...the meagerness of our [evangelical] ritual language and our purgation of sacrificial imagery from the central sacrificial context of the Eucharist, instituted by our Lord himself, has led on the one hand to a sort of semi-Gnostic pilgrimage to the latest Christian fad, but also, because the ritual sacrifice is in our very marrow, to the invention of our own ritual—the altar call. So it is that in churches which have no altars and do not call the Eucharist a sacrifice of any kind that people walk up to the altar (aka, stage) and offer themselves up to God, or ask for his grace to overcome some temptation or sickness of struggle, or ask for the grace of salvation, or what have you.
From HERE.
2 comments:
Amen! Preach it, brother! The one altar call that really counts for something is addressed to the converted, the baptized (and confirmed/chrismated), and has several different forms:
"The Holy Mysteries are for the Holy!"
"Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to His Supper."
"The Gifts of God for the People of God."
Yes, let us taste and see that the Lord is good!
And the Muslims are now doing altar calls of their own for "reverts"...
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