Have you seen or heard about megachurches? The term megachurch generally refers to any Protestant congregation with a sustained average weekly attendance of 2000 persons or more in its worship services. Other characteristics of a megachurch include… a charismatic senior minister, a large paid staff, hundreds of weekly volunteers, membership that draws from a large geographic area, a multitude of programs and ministries, 7-day a week activities, contemporary worship, state of the art sound and video equipment, bookstores, coffee shops, multi-acre campuses, and huge parking lots.
I’ll be honest; some of the stuff on that list sounds awesome! I will also admit that I don’t see most of these things in the Catholic parishes local to me. None-the-less, I believe that the Catholic Church is a Mega-Church!
“A charismatic senior minister”
Even if your local priest isn’t a “charismatic leader,” every time that a priest consecrates the Eucharist he is acting “in persona Christi” (“in the person of Christ”). And so, in the Catholic Church we believe that Christ himself has called and equipped our priests and even is present to us in their ministry.
Even if your local priest isn’t a “charismatic leader,” every time that a priest consecrates the Eucharist he is acting “in persona Christi” (“in the person of Christ”). And so, in the Catholic Church we believe that Christ himself has called and equipped our priests and even is present to us in their ministry.
“Large geographic area, massive attendance, 7-day a week services”
Every single day Catholic mass is celebrated approximately 350,000 times! That means that for every second of the day, 4 priests are consecrating the Eucharist, recalling his saving passion , and making Christ truly present in the world. Hundreds of thousands of Catholics go to mass each day and every single one of them celebrates the same liturgy, hears the same readings, and receives the same Eucharistic Lord.
Every single day Catholic mass is celebrated approximately 350,000 times! That means that for every second of the day, 4 priests are consecrating the Eucharist, recalling his saving passion , and making Christ truly present in the world. Hundreds of thousands of Catholics go to mass each day and every single one of them celebrates the same liturgy, hears the same readings, and receives the same Eucharistic Lord.
It doesn’t get anymore Mega than this!
Joe Mailhot
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