listen to various speakers on TH-cam.
To make a long story short, my interest in the early church led me on a journey. I Listened to David Bercot (former Jehovah's Witness turned Mennonite who extensively researched the early church), Jay Dyer and his guests, Brother Nathaniel Kapner, Brother Augustine, Fr. Josiah Trenham, and Fr. Peter Heers. I read Fr. Josiah Trenham's Book, "Rock and Sand".
I eventually became convinced that Orthodoxy was true to the traditions of the early church and maintained continuity of the faith (Apostolic Authority).
Last year "happened" to meet the new Priest of the Greek Orthodox and now attend it. I meet with him Wednesdays
as a catechumen.
The Bible makes more sense now. It is hard to explain, but I used to just overlook or block out mentally passages that seem to conflict.
@@leoandolino4668 your Priest will teach you more than all the internet videos combined. For me, the Orthodox choice was about God's plan of Salvation, which makes us different from both Protestants and Catholics. For us, sin is an illness that causes death and Christ voluntarily died for us to conquer death. For Protestants and Catholics, God sent his son to be punished for our sins to satisfy the wrath of God. If you don't already know the details, ask your priest to tell you on Wednesday. The idea that sin is a crime that has to be punished is an 11th Century idea codified by Anslem of Canterbury.
May the Holy Spirit continue to guide you.
God bless you.
Faith without rituals is like loving your partner without hugging or kissing.
Am a Catholic and i can't explain what i feel everytime i cross myself when i pass infront of the church. Our rituals reflect our passion.
I love this analogy!
Rituals may reflect one's passion, but if you study the church founded by Jesus with the Apostles (the Eastern Orthodox Church, from which the Catholic broke) you will find that there are deep meanings to the rituals of the original Christian church (Eastern Orthodox).
@@djondjon i agree with the part "rituals have deep meanings". I was just giving our Protestant friends an analogy.
As for the Eastern Orthodox Church(s) vs. The Catholic Church, we have alot in common that what makes us differ. We just pray for the Unity of our Church and end these sad schisms.
@djondjon the Eastern Church left Jesus' Church. 1054. The decided they didn't want a pope. The papacy has existed since AD 33.
Pretty stupid comparison. Surely you can do better. smh
Hey brother, I would direct you toward two pivotal things I read by the late Thomas Howard: “Evangelical is Not Enough” and “Being Catholic”. Howard was an evangelical and he became Catholic in his discovery of the human need for sacraments and ritual. His writing is in a style like CS Lewis and Peter Kreeft. Brother I still pray you go all the way and become Catholic. I pray you do it with abandon. Yes, counting the cost, but as we begin Advent, to be sober and be ready! Id like you to be Catholic so we can share more deeply and I can give you the Eucharist! This is honestly what I thought 11 years ago when I became Catholic: “I cant imagine going another day without the Eucharist. I cant fathom how I lived so long without the true Manna from Heaven, our Daily Bread. I cant believe I missed John 6 and treated Jesus’ repeated warnings so flippantly, such as “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you don’t have life in you.” I realize this decision is a hard one. But the moment you know it to be true, even if it will cost you temporal loves, don’t delay. Love and prayers for you Austin! Have you looked at Cameron B.’s decision?
That passion so many Protestants, especially evangelicals, feel for Christ can wax and wane after a while. I have seen it happen numerous times. I truly think the Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Orthodox are blessed to have these rituals to fall back on in those times, and these same rituals help bolster the good times.
There is an understanding within the Orthodox and Catholic churches that faith is not a feeling or experience, it's a long term and unchanging commitment to Christ, which includes action, regardless of whether you feel like it or not. The Greek word "pistis" which is typically translated as "faith" in English bibles actually means something more along the lines of firm conviction and assurance than what modern Christians have viewed faith to mean.
The same thing can happen with marriages, with "feelings" waxing and waning for one's spouse, but that doesn't mean we do away with the Sacrament/Covenant/Vow. To love is to will the good of another person, not just think about what's in this for me. We create a history to fall back on in challenging times, and it also helps to bolster the good times. Married for 32 years, speaking from some experience.
My Brooklyn roommate who had fallen in love with Caribbean culture tried making the infamous _Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken._ It turned out to be a strange Cuban/American/Caribbean dish, as he had Cuban heritage. When I later made it, (using the same ingredients,) he wanted to know why mine was authentic, but his not? So I replied, *"That is how my grandmother and mother made it."* At the time I never understood the importance of tradition... Tradition is a preservative. It is tradition that preserves the correct results---even when ingredients fall short. So, while all may have the same Biblical ingredients, not having the Apostolic Tradition in Orthodoxy---including its rituals---will only result in distasteful and inauthentic brands of Christianity, as we see today in Protestantism.
Thank you for this video. I am an Orthodox Christian, converted from Methodism (though the church I attended was more evangelical than mainline Methodist). The Methodist church I attended had stopped doing things I was used to in the past such as saying the Lords Prayer and a creed. When I was leading a small group and presenting on the Nicene Creed, I read someone (Catholic) on Twitter who challenged readers to memorize the Nicene Creed. I did, and in the process became interested in the history behind the Creed, and visited an Orthodox Church where the creed is recited in every service. It is beautiful, and I think many churches are struggling with weak doctrine because they don’t do this. As for prayers, m finding that praying from a prayer book, whether it be from the Orthodox Church or the Psalms is very helpful. I struggle so much praying with my own words. I wind up praying both ways actually- with a prayer book (emphasize worship, praise, and confession) followed by a prayer from the heart (emphasizing personal intercession).
Deeply imbedded biases. My Protestant friends reject Catholicism based on misunderstood biases they have grown up with. In fact, if I were to accept what they believed, I would also reject Catholicism. It starts with understanding. This is why this channel has become a vital landing spot for honest seekers. Thank you, Austin!
I’ve been Orthodox since my family converted in 2013 when I was 12. I would say I’m half and half cradle Orthodox and convert. For a while I loved the rituals and the cool things we did that I didn’t grow up doing, but as I got into my teen years I felt like everyone was doing these rituals without meaning while some Protestant friends of mine were very strong in their relationships with Christ without the rituals. It was a very frustrating and confusing time and I lost my faith for a while, but in the Grace of God He brought me back. I am still Orthodox and relearning how to love the rituals that help me towards Christ as I develop my relationship with him. Your videos were actually a huge part of my story, especially as I was also listening to other voices on the more agnostic, atheistic side on TH-cam, but you seemed to be so genuine and gentle and inquisitive towards the people you interviewed. So I do like these “your thoughts” videos too! I’d love to hear more!
