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I am a catholic and am wondering what is different in a methodist or lutheran mass than in the catholic mass.

2007-10-24 14:35:39 · 8 answers · asked by wherestheweightroom@?? 2 in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

8 answers

Well, you got lots of info, I'll try to simplify...

First, as others have said there are two kinds of Lutheran; The confessional ones (like me, Anonymous, Ren, and flautumn) that follow Scripture, and believe that Christ's body and Blood are present, and through their reception we receive the forgiveness of sins, Just like the Roman Catholic Church. The big difference is the omission of everything that is non Scriptural such as the offering of the bread and wine as a sacrifice and prayers to the saints. The other difference is each Eucharistic service begins with an order of Corporate Confession and Absolution. The service we use most often is Divine Service 3 from the Lutheran Service Book. It is probably closer to the Tridentine Mass than the orders used in the majority of RC Churches. It contains the Introit, Gloria Patri, Kyrie, Gloria in Excelsis, the same lectonairy, Gospel Proclamation, Nicene Creed, Sermon, Offertory; this is the Service of the Word. The service of the sacrament begins with the Preface, Sanctus, the Our Father, Verbum Domini, Pax Domini, Agnus Dei, Distribution, Nunc Dimittis, Thanksgiving, Salutation and Benedicamus, closing with the benediction.

The Pastor wears vestments, Faces the Altar, and we kneel to receive Christs Body and Blood.

As my friend Anonymous stated we have no part in it, it is what it is through the words of our Lord, by the power of God.

Non Confessional Lutherans allow belief in the "Real Presence" to be optional, but since they also use the Verbum Domini Christ IS present. Those who do not believe therefore are guilty of a sin against the Body and Blood of our Lord as Scripture states.

Methodists, Presbyterians etc, also use the Verbum Domini, but they deny the Presence of Christ.

Our Lutheran Confessions state that "Word and Sacrament remain efficacious even when administered by evil men".

I hope this helps.

Mark

Addendum: We bow to the altar where the bread and wine (body and blood) are present. We kneel to receive Christs body and blood. We have a Sanctuary lamp. We also light special communion candles on the altar for the service of the Sacrament. As Luther said: "It is what it is."

2007-10-25 12:04:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3 0

The Lutheran Liturgy of the Word is like the RC Liturgy of the Word but some have the Psalm at the beginning and not between the readings(Ot & Epistle). Often with the ELCA lectionary the RCs and Lutherans will have the same readings on many Sundays.

Other differences depend on the particular Lutheran denomination
( in the States or Canada ELCA or LC-MS or Wisconsin Synod orEvangelical Catholic Church of the Augsburg Confession,etc)even if the parish is "High Church or Low Church" or which country(Sweden,Germany,Namibia,etc).

In Sweden many Lutheran Churches look just like Catholic(they were600yrs ago) and the services can look very catholic(even Tridentine-looking in some places)

Most Lutherans Churches i've been to use the Words of Institution(the Consecration) and little else for the Eucharistic prayer or Great Thanksgiving,but "The Holy God,Mighty Lord..."Euch Prayer)LBWp89) is more like Our #4 - a bit anyway.

Some Lutherans,like Swedes(but who call even a non Eucharistic main service Mass) call the Eucharist the Mass (as did Luther in the"Deutche Messe") . Methodists don't(but there was a book"The Methodist Mass") and Methodists, who do not believe in the substantial Real Presence in the Eucharistic 'elements", tend to have a "lower Eucharistic theology" than Lutherans who do believe in the Real Presence. Methodist Eucharists can just be alittle confusing to Catholics unless the particular parish is 'liturgically oriented" but the Communion Service is based on the Anglican(Episcopal)which was based in outline and with many"borrowings" from the old Latin RC Mass.

Most Lutheran and many Methodist Communion Services will have things an RC would recognize even outside the Liturgy of the Word l ike the Sanctus "Holy Holy Holy(which many Methodists use too,"Christ has died,Christ is risen","Lamb of God"(Agnus Dei),Lord Have Mercy,Nicene Creed(some Methodists use this) but LC-MS changed "Catholic Church" to "Christian Church",The Our Father (Methodist has this toobut some have 'debts" instead of "trespasses").and other things like hymns you recognize.

Some Methodists wear white albs and liturgically colored stoles like Catholic priests(Apostolic Succession ordination is not necessary in Luth or Meth churches for the pastor) and some Lutheran wear chasuables at Mass. Some Lutherans wear cassock and surplice and many methodist pastors wear
black Geneva Gowns("judges' robes")or just regular suits.

Communion is always both bread and wine.Most methodist ones I know of usually use only grape juice and loaves or cubes of bread and most Lutheran use host wafers like catholics. Many Lutheran churches have Communion Rails still and some Methodist churches do too. Many Methodist churches have the pulpit in the center and a small Communion Table and others look more like 'Low Church"Anglican/Episcopal Churches

The catholic Church does not teach that good works buy one's way into heaven,but that we are saved by grace through faith which works through love(Faith-Hope-Love unity)

2007-10-24 15:01:39 · answer #2 · answered by James O 7 · 3 0

*Is Catholic*

Theologicaly, the main differance is wheither or not a sacrifice is occuring.

