A Faith Reborn ...Treading Water in the Tiber

"The Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words. " Romans 8 :26

I have never been more grateful for this promise than I am right now.
My blog begins as I am in a free fall, and a state of abandonment to the Divine Mercy Who guides me.

I am experiencing a divine disorientation. It is a bit uncomfortable. OK, it is terrifying. It is equally, exquisitely both painful and pleasurable.

For 24 years, I have been an Evangelical, multi-denominational Christian. Recently, I have been examining the teachings of the Catholic church, comparing and contrasting them with what I have been taught as an Evangelical.

I have been meditating on the significance of the sacrament of Holy Communion, and the words of our Lord, "Do this in rememberance of me."

Right now, it is Passover. My husband is a Jewish man who has faith in Jesus as the Messiah. We have celebrated the Passover seder in our home
and it is a very holy time of reflection for us. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Paschal Lamb. He is the One True Way to the Father and to eternal life, and I now believe that He is truly Present in the sacrament of Holy Communion.

In Evangelical churches today, it has seemed to me that the only "sacrament" required to prove devotion while promising spiritual and material blessing from God is "The Tithe."

Every week, we hear "And now it is time to present God with His Tithe and our offerings". Only occasionally do we "celebrate" Holy Communion and, opon that rare occasion, we are told the elements are only a symbol.

We Evangelicals claim to believe the Bible is true, especially the words in red letters. So where do we get off telling Jesus that He doesn't know what He is talking about when He says everything He says ( in red letters ) in John, chapter 6 ?

Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments."
If we love Him, why do we keep trying to give Him something that we think is His favorite thing when it clearly is not ? Why would we think that giving God something that is "already His " would be more pleasing to Him than becoming intimate with Him in His Passion in the sacrament of the Eucharist ?

Evangelicals also put a high premium on "praise and worship" which in evangelical-eeze means lively followed by contemplative music which is supposed to get people focused on God and usher in His presence.
To support this practice we quote the scripture which says "God inhabits the praises of His people."

While I believe this is true, and scriptural, and should be a part of worship, why do we neglect the Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist ?
Why is it easy for us to believe that His Presence is real when we worship Him in singing, but not when we partake of His Body and Blood ?

These are just a few of the questions that are troubling me, but there are many more. I so appreciate the wit and wisdom of Mark Shae http://www.markshea.blogspot.com/ and Scott Hahn http://www.scotthahn.com/. I am also grateful for my spiritual midwife alicia who publishes http://fructusventris.stblogs.org/ where I am off to glean.