From your post, the best thing you can do is learn why we do everything we do. I'm 62 and still learning. Every little thing that is done in every service has purpose and meaning. And when you fully participate, that's when the ritual comes to life and you are fully engrossed in the presence of Christ. I was 50 before I really began to understand it and feel it. I always say, if you don't enjoy the divine liturgy, you're not going to like heaven very much. Read Revelations. In that book, there's a complete description of our Liturgy.
@@frankbilotto Where in Revelation?
@@frankbilotto Yes, where, and why isn't it in the Book of Acts or any writings of Paul or the Apostles? Revelation was compiled of many scriptures from the Old Testament, so it may not be describing Heaven at all.
I'd check out Jonathan Pageau if you haven't already if you really wanna fall in love with ritual
@@dorinamary7863 Everything is not in the Bible. Some things were passed down from the original Apostles through tradition.
My favorite thing to do is pray the rosary. I think so deeply about the mysteries now that I sometimes feel like crying. It’s like seeing Jesus with his mothers eyes.
Have you ever done the Stations of the Cross through the eyes of Mary? I bought the little booklet when I was on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje one time. Will send you a copy if you want , ( just need your email address). I think it's beautiful. Makes me feel that I am there.
Ah, the Gospel prayer! I love the rosary and when I teach it I always tell people the focus is on the life of Christ.
When I do the rosary, I like to use St. Louis de Monfort's suggestion of adding a clause referring to the mystery being contemplated such as "crowned with thorns" . The phrase is said after "...fruit of they womb Jesus". So in his suggestion it is always said after "Jesus". You could say "who was crowned with thorns" or just "crowned with thorns". Also, I try to slow down when I pray the rosary - not rushing to "get through it". If my soul turns toward speaking with God or just thinking about him or being with him , I go ahead, and then return to the Rosary. That is true for me with all devotions and spoken prayers. Of course, with a group, the experience is different and I just go with it.
This is similar to my reply on this video today. I was so engrossed in the joy of each mystery of the rosary today that I couldn't stop crying. It hits so perfectly in the advent season.
Scripture records that King David prayed seven times a day. Daniel prayed give times a day. For most Jews, including Jesus, this was a practice learnt from childhood as every household did. In my younger days, I thought that the Liturgy of the Hours / Divine Office/ Breviary was an empty ritual for priests and monks.
Recently, my eyes were opened to the fact that this was a continuation of the ancient Israelite tradition carried forward and preserved in the early Church into modern times by the Catholic Church and some mainline Protestant/Anglican traditions. This encouraged me to begin exploring the Liturgy of the Hours. To my utter surprise and amazement, it dawned upon me that over 95% of the Office consisted of Psalms and meditative reading of the Scriptures. The prayers and hymns drew extensively from scripture and the salvation story
I've begun with the Office just once in the day... either morning or night (hope to find time for more). It has virtually revolutionized and revitalized my relationship with the Lord and His people.
I was raised southern Baptist and became Catholic as a teenager. The rituals are so important. I’m physically disabled, but I willingly take the pain of kneeling before getting in the pew, and then the longer bouts of kneeling and standing. I love receiving the Body Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus through the Eucharist. I cling to my Marian Traditions. The Blessed Virgin Mary brings me so close to her Son our Lord Jesus Christ!!
You have a special gift!
Thank you for this explanation!!! It was very helpful! I am a Catholic Christian! 🤗
Thank you!
Rituals are empty unless the scales have fallen off one’s eyes. Liturgy informs our faith and restates the gospel in so many different ways. I’m an evangelical who has converted to the Anglican tradition of the Church. It has been a “deeper conversion” for both my husband (who is an Anglican priest now) and me. Thanks be to God!
Ritual and Ceremony are not so much essential, as they are inevitable. Evangelicals have rituals. It is another instance of "Not whether or not, but which." So, it is a matter of which are the best rituals and ceremonies to be adopted.
I think I agree. Traditions seem to pop up no matter how much people try to be anti-traditional. What makes it dead appears to be the heart rather than the actual practice itself. The low church has ceremonies and rituals that differ from the high church.
For the last two years, I've been praying a daily rosary while driving to work. And I admit there are times when I just go through the motions. This morning, I felt so much joy going through each of the Joyful Mysteries that I just started crying and didn't stop through the whole "ritual". In each of the 5 mysteries, I felt the joy of all of the people in these mysteries: Mary, Gabriel, Elizabeth, John the Baptist (in utero), Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna in the temple. It was amazing to feel this deeper connection with God's saints.
That's beautiful! I hope to one day experience something like that.
I have a great little book I use every time I say the Rosary. It's titled, "The Scriptural Rosary." It gives a verse from the Bible to concentrate on for each recitation of a Hail Mary. It helps to keep the focus on the specific mystery, yet with a different verse every 30 seconds or so, depending on how fast you recite. I find this helpful in avoiding going through the motions. I wish there was a recording of it (there's an idea, maybe I'll make one for myself) to use while driving too.
@@julieelizabeth4856 Could you send me a link if you find it or come up with something? I’ve been looking for something like this. It’s too easy for me to zone out during the decades or to shallowly ‘meditate’ on the mystery.
@@sasukeCS7 I'm not real tech-savvy about sending links but it's called "The Scriptural Rosary" by Victor Hoagland and it's available on Amazon.
going thru the motions enables you to maintain a habit of prayer because you do it even when you dont feel like doing it, and some days you dont feel any pleasure while you do it.
As a Catholic, I love ❤️ tradition. I truly enjoy The Latin Mass or Divine Liturgy at The Byzantine Catholic Church.
FYI: Divine Liturgy is usually 15 to 30 minutes longer than a Mass 😁
You are Eastern Catholic? Y’all fast more seriously than us Roman rite folks too, correct? We westerners are kinda wusses😄
@@CrankyGrandma The modern Latin Church precepts on fasting & abstinence are minimal compared to older traditions even in the West, but we (I'm Latin/Roman Catholic too) can _always_ feel free to try a stricter discipline if God gives us the strength physically & spiritually. E.g. fasting from dairy &/or eggs in addition to meat (at least on Fridays that aren't feast days) & a 3-hour Eucharistic fast prior to Holy Mass. Of course, for the benefit of non-Catholic Christians, we believe fasting without prayer is just dieting.