Lutherans and Methodists deny that a sacrafice is occuring and thus it cannot be the intent of the minister to consecrate the eucharistic species as a sacrifice, thus through the Holy Spirit, cause the bread and while to become the Body and Blood of Christ.

Thus lacking intent, there is no Real Presance in either Lutheran or Methodist "Lord's Suppers".

Methodists outright deny both the sacraficial nature and "real presance" of the activity.

Lutherans will believe in a "real presance" however due to the intent of consubstanciation...that is that the bread and wine remain and that the presance of Christ is co-existant, this is not at all the same understanding as Catholic "Real Presance".

Here is the test Lutherans who read this and dissagree. If I hold up a consecrated host would you fall on your face and worship the host (the total host) as God? If you do not, then you do not believe in the real presance of the Eucharist. It is that simple.

Additionaly there is the objective point of the fact that lutheran and methodist ministers lack holy orders, and thus not being priests, cannot conduct a sacrafice of the altar reguardless of what is believed.

So theologicaly speaking Catholics at Mass eat Christ and Lutherans and Methodists eat a bit of bread and drink a bit of wine (or grape juice as the case may be).

2007-10-26 11:09:50 · answer #3 · answered by Liet Kynes 5 · 0 2

What Lutheran?
I'm Missouri Synod, so here it goes.
Priest/Father vs. Pastor
Some say may Peace be with you, others don't
Some do ashes, some don't
COMMUNION IS THE SAME (REAL BODY AND BLOOD NOT JUST A SYMBOL)
sorry but I'm tired of people not realizing that some Lutherans believe this too....
It's not really service it's the belief. (ok I over simplified before)
Lutheran's: Salvation by Grace
Catholic: Works Righteousness
I wasn't saying all Catholics do nice things just to get into Heaven. Heck people in all religions do that. Anyways, what I meant is Lutherans don't think there is anything a person can do to get into Heaven. Nothing I do will be good enough, I must have faith that Jesus did it all for me.
Catholics *use* to have indulgences, they believed through there own merit they could bypass Purgatory (which Lutherans don't believe in) to get into Heaven.
This is when the split happened. Today indulgences are no longer practiced.

In response to Liet Kynes:
No I would not worship an unconsecrated piece of bread. However once it was consecrated and it became Christ's body, then I would thank Christ for this amazing gift knowing I am unworthy to receive but that through His kindness I can eat it.

2007-10-24 14:43:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1 2

Methodists don't use the term 'Mass'; that word is only used for the Roman Catholic eucharistic liturgy. 'Liturgy' would be used for worship in both Catholic and most Methodist churches. (By the way, if you're in the USA, your boyfriend probably is a United Methodist.) The details of the Catholic Mass are mostly decided by the Vatican, and they are pretty strict about what can and cannot be done. In contrast there's a lot more flexibility in what United Methodist liturgy can do, so the particulars would depend on the particular church you visit. I don't know all the specifics of UM worship, but I believe most churches don't have communion every Sunday -- it's often done only monthly. And of course UMs don't have the same beliefs about communion that Catholics do -- Catholics believe that communion is really the body and blood of Christ, and UMs do not. And of course the Catholic Mass is celebrated by a priest, but the UM Church has ordained ministers instead who are not priests. Both liturgies will probably have scripture readings and preaching, with the singing of hymns and the recitation of communal prayers. If there's communion in the UM church, it will follow the preaching, as in the Catholic Mass.

2016-05-25 16:08:19 · answer #5 · answered by dona 3 · 0 0

James O gave an excellent answer, but I'm just posting in response to flautumn_redhead's answer. Lutherans do *not* believe that the faith of the recipient changes the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood.

The Bible teaches us that when we receive Communion unworthily, we are guilty of the body and blood of Christ. If our own faith were the source of the transformation, then any unworthy recipient's lack of faith would prove this scripture wrong.

Lutherans are somewhat similar to Orthodox in that we refuse to go as far as the Catholic Church in defining the precise moment and mechanism of the transformation. (Our reasoning differs slightly from theirs.) But the transformation does take place, and it takes place based on Christ's promise, independently of the recipient's faith.

2007-10-25 04:25:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous Lutheran 6 · 3 2

the difference is that in the Roman Catholic Mass, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ truly, literally becomes present under the form of consecrated bread and wine!! In the mass, we truly receive Jesus' body , blood, soul, and divinity as spiritual nourishment while in a state of grace.

Sadly, Lutherans and methodists don't have the beautiful most Holy precious gift of the HOly Eucharist, because they believe that it is only a symbol.

2007-10-24 14:42:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2 4

To the answerer above patronO. Lutherans do believe in the REAL presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the communion. It is OUR FAITH that changes the wafer and wine into the REAL BODY and BLOOD of Christ . Not some Priests faith

2007-10-24 23:42:51 · answer #8 · answered by flautumn_redhead 6 · 4 2

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