Man and Church
The Parish Is Not a Product
Why treating the Church as a service provider—and yourself as its customer—misses the point of the faith and can harm your spiritual life.
Near the beginning of every Divine Liturgy, the Great Litany gathers the prayers of the faithful. Among its petitions is one we hear so often that it barely registers: “For this holy house, and for those who enter it with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.”
Having prayed for the house, the petition turns to those who walk through its doors and the disposition they bring. Before we evaluate anything a parish offers, the Church asks us to consider how we enter.