@@CrankyGrandma yeah, we're supposed to fast almost 1/2 the year. We're in a 40 day nativity fast now. And we still fast every Wednesday and Friday. But remember what St. Paul said, it's more important what comes out of your mouth than what goes in it. And someone commented that without the spiritual component, fasting is just dieting. Great comment!
Again and again in Peace Let US pray to the LORD...
Lord have Mercy!
Great message, Austin - thank you! As a Catholic convert, I’m totally blown away by the power of the ‘rituals’ to strengthen and deepen my relationship with Christ and my awareness of my position in his church.
Very well explained. I left evangelicalism after almost 30 years. So glad I did. The rituals of Lutheranism and Orthodoxy have definitely shaped my faith and kept me grounded. It also gave me a great peace and assurance of God's love without the constant striving to be and do more. I find evangelicalism to be very "works righteous" - the thing evangelicals would absolutely decry. It's always some "new thing" which never allows one to rest in God.
This is great. I concur 😊🙏
If you believe your works cooperating with God's grace saves you then by very definition you subscribe to "works righteousness".
Great video. As a convert to Orthodoxy from Protestantism, I’ve found great value in the Tradition and rituals of the Church. I think another important aspect of rituals is that they are virtually always tied to some form of physicality (crossing oneself, kneeling, bowing etc.) In many corners of Christianity, the value and importance of the body has been lost. At best it considered peripheral, at worst a curse or prison to be escaped. We are not merely spirits contained (or worse, imprisoned) in a body. Our bodies are an intrinsic part of who we are. We can pray with our minds, but we can also pray with our bodies. And often, when we’re struggling to engage internally, the body can help lead the way.
@YAJUN YUAN Hi Yajun. Why do SDA avoid those rituals ?
@YAJUN YUAN that is a devotion not part of regular liturgical practice (not that I think there is something wrong with it). But why do you for instance reject making the sign of the cross as a ritual (if you do)?
@YAJUN YUAN a non verbal prayer .
@YAJUN YUAN I suspect we might be saying different things when I say that for Orthodox Christians the body is an intrinsic part of who we are and when you say SDA have a high respect for the body. We pray with our minds, but we also pray with our lips, our hands, our knees. Our sense of sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch are a part of our worship of God because they are an intrinsic part of us as humans. So much so that in the Resurrection, we will be reunited with our bodies in a glorified state for all eternity.
@YAJUN YUAN So you only talk to your loved ones and never do a gesture of affection? A kiss, a stroke, a cuddle? Do you think those are useless? And why do you think so about your love for God?
I used to think traditional churches were boring. I grew up a pastor's Kid in the pentecostal church, I've attended non non denominational church over the last few years and just recently I started to become so unsatisfied with church (I still love God so deeply). I literally asked a friend recently "what was church like in the Apostles' day?". Because I seriously don't know why I'm going to church now. Our services are so self centered and focused on how we feel, and a good message to pump us for the week. We grew up thinking that rituals were bad and "religious". I'm struggling with having some kind of structure and guidance in my faith. It seems to me that everyone just kinda does whatever they want or what God "told" them, lack of reverence in the services and there is such a lack of harmony in our church. Pray for me because even going to church on Sunday is becoming difficult.
If you attend a Catholic Mass you will see EXACTLY how the early Christians worshipped. Of course, the language will be English, there may be more contemporary music, but the format has stayed pretty much the same. Writings from St Justin Martyr (written in the early 2nd century) clearly describe what you will find in any Catholic church on every Sunday of the year today. Acts 2:42 is still very much the Catholic experience.
I feel this. Had a serious experience with God that shook me from atheism at 23 then was in Pentecostalism for maybe 3-4 years because they were the “happy ones that were welcoming and weren’t religious”. Seeker friendly obviously. As time went on, I felt the hollowness and became confused. Started a house church but that felt just as surface level at times so stopped. Now I’m seeking ancient, original Christianity so many people are claiming I have a “spirit of religion” and are genuinely scared to look into church history even just a century or two ago in case they become religious. It’s an odd mix.
The non-denominational church I attend is God focused. The songs praise God, not man. They also acknowledge that we are sinners unable to save ourselves. All the glory goes to God. You may have to do some digging for theological richness but not all non-denom churches are like that.
I would be careful about switching to the RCC or EO. You are effectively transferring your trust from solely God to God, the church, AND yourself. You would have to meditate on the spiritual implications of that.
I love my RCC friends but don't think scripture backs up their theology. Before the "you are your own pope" stuff comes up in the RCC you are the arbiter when YOU decide to believe the church has equal authority with scripture...
@@Daniel_McDougall Cardinal St John Newman wrote that "to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant". It is a general observation that Church history argues against Protestantism and that those Protestants who study history deeply many times realize that the Catholic Church is the true Church. For many, just the very thought of that shakes their self-concept and has implications for how they manage their families and wider social relations. Ultimately, belief in the truth of Catholicism is a gift of faith given by God that must be accepted and acted upon or not by the recipient. My deepest sadness is that to maintain that self-concept, too many protestants (especially evangelicals) buy into cheap stereotypes of Catholicism to straw man "the enemy", without actually trying, with an open mind, to find out just what and why Catholics believe what we do.
@@Gondor149 Just where did you hear that drivel. The Catholic Chuch's theological method is based on three aspects (1) Scripture, which we believe is infallible and inerrant and materially sufficient for our faith; (2) the early church which was the witness of the apostles and their disciples which ended the apostolic age and (3) the teaching office of the Church which helps us best understand what the first two put together mean. What I decide to believe is irrelevant for Catholic teaching.
Went from Non-Denominational Evangelical to Anglican Catholic and it has been the best decision I’ve made in my life. I never thought I would be so connected to God through ritual and it has been healing and joyful!
You say Anglican Catholic, are you a member of the Ordinariate?
Please come home to the Catholic Church. Not a church founded by King Henry the 8th.
Many of my friends followed this same trajectory in college, and I believe they'd echo your sentiment!
Have you read Thomas Howard’s “Evangelical is Not Enough?” He was Elizabeth Elliot’s brother. He went from evangelical to Anglican/Episcopal (when he wrote the book he was Anglican, though he later became Catholic.). He wrote the book as a gentle explanation to those who loved him and didn’t understand why he moved to a ritualistic denomination.
@@CrankyGrandma It is on my to-read list! My friend has a copy I want to borrow.
My goodness you articulate things so well., and with a beautiful humility and charity. You are such a clear thinker who really probes into deeper meanings. God bless you.
