Churches

My friend the OD invited me to come to his church on Saturday. His church is a member of True Jesus Church. I had visited his church before, once or twice in high school, and been to several other events. I don't think I had been to his church since then, except for the rehearsal for his wedding and the actual wedding. This was the first time I had been to his church since it moved to a new building in Milpitas. OD's sister and her husband were there; his parents were down in LA to look at some land...

As you might be able to tell by the name, it's a Protestant church; I'm not sure how influenced it is by Pentacostalism, but the church does teach that there are two types of prayer: the prayer of understanding--praying in a language we can understand--and... spiritual prayer. Or praying in tongues. And since they think this is what the Bible demands of Christians, they literally keep the sabbath, having praise service on Saturday instead of Sunday.

As the OD's wife was leading Bible study after lunch, I decided to stay. It was, unsurprisingly, a Protestant reading of the Bible. We looked at the miraculous feeding of the multitude, as it was given in the Gospel of St. John (chapter 6); they understood the food that Christ offers to us as "spiritual" food [bread]. Catholics (and the Orthodox) see this as a reference to the Holy Eucharist. I wonder what their understanding of grace is. While I was sitting there listening to their talk about spiritual nourishment, I wonder if what they said is compatible with a Pelagian view of salvation. Prayer is important for the spiritual life, but we are always dependent upon God's grace--while it seems true that God will give us grace if we ask for it for the right reasons and motives, would He leave us in conditions of famine? Or is it more fitting that He be generous in His love? Are not the sacraments an outpouring of His love for us, sensible signs of His grace that perfect us in our love of Him? Perhaps they are too good to be true. But they are not mere Rominist superstition, as if apostolic Christians arbitrarily elevated some creature to the level of divine. What would the point of that be, since by we cannot fashion a creature which can elevate us to friendship with God and prefect us in that friendship? Are apostolic Christians that dumb? No, the dialogue needs to be brought back to the question of how God is present with us, and what He has done for us--we need to understand the Church, Tradition, the Sacraments in their divine origin. If we can impress upon Protestants the true extent of God's wisdom and His mercy, and what He has done for us, perhaps they will reconsider what the Church teaches about ecclesiology and the Sacraments and see how the teachings are "reasonable" in the light of Christ's mission.

His church is rather small, but there is a sense of fellowship. I have to admit though, I was uncomfortable being present while they were "praying" in tongues, and it does not seem like there is a point for me to visit frequently...

OD dropped by the park near the house afterwards with the two kids, while his wife was at choir practice, so I visited with them for a while. Then he took us to Smash City in Milpitas. OD still plays badminton; I don't know if I could get back into playing... learning some groundfighting skills on the other hand...

Today St. Joseph of Cupertino Church had a Mass for Chinese New Year and a special lunch afterwards. Bishop McGrath was in attendance during the liturgy; he also stayed for a part of the reception as well, but had to leave in order to celebrate a New Year liturgy for the San Jose Chinese Catholic Community. (Which has not had any vocations to the priesthood, not for the diocese, as far as I know, unlike the Korean and Vietnamese communities.)

KK's husband attended as well, having flew in yesterday, and we ate with Mr. and Mrs. C, who were also there.

veneration of one's ancestor rites, with offerings

Modern History Sourcebook: The Chinese Rites Controversy
“ The Chinese Rites Controversy: ”
MISSION WORK IN NON-ORTHODOX LANDS: ARE THERE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE RITES CONTROVERSY

St. Ambrose was against the offering of food at the graves of one's ancestors, and once St. Augustine told St. Monica about this, she stopped the practice, though she didn't mean anything pagan by it. The Chinese have a similar practice during the Winter, and also when it is time to sweep the graves of one's relatives. I don't think St. Ambrose's reasoning is applicable only for Latins.

I can't find the actual text put out by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in 1939, just the summary offered by Wiki; it appears that the offering of food is not sanctioned (but not explicitly forbidden either).