Friday, December 17, 2010

Preparing for Holy Communion: an Orthodox perspective on self examination and financial responsibility

"The Mystical Supper demands the humility to acknowledge responsibility whether religion's improper role in making sacred an economic or political system; the family or individual's decision to use short-term borrowing on non-essentials that causes needless, ongoing debt; Christians within an industry that create marketing incentives for consumers to max out credit cards, set collection policies, fix high interest rates; or Christian members of Congress with power to better regulate the credit card, credit bureau, and collection agency industries.

The Eucharist is a sacrament. All sacraments, especially the Eucharist, occur through Holy Sophia [Wisdom]. The Eucharist is the starting point, the journey, the full, unbreakable spiritual circle of Christ. The Last Supper invites us to unite with the will of the Almighty. Two wills united as one 'so that together with God we can do good and creative things.' [quote is from The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology] This includes reaffirming the 'royal dignity' of man and woman created in the image of the Creator." Bishop Paul Peter Jesep

3 comments:

The Archer of the Forest said...

But wait...I don't have to be baptized or in any way connected to the Church to "get me my Communion!"

TLF+ said...

Archer - LOL I know whatcha mean. The reduction of a Dominical Sacrament to a "community event" is another disgrace for the contemporary church to deal with.

For two years, I was in an old school liturgical parish where I celebrated with my back to the people - meaning my face oriented with theirs toward the mystery of God. Something to be said for a posture of leading the people in prayer toward the Holy rather than facing them as the activities director.

The Archer of the Forest said...

I prefer East Facing altars myself. I think its a shame that became such the norm in the Episcopal Church, and if you didn't like it, you were a backwards simpleton, even if it meant taking a chain saw to some gorgeous wood altar somewhere. East facing altars are still much more common in England, but I think only because most folks in England have completely forgotten how to use any sort of power tools.