And to what you are saying here, the Mass has really come alive to me in the last couple months as I’ve been focusing on each word prayed and what they mean in the context of this holy meal where we literally commune with God, his angels, and all Christians in both heaven and on earth. When doing this and realizing at each Mass we are truly present with Christ at His Last Supper and at Calvary, it changes my perspective. I’m filled with awe that God gathers us all in and then shares Himself with us in such a profoundly intimate way. It’s impossible to fully understand. All I can do is say, “Yes, Lord” and accept Him, and strive to make that “Yes” a more complete “Yes” every time I go to Mass, allowing the medicine of His very Body to heal me and mold me more into His image by grace each time I receive Him. This is His design. I am compelled to believe and to trust Him.
Your channel makes room for unity.
I pray that Christ will one day unite His church as He always wanted.
We ALL need to humble ourselves.
One holy Body of Christ!
Thank you and God bless you ❤️🔥🙏
I appreciate my Protestant brothers and sisters, and I understand that they are hesitant to end up worshipping incorrectly. However, that fear could be hindering them from the possibility of experiencing the fullness of the faith. I needed something more ancient and closer to the apostles. So for me it came down to Catholic or Orthodox. The way I chose between the two was by going to the Church that changed the least. Which is why I ended up in the Orthodox church. I don't want any change to something that was already beautiful, perfect, meaningful and helps me truly feel the presence of Christ with all my senses; in other words, with my whole being. I love wearing my cross, that points to Christ. I love smelling the incense that points to Christ, having my eyes see the holy icons that point to Christ, hear and sing with my voice the ancient holy hymns that point to Christ. touch holy relics that were sanctified by and point to Christ, and finally, taste the body and blood of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ himself.
Pray for me brother, I am a Protestant currently attempting to decide between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and share many of the sentiments you described. God bless you.
@@kasiosseijuro8494 I actually will pray for you 😎. Just a few things to keep in mind, not that I'm trying to school you up (that could be insulting), just pointing some things out that you might or might not know.
From the beginning the Church Christ founded via his apostles worshipped and taught the following (of course verify for yourself in due time):
1. Eucharist with levened bread. (Changed by Rome, circa 600ad after being conquered by Arians).
2. Change only came about through ecumenical councils (not by pope of Rome, since no man is infallible).
3. Never taught immaculate conception (Immaculate conception doesn't allow us to relate to Mary)
4. Always allowed priest to be married (Changed by Rome)
5. Churches face east, we pray to the east, even priest faces east (Changed by Rome).
6. Original Nicene Creed that confesses the procession of the Holy Spirit from the father alone (Changed by Rome)
If you see a shoe with a Nike check, you recognize it immediately. If you see a shoe with a "similar" check, but not identical, then it no longer is the same thing, no matter how similar they look, it's not the same.
For me at least, if you change something, than you are not original, you have altered it outside of your authority, and therefore you are running the risk of losing the grace of God by doing so, because you are no longer professing the same "exact" faith. There is room for speculation in doctrine, but the dogmas are not something you change lightly. Lest we offend God and lose touch with his revelations. Once a priest or pastor professes and practices a different faith, how can we be sure that the Holy Spirit still resides in his parish? If the Eucharist is dependent upon the proper worship and confessions in order to bring about the mysteries through the priest/pastor, then a priest or pastor who is heretical cannot bring about the mysteries of the eucharist and therefore hinder your diefication/theosis (purification to obtain ever lasting life).
I do believe God will save people outside the Church, by his mercy and grace, but that's a whole other discussion, and does not diminish the importance of joining oneself to the one true Church.
I hope that helps in your search for the truth, you are definitely on the right path, just one more major fork in the road.
God be with you.
If Isaiah and John heard the angels in Heaven singing " “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" and “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” wouldn't it be a good idea to imitate the worship going on there?
The problems is that the Evangelicals have a wrong view of Matthew 6:7, they translate babble as "vain repetition" and then they assume all repetition is vain, appealing to this verse as a response to any ritualistic practice, the rosary, hesychast prayer, centering prayer, repeating the same grace prayer, having other repeating daily prayers, having liturgical services, etc. But that verse obviously talks against "many words", not "repeating words". Jesus taught us to repeat prayers, look at the parable of the persistent widow, also he himself practiced repetitive prayer, as mentioned in Matthew 26:44 and Mark 14:39.
I think you have hit on an important point
You're right. And it is also important to note that the word in the original Greek text is a single word - a verb that doesn't exist in english. It doesn't actually directly say "vain repetition" this is an attempt to best convey the message. In the translation into my language for example, it doesn't say "vain repetition" and as a result this misunderstanding doesn't even arise which further demonstrates that it is a modern misunderstanding
The only prayers that are in "vain" are those that are said to false gods. That was the point of that teaching in the Bible. Jesus himself "repeated the same prayer" to God the Father. "Empty phrases" is another translation of "vain repetition" in some English Bibles.
Recent convert to Anglicanism from Evangelicalism, and I can say that rituals have deeply shaped me. The daily office of the BCP, the Anglican Prayer Beads, the graudal before Gospel readings, all just to name a few.
The 1662 BCP lectionary has kept me more faithfully reading the Word this year than ever before, and my prayer life has become richer, and more layered in Scripture.
If you have the opportunity to visit an Anglo-catholic liturgy, I highly recommend it. Our nearest Anglo-catholic church sings and chants almost all of the service, and incorporates many traditional mass elements into their liturgy. E.g. the priest facing away from the congregation, and towards the altar for the Eucharist.
I've been trying to understand and use the BCP and Daily office. Definitely moving towards either the Lutheran or Anglican tradition as of recent, really appreciate how most of the service the congregation is involved.
@@yanalbertoagudelo9687 it's a little tricky at first! As someone who went from zero experience with the BCP I spent a couple month learning the ins and outs of the book.
I love my Lutheran friends! But I ended up heading towards Anglicanism for a handful of reasons. One prominent one being that Anglicans are open table! Christians of all denominations can partake in the Lord's Supper with us. I appreciate that kind of ecumenical spirit.
You will become catholic then
Join the Ordinariate we retain morning and evening prayer, have a anglican style mass (-and it’s actually the body and blood of christ!) and we dont have questionable theology and Protestant origins. No women priests and bishops, no gay priests, no official support of abortion and gay marriage. No orgins as a Protestant denomination in which the common book of prayer calls belief in purgatory, saintly intercession and transubstantiation as abominable before God. Most of the Anglican ritual is just catholic ritual slowly added back in the 1800s and so on. The Catholic Church existed from Christ until now, the main reason anglicanism exists is the Tudors wanting an heir. Im an ex Anglican. God bless.
