Many people believe the Catholic Church arbitrarily “invented” and imposed beliefs and practices on the faithful throughout her history. Why do we believe and practice such “weird” things? Why incense, for instance? Who says we have to listen to the Magisterium of the Church? Is purgatory even real?
Catholic worship was God’s idea. So worship is not about me – what I like or what satisfies me most. Worship is about what draws me into the closest proximity to God. We know what that is, because God outlined it for us and left His directives in the Bible. Discover the roots of your worship with me in the tabernacle part of the Making Sense of the Old Testament series.
Welcome Jennifer O; Marina; Gabrielle; Mary G; Maria; Carmelita; Shyanne; Joan; Cathy H; Genie; Cieara; Gina K; Elizabeth L; Lindsey D; Doug; Cassandra; and John R; Bible Study Evangelista’s newest friends of the show! Thank you for loving and lifting me :)
LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice: lectio without the Latin.
L – Listen (Receive the Word.)
O – Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)
F | Franciscan – Someone in your circle of influence needs you to spend time with them. Spend an hour being deliberately present with that person today.
I | Ignatian – Spend some time on your porch or take a walk outdoors with someone you love. Use your senses to be in the present moment: what do you see, hear, taste, feel as you spend time quietly with that person? What about the time you spend with Jesus; how does it feel, sound, etc.?
A | Augustinian – What single, small act or practice could you begin today to spend more time in His presence and/or practicing His presence throughout your daily duties?
T | Thomistic – See if you can truly make the connections in your heart between the Old Testament tabernacle and the Church. Practice memorizing them as you attend your next Mass.
V – Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)
Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step.
E – Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)
Holy Spirit, Thank you for being consistent throughout salvation history. Remind me that all Your ways with me also are consistently loving. Help me become more consistent in my heart- and thought-connections with you throughout my day. + Amen.
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*LOVE the Word™ exercises are offered according to FIAT: the four personalities, or “prayer forms,” explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Franciscan, Ignatian, Augustinian, and Thomistic: FIAT! These prayer forms correspond to the Myers-Briggs personality types.
Notes and References
The Kingdom of God “is like the head of a household who can bring from his store both the new and the old” (Matthew 13:52).
“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; from every man whose heart makes him willing, you shall receive the offering for Me. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it” (Ex 25:2, 8-9).
“They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary” (Heb 8:5).
“And he erected the court round the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would go onward; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not go onward till the day that it was taken up. For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel” (Ex 40:33-38).
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory….” (Joh 1:14).
“Do you not know that your body is a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Cor 6:19).
“If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (Joh 14:23).
“Christ is the true tabernacle of God, ‘the place where his glory dwells’; by the grace of God, Christians also become the temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of which the Church is built. In its earthly state the Church needs places where the community can gather together. Our visible churches, holy places, are images of the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, toward which we are making our way on pilgrimage” (CCC 1197-1198).
Episode Resources
Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism
Ignite, Chapters 6 & 7, The How of the Bible
Read the Transcript
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Image Credit
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The Matthew reference is incorrect. It is 13:52 and reads: And he said to them, therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.
You are right; thank you! I fixed it.