@@King-uj1lh @King 🤴🏻 the Ordinariate is an interesting rite!
In the ACNA, we don't have women bishops, or support of any of the things you mentioned. Although, some diocese will ordain women to the diaconate and priesthood. Of course, in the 39 articles you have the statements you mentioned concerning Romish doctrines... but those articles do not deny, rather affirm, Real Presence in the Eucharist. Anglicans simply do not define what are the myseries of God.
Also, I'd check out the original BCP (1549)... very ritual based indeed! Although I'm not arguing about the resurgence in the 1800s thanks to the Oxford Movement.
I would dispute your understanding of the origins of Anglicanism... we too have existed from Christ until now. 😊
Think more Eastern Orthodoxy's relationship to Rome than other Protestant denominations... continuing Apostolic Succession included.
I would conclude that I have a strong love for Rome, but land pleasantly in a place where the historic church passed through the much needed Reformation.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
I was raised in the Assemblies of God church in the UK, but at the age of 52 left Pentecostalism to become a Confirmed Anglican. I have found such depth and meaning within the ritual that has massively impacted every area of my spiritual life and led me into a more profound walk with God.
As a born and raised and practicing Roman catholic, may God bless you and protect you with his holy and sacred blood. Thank you for not blasting our faith but rather embrassing the love we have in our faith and rituals. May mother Mary embrace you in her arms and nurture you with the same love she gave her son, Jesus christ, amen.
Reading the book "When the Church Was Young" I'm blown away by the fact that I've been neglected in my protestant upbringing of early church history when it comes to the foundational fathers who built Christendom!
What was neglected? What flavor of protestant did you grow up as?
@@pigetstuck CRC (Reformed) learned a lot about Calvin, Luther, remember learning about the reformation in school. Catholics were bad people, weren’t Christians. Sanctification + salvation OSAS etc. Didn’t make much sense to me.
Now that I think about it, I did learn about the ‘convert or die’ thing with Charlemagne. That’s all I can remember lol.
As a rabbi, Jesus was intimately knowledgable of synagogue rituals and no doubt led them. The Passover Meal (Last Supper) that He famously led was another ritual. Great video!
I like to watch you evolve on your faith journey since you began Gospel Simplicity! Ritual gets to the body in its meaning long before we come to the use of Reason, and so children taken to liturgies on Sunday are grounded by the same sense processes in church that they use for every other aspect of life for learning, long before their intellects are able to kick in and understand the "why" of faith. The Reformation began in the minds of thinking adults, not in the minds of children. We have our senses for learning to see into our reasons for acting. By the time we begin to understand the items in our creeds, we can sing them already if we grow up in a liturgical church. Just "going through the motions helps."
Thank you for this video, Sir!
I attended WofF (Word of Faith) churches in my young adulthood in the 80s and 90s. While not the Prosperity Gospel it was a good place to learn and understand the Bible. When I started to attend the Protestant mainlines again I realized the importance of Liturgy. How many young Evangelicals know about the Doxology, the Decalogue, the Kyrie, the 3-fold Amen, the Nicene and Apostles creeds? I learned these growing up in the A.M. E. church. It's not merely "vain repetition." They were teaching tools created at a time when most people were illiterate but trained their memories to be attentive.
That last point is something I really try to emphasize to friends that question me about liturgy and traditional tools of the Church for education. I think of it in a similar vein to the the initial use of icons and symbols must have had, emphasizing important points of the gospel through visual representations. Most people couldn't read so the more tools you can use to help them understand and live out the gospel the better. And just because now we have access to read the Bible doesn't negate the great usefulness that remains in them.
Thank you for your wonderful video. As a cradle Catholic and a 40 year absence from my faith I did for the most part believe it was nothing but a magic show. In 2019 I came back with a humble and contrite heart and it felt like starting all over again and the work never ends, that's the best part. I started with Mass, Confession, Communion the Rosary etc. Then I found the Liturgy of the hours and it has changed my life. Through the rituals of my faith, my commitment and a lot of God's grace I'm happy to say I can mentally pray with the distractions getting fewer and fewer. But like with anything else faith must be maintained through regular exercise. Praying the Divine Office every day will help you. My priest is ex military and I told him it feels like doing basic training for the soul. He laughed at first but then said that was a pretty good analogy. Thank you for your open heart and mind. May God bless you and all your viewers.
What a great topic! Well done Austin. May your words help Christians to understand each other better in the ultimate quest for unity.
Ritual is one of the most powerful tools for allowing for authenticity and connection with others. I'm an experience designer and they, experience designers, talk about and teach rituals constantly. Like in game design or Hollywood or a ride at the magic kingdom. Authenticity needs a structure to attach to - you can't just get together and authenticate all over each other - rituals provide safety to connect with others. Think of going to a restaurant when dating (all the rituals give you things to do). Working with others to achieve a task, like teaching a class, painting a building, or coaching a little league team provides the ritual infrastructure and social safety for relationships to form. This is why fellowship groups never really work, you can't just meetup and decide to be friends because you're supposed to, it's scary and puts pressure on everyone bringing out their natural tendency to inauthenticity.
Austin, as an educator I absolutely love your manner of speech and presentation when you are teaching. Thank you for using your gifts to serve Christ!
Thank you! I love to teach, and TH-cam is a really fun outlet for it
As a Lutheran, I am very much in favor of ritual. We're evangelical Protestants, but the sign of the cross and a rich liturgy is a strong characteristic of our service.
im having presumptions these last 3-4 uploads of Austin.
either way what ever his future decisions in life; I commend his pursue of truth and his approach to it.
definitely an exemplar college student.
Interesting....before becoming Orthodox I was of the same low-church anti-ritual/tradition as you mentioned. Looking through fresh eyes one can't help but see that ritual (read Liturgy) is everywhere, and our worship, the structured liturgical life in and out of the local church is soaked in it. Even the Bible was a liturgical instrument, assembled to be used within the Church services. I'm curious as to how this show will discuss this for Protestants, especially those in the non-denominational or other low-churches. Even many mainline denominations, I'm afraid, have moved away from ritual and tradition to where it is only a shell of itself from where it was 30, 50, 100 years ago. I spent time in my youth as a Lutheran (Missouri Synod) and 40 years later taking my mother to services in various churches I didn't recognize the worship....
GOD BLESS HIS ONE AND ONLY CATHOLIC CHURCH.....U ARE CLOSE BUT NOT THERE YET.
@@CristianaCatólica I should the same to you....I suggest justchecking the doctrinal changes the RCC has made throughout the centuries and see if your doctrinal faith is the one "Once delivered to the saints."...
Quite right as a Catholic (revert) i had no idea what the sacraments and mass represented. It seemed so remote - I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Bible in a Year podcast / hallow app was an important tool to my eyes; ears and heart to be opened🙏
Wonderful video and insight Austin 😊You hit the nail on the head, it’s very much to do with what’s happening in your MIND. I just wanted to clarify, Catholics kneel before entering a pew yes but they are meant to be kneel for Our Lord’s presence IN the Tabernacle. After transubstantiation, the ‘left over’ hosts are stored in the Tabernacle. When this is the case, a red light/candle is on next to the Tabernacle, to alert you of Our Lords physical presence. That is what people are meant to be kneeling to before entering a pew as well as any time they walk past it. They stop and kneel - Priests are meant to do this too. Hope this helps. A lot of Catholics don’t actually realise what they are meant to be kneeling for. Hope this is helpful.
Good stuff, I was a Baptist seminarian now I’m Episcopal. Learning 2nd century history made me fall in love with liturgy, apocrypha, ritual, community, orthodoxy, 2nd Temple literature, Benedictine piety, Cassian, Martin of Tours, Desert Fathers, Greek church, prayer books, feel like a new person. Catechesis is missing.
Oh man, this was so good! I've been loving your channel since finding it about a month ago. I grew up hearing the "empty ritual" warning but have recently begun to understand how these things can engage our whole being in worship and prayer. I've really enjoyed listening to you unpack since visiting these other churches. Keep bringing it!
Keeping searching. Keep understanding. Keep being amazed by what you find, Austin. You are on yr Emmaus Road to opening yr eyes & heart at the breaking of bread. Then, that will be yr time...'welcome home' to the Catholic Church. Glory be to the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I'm not an Orthodox but have been considering at least attending a service, to see what its all about.
I do like the Orthodox idea that communion has an actual connection to the divine, rather that it just being "symbolic" like in my Protestantism. I've always felt there was more to it than just mere symbolism.
As a person who came up attending Catholic Schools, went secular, got into Zen Buddhism after college, got interested in Christianity again thanks to Thich Nhat Hanh, got into Vajrayana (Vedic, mantraic, ritualistic) Buddhism, became interested in the similarities between Vajrayana and Catholicism (there are *many*), was introduced to a deeper Catholicism by St. John Cantius online, attended Orthodox services for half a year, and am now pan-Religious (attending a Congregationalist Church and still sitting with my Liberal Sangha) -- I have greatly appreciated your internet presence. You are calm, kind, intelligent, sensitive, insightful, and critical.
Thank you very much.
I would say that the essence of ritual, from an Orthodox perspective, can be summed up like this: we are what we are because we do what we do.
In other words, ritual is not simply things we do to deepen our faith, but rather are the things that form the core of what we are. When engaging our rituals, we are participating in the reality that makes us what we are.
Our engagement with our rituals is much like an infant/toddler learning to speak its parents' language. They hear the sounds and try to mimick them, and in doing so begin to communicate, even though they don't necessarily understand everything they are saying. Over time, that understanding deepens. But we would never say that the kid wasn't truly speaking English just because he was 3 and didn't know the definitions of words. He was *being* an English speaker from the beginning.
We engage our rituals whether we understand them or not, because it is through them that we are being Christians. Hopefully over time we understand them more, but understanding is not what makes them real or meaningful. It is doing them faithfully that makes them real and meaningful, in the same way that eating a meal in and of itself is what makes the meal meaningful, no matter what you do or do not understand about nutrition science.
Praying I can be a true christian, light, salt, ambassador of Christ. And I am reading the "Cathecism of the Council of Trent" and I am amazed, because I was kinda anti-catholic.
I think a lot of people are jumping on you and assuming you are saying there isnt intrinsic meaning to what we do. You were clear that you are just talking about HOW we approach ritual.
Thanks, appreciated the reflection.
As a Catholic, I'm even turned off by those liberal Novus Ordo masses. I like my church experience to be pure 15th century. I find that an evangelical meeting just wouldn't cut it. Partly the informality is horrendous to me, but also because evangelicism lacks the great theological depth that the Catholic church has including 2000 years of mystery that you can ponder on. Just what I like.
Steve, i am with you about that.
Introibo ad altare Dei. Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meum.
The “new Mass” is quite beautiful if done in a respectful and devoted way. And 100% Vatican II. No dancing. No drums. No immodest dress. No Father doing his “own thing!” I find myself totally absorbed in worship through the singing and responses required by the NO Liturgy. Attending an older, more traditionally decorated Catholic Church helps too. A lot of these 1960s, suburban parish churches look like high school gymnasiums. Yuck!
When I travel I refer to a website called Reverent Catholic Mass. I'm blessed that my home parish is on that list. I've rarely attended a TLM, but my priest says other Masses ad orientem and very reverently.
The Latin Mass didn't start until the 16th century, after Martin Luther's heresy. Protestantism is older than the Latin Mass.
" And they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."-Acts 2:42. The early church practiced a liturgy. Notice that it says " the prayers", not simply prayer. It was liturgical prayer that went all the way back to the beginning of the temple worship using the Psalms and other scriptures.
Notice also "the teachings of the apostles", not "sola scriptura".
@@frankbilotto Good point, but it's obvious that the apostles used the Old Testament scriptures to support their teaching, and as time went on they also used the New Testament writings as they became available. For instance, Paul quotes the words of Jesus from Luke 10:7 when writing to Timothy in 1st Timothy 5:18, which shows that Luke's gospel was already written and being circulated in the church.
@@jamestrotter3162 I understand. We think the same way. My point was that they "devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles", which is a whole lot more than just the scriptures. It's what I pray that the Church has maintained to this day. Just like, "communion/fellowship", really means doing whatever it takes to completely care for the needs of faithful, and breaking of bread is obviously the Eucharist, as it's highly unlikely that they would be "devoted" to food. I know that I often fail miserably in all 4 of those principles.
... the Lords supper for me is - a moment of extreme importance; it's the single most important meal of the week.
I found a pastor here on you tube who enables you to come every week, and - he, Mr James Snapp, even includes a little sermon.
I can't thank James enough; and I can't thank Jesus Christ enough - for the help of James!
Thank you for this interesting video.
Kind regards Kim
Happy Advent everyone 🙏 Long live Christ the Saviour.
Great video, Austin! Thanks for the excellent explanation and representation of those of us who do use rituals to grow closer to the Lord!
“A failure of catechesis”
So true! I would love to see our priests take one ritual, symbol, action, response, per week and explain its origin at the beginning of their homily. A small, teachable moment.
So many feel Mass is empty because they have never learned the richness of what is happening. And a priest who rushes through Mass, does great harm by his example.
I often refer people to Fr. Chris Alar who has many great teaching videos, including a couple on explanations of each part of the Mass.
I’m a former seventh day Adventist converting to Orthodoxy, but I love your channel for now open minded you are for exploring church history unlike many Protestants I know. Super cool, keep at it. Best!
Thanks!
Thomas Howard’s book “Evangelical is Not Enough” is a good one on this topic.
I was just about to recommend this :) His writing is simply unmatched.
“On Being Catholic” is a great collection, too.
You are totally correct. Evangelicals seem to believe that those who 'practice' rituals are not really 'true' Christians. The Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The text does not say. The Lord Jesus came into the world to save evangelicals or presbyterians or Anglicans etc etc. I trust that what you have highlighted is heard by evangelicals and that they have the humility to change their thinking, their mind set and hostility to 'rituals'.
Facts. They can be annoying and condescending
The Lutheran Litergy and service at least used to be similar to the Catholic church. For me they are full of meaning. The bad news is many Lutheran churches are moving to the band in the front model.
Rich Mullins said it so long ago in his brilliant album, "Liturgy, Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band"... In the song "Creed"... "I did not make it. No, it is making me."
And Austin, you have grown so much. I so appreciate you. You have become such an "elbow" in The Body of Christ. That we may be one...
Austin, What a clear, balanced and helpful discussion of ritual! I understand the Mass and so choose to participate frequently. Rather than boring me, its beauty and message never fail to bless, uplift and inspire me.
I love this, Austin! Very good points of awareness and ritual. It did always puzzle me why people said rituals are empty, but will celebrate birthday parties, Flowers and date on an anniversary,etc. Rituals are a normal part of relationships and they both strengthen and reflect the relationship. Humans need rituals and if we don’t have them, we will invent them. Any ritual can be empty but my experience is ritual lcan refocus us on Christ when we feel as though we are empty. Ritual is about the Incarnation. The now physical reality of God himself.
I took a class in college on Christianity and Ritual and my professor always gave a great example. He said that often when people would insist that there isn't a human need for ritual he would ask them what they have for Thanksgiving dinner. Those same people would have an exact way that they wanted side dishes to be prepared.
Thank you for this. It puts into words what I have been experiencing. I grew up Catholic. I have been Evangelical for the last 40 years. I got tired of the profane commercialized worship and finally left. I started worshipping at home by keeping Sabbath. I didn't know how to have a Holy Convocation by myself. I started to create a formal worship by incorporating ritual on the Sabbath by lighting a menorah and burning incense as described in the Bible. I got an Orthodox Prayer Book and started praying formal prayers. I am extremely blessed. Like you said, I don't have to reinvent the wheel every time I worship. Holy people of God have already paved the way with ritual that is pregnant with meaning. The rituals and prayers help me to focus and enter into the presence of God.
Why not come home? The TLM is so beautiful and holy!
Yes, I absolutely agree that living with intentional action underpinned by understanding is key to every endeavour in life & rituals then have power to immerse our souls in our Father, the Lord Most High.
You know the passing of the peace that many churches do, it too can be meaningless. But if you understand that peace (Shalom) comes only from the Lord Most High & is to be found nowhere but in Him, then what you are doing by passing the peace is engaging with The Father to convey His blessing upon another soul. You are a vessel the transmission of the most important and significant blessing of all time. It is the blessing that Jesus came and died to impart. It is the blessing heralded by angels before the roughest & toughest of men, the shepherds guarding their sheep from predators such as lions at on the hills around Bethlehem that night.
It is the blessing that we are to carry to others to discover who is receptive to Jesus His Son, that we may productively deliver the good news that brings salvation & eternal life. It's the blessing that imparts healing of the deepest of wounds. Wherever you go, let your peace rest on those you find there, that they too may be blessed of God Most High.
I never spent much time in church growing up. As an adult with a small child we wanted to raise her in church so we ended up in the Methodist church. It started out as a contemporary service early church. All of the older people of the congregation did not care for it. I liked it because it wasn't focused on ritual until it came time for communion. The early service finally ended and went back to the sanctuary. I moved on to a PH church with contemporary service. I now have a real distaste for the way they treat communion. No liturgy at all and not very reverent in the way it is celebrated. At 64 now I have looked into the first 300 years of Christianity and am considering an orthodox service.
Now to discuss the use of sacramentals. 🎉
Would like to thank this channel and people commenting. You have all made a valuable contribution to my ability to verbalise the value of Christian rituals that I have been practising, knew the value of, but never really analysed. Glory to Christ our King.
This is great, thank you. I love what you say about ritual. As someone who, quite early on, moved from the Baptist Church to a high Anglican one, I was - - and am - - really tuned in to and in love with the beauty of the service. I think cradle high church people sometimes can't even see the rituals, they are too familiar. I have just subscribed. ☺
Very beautiful reflection. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Halley!
Thank you I found this video helpful in explaining the importance of rituals.
I just watched this video. It is very good and I will say when you decide like you talked in the video, I’m not going to pay attention I’m not going to allow this to affect me. You were in fact, creating a ritual that will fulfill its intent of not listening. This is something that is in all of us. The thing we were told in scripture not to do was to follow the traditions of men, but we were to follow God, intended, rituals.
You are growing and I hope you continue to do so. An excellent video.
When you said "empty ritual" what donned on me are the two empty rituals of the Baptist Church: baptism and communion.
They are full of symbolism, but empty of any real purpose or power, thus they are ordinances we do because of traditions and scripture, but are optional and not at all mandatory.
I get more kick back in my Baptist Church for not saluting and reciting the flag pledges to the American and Christian flags than I do for ever missing a communion Sunday or for my 6 year old not being baptized yet.
This video will benefit not only Evangelicals, but also Catholics. Great content!!!
Thanks! That was my goal
Yes, make more videos like this. So helpful and inspiring!
My humble 2c: if you find that your "denomination" lacks something "essential", and it can be demonstrated that the ancient church had those essential things, then perhaps the right move isn't to try and add those essentials to your current "denomination". Perhaps the right move is to make a move to the church that has always had those essentials...for me that was converting from Evangelicalism to the Orthodox Church.
Every church has a liturgy... low or high church. Every church has rituals. It is funny how they don't realize it sometimes or take pride in "not having" them.
I realised this when I regularly attended a non-denominational (or was it Full Gospel?) church a few years ago. The same attendees who scoffed at Catholic & Anglican churches for being too "ritualistic" couldn't discern the obvious pattern/sequence of events that was repeated every week at their own service, at the same time & location. Sermons were always done after a lengthy "praise & worship" (as with liturgical churches, the songs & Bible readings were rarely ever the same from one week to the next) & the pastor always began praying "from the heart" for everyone & everything after specific parts of the service were out of the way.
@Bot are you Blammit? 🎯and🎯!
Zach that is exactly my experience and observation. God bless you.
Yep, unless the service is a completely random, mixed up format every week there's ritual there. You stand for this song sit for this song listen to the message, have an offering time, have a final song ect. That format and pattern is a ritual.
Love it! This is something that many evangelicals need to hear.
Empty rituals are a poison to the soul. It is up to each man and woman to give meaning to the rituals that we pass on to our children, and to instill in them the sense of the spiritual reality that they embody in us.
I have enjoyed accompanying you on your ecumenical exploration through your Gospel Simplicity channel. You appear to have returned with some riches and old wisdoms. Bless you and many thanks.
I agree with you about rituals. A ritual is only as empty as the person or persons performing and participating in it. If you aren't connected to the purpose of it, and have little or no understanding of its purpose, you will not reap from where you have not sown.
Ritual reinstates order, and is done regularly to reflect the ritual order of God's creation. The sun and moon rise and set everyday. They have a regular order, a ritual. The seasons have a regular order, and Christian holy days coincide with the order of the seasons. Family dinner every evening is a ritual, just like the family gatherings on holidays. Taking a bath or shower every night can be a ritual. A regular exercise regime can be a ritual. Most often, people only associate a ritual with a habitual religious routine. But, any routine can be a "ritual." Daily prayer is a ritual even if it is not a standard form. A ritual is about establishing and maintaining some worthwhile behavior because it produces a benefit in some way. Whether it is spiritual, health, family, community, or career, most successful people develop habits, or rituals, even political elections, that establish patterns for getting things done on a regular basis because it (the ritual) gives order to our lives and puts things in categories of priorities.
Now, a religious ritual, is not empty just because you don't have a mystical experience or emotional response everytime you participate in one. The ritual of going to church on Sunday and listening to a sermon can be just as empty as any other ritual by those standards. Especially if you have heard it all before. But, while a regular exercise routine may not be enjoyable either, the purpose is not entertainment. And, I think that when people refer to "empty rituals" they are often saying more about themselves than they are the ritual. It is kind of like people who think they can stop loving someone, or fall out of love, because they don't "feel" like they did before. For people like this love is a transient "spirit" that possesses them, instead of a virtue they have developed. And, it is the virtue of love, the habit of love, the duty of love, that we are supposed to develop, according to scripture, if we are to love our enemies and our neighbors as ourselves.
The rituals of the church develop the habits of spiritual virtues. Not mystical experiences, emotional excitement, or entertainment. They ground the church in the religious virtues of worship, prayer, faith, love, and hope, by demonstrating perseverance, commitment, and sacrifice even when you "don't feel like it," for the benefit of the community, the family, the marriage, and parenting. The godly virtues of righteousness are about DOING the right thing even when you don't want to, and sacrificing the flesh, the emotions, the entertainment, and all the other things that you would rather be doing in order to fulfill your duty of love. It is about the virtues of security (loyalty), stability (emotional as well), trust, and dependability. Sameness may be boring, but it is peaceful and dependable. Order, can also be boring, but it takes hard work and tenacity to fight off the chaos and destruction of the enemy. Constantly and repeatedly having to work, cook, clean, do laundry, and pay bills can be tedious and boring, but still necessary and meaningful.
Of course, the place where a ritual does become "empty," is when your motives are "empty" and you only do it because you have no choice, or when you think the ritual is like a bribe or a trade off. In the OT, in the prophets, God was harsh towards people who made sacrifices with wrong motives. Their sacrifices and rituals were unacceptable because their hearts were "empty." They used sacrifices like bribes, or like someone who calculates the price of commiting a crime, and decides the benefit of the crime is worth the price. In instances like that, there is no true repentance, and the lack of repentance was why the sacrifices were unacceptable. Likewise, people who believe that rituals are "empty," are either misunderstanding the Bible, and/or, just don't care about understanding it.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ❤️ THIS VIDEO…
Would you, please, do a sequel?!
And maybe 🤔 if you can get deeper with particularly the rituals of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Thanks in advance. 🙏
Bless you abundantly…
It's important to engage our senses in the Divine. That is how sacred art and ritual, etc. assist us.
The TLM and tradition changed my life
Started Loving The Traditional Latin Mass.
I can understand that. I love my Novus Ordo celebrated with a schola, gregorian chant (schola sings polyphonic masses for feasts), the Roman Canon, communion on tongue at rail made available, lots of incense. And generally singing/chanting the entire liturgy(the people join the chanting of the Ordinary). It's a Dominican church. They also celebrate according to the Dominican Rite (and calendar) for certain feasts and other occasions. One thing I appreciate and value is a sung liturgy - as the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholics do. I dislike the innovation of a "low mass". Even chanted without a choir very simply - that is the way the divine liturgy was done for centuries. I realize I am lucky to have such a parish with such a Novus Ordo. Many have to accept contemporary hymns , EPII on Sunday etc.
Love how you make the sign of the cross the correct way. The Orthodox Way. You are already Orthodox. You may not realize it yet, but you will soon. God bless!
Eastern Catholics do it that way too 😎
The gong at the end is a nice prize for those who stuck around. I feel it you're working for the unity Christ wanted us to have but have been losing since maybe the 300s.
It was the liturgy that brought me to Lutheranism out of the Evangelical church. The Jesus I worshiped did not change, but how I experienced him only deepened
Beautifully said
I became Episcopalian this July. I love the rituals.