THE PROCESSION OF OUR GOD
PROCESSION:
Sacred functions in which clergy and people
parade from one place to another. They may be held within a church,
between churches, or outside a church or shrine. Processions are public
act of homage to God, to give honor to him or his saints, and to ask
pardon for sins committed. Their practices goes back to Old Testament
times to express the faith of the people, as distinct from the worship
of a single individual, and of a people who symbolize their co-operative
action, as distinct from merely their common expression of faith. [cf. Pocket Catholic Dictionary by Fr. John Hardon, S.J.]
1. There is a Festal Procession [i.e., procession during feasts] in the Bible.
Psalm 118:27 (New International Version)
27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
Psalm 118:27 [New Revised Standard Version] “...Bind the festal PROCESSION with BRANCHES, up to the horns of the Altar.”
*
Procession going to the Altar, and the people carrying branches. It
looks very Catholic. Indeed, it is because the Catholic processions were
derived from there.
2. There is a Procession to the Sanctuary of the Altar in the Bible.
Psalm 68:24 (New International Version) 24 Your procession has come into view, O God, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
Psalm 68:24 (Amplified Bible) 24They see Your goings, O God, even the [solemn processions] of my God, my King, into the sanctuary [in holiness].
Psalm 68:24 (New Living Translation) 24 Your procession has come into view, O God— the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.
Psalm 68:24 (New King James Version) 24 They have seen Your procession, O God, The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
Psalm 118:27 (Good News Bible) "The LORD is God; he has been good to us. With branches in your hands, start the festival and march around the altar."
• The Catholics are having processions with branches in the hands. And we have Festal Processions. Our practices are Biblical.
3. The People of God are joining the Processions.
Psalm 68:24-27 (New International Version)
24 Your procession has come into view, O God,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
25 In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
with them are the maidens playing tambourines.
26 Praise God in the great congregation;
praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel.
27 There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
there the great throng of Judah's princes,
and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
• This is a beautiful Biblical foundation of Catholic processions.
People in great number, families from various tribes or barangays, the
leaders of the people are present. With musicians, singers and
maidens... That is how the People of God in the Old Testament were doing
Processions and that practice is preserved by Christians until now.
That is an act pleasing to God. And that is the reason many of the
passages are in prophetic books because the passages are prophecies
about the future of the Kingdom of the Messiah. That there will still be
processions.
4. The Image-Bearing Ark of the Covenant is the one being carried in Procession.
1 Kings 8:1-10 (New International Version)
The Ark Brought to the Temple
1 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders
of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite
families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David. 2 All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.
3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it.
The priests and Levites carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the
entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the
ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be
recorded or counted.
6 The priests then brought the ark of the
LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the
Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7
The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and
overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long
that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner
sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there
today. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that
Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with
the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD.
• The use of holy images being carried around until the Sanctuary of God
and the Holy Place is Biblical and not copied from the pagans, contrary
to the claims of the enemies of the Catholic Church.
• Actually the Most Holy Place of the Temple is beneath the Wings of the Statues of Cherubim on top of the Ark of the Covenant.
5. The Ark of the Covenant with its Statues
of two Cherubim were carried by the people of Israel with loud music,
shouts of joy, dancing and merry-making.
1 Chronicles 15:28-29 (New International Version)
28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouts, with the sounding of rams' horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.
29 As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the City of
David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart. [cf. 2 Chronicles 5:11-13 King James Version]
• The Catholics are doing the same. During processions there are music from string-instruments, street dancing and shouting.
6. The Processions are ending in the House of God which refers to the Temple, the Altar, the Tabernacle and the Sanctuary.
Psalm 42:4 (New International Version) 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.
Psalm 42:4 (English Standard Version) 4These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
[see The New Revised Standard Version]
• Who is doing that today? The Catholics! And we are proud of that.
Those who are accusing us of doing a pagan practice are ignorant of
Biblical practices.
Psalm 42:4 (New Living Translation) 4 My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!
* Hello, Procession is an
act of WORSHIP OF GOD. It is a Biblical manner of honoring God and
worshipping him as a congregation or assembly of believers. The singing
and shouting and the great celebration are not displeasing to God but
part of the worship.
7. The prophet Nehemiah reports that Ezra led the procession which was the cause of great joy and celebration of the people.
Nehemiah 12:36-43 (New Living Translation)
36 And Zechariah’s colleagues were Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai,
Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They used the musical instruments
prescribed by David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe led this procession.
37 At the Fountain Gate they went straight up the steps on the ascent
of the city wall toward the City of David. They passed the house of
David and then proceeded to the Water Gate on the east.
38 The second choir giving thanks went northward[a] around the other way
to meet them. I followed them, together with the other half of the
people, along the top of the wall past the Tower of the Ovens to the
Broad Wall, 39 then past the Ephraim Gate to the Old City Gate,[b] past
the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel, and on to the Tower of the
Hundred. Then we continued on to the Sheep Gate and stopped at the Guard
Gate.
40 The two choirs that were giving thanks then proceeded to the Temple
of God, where they took their places. So did I, together with the group
of leaders who were with me. 41 We went together with the
trumpet-playing priests—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai,
Zechariah, and Hananiah—42 and the singers—Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar,
Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. They played and sang loudly
under the direction of Jezrahiah the choir director.
43 Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy. The women and children also participated in the celebration, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away.
• A man of God like Ezra and David joined and even led the processions.
• The prophet Nehemiah reported the procession as a good practice and a cause of celebration among people.
• How come the Anti-Catholics are so angry with Processions? It means that they are not truly of God.
8. The prophets of God are doing procession.
1 Samuel 10:5 (New International Version) 5 "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying.
9. GOD LEADS US IN A TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION IN CHRIST.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (New Living Translation)
Ministers of the New Covenant
14 But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (New International Version)
14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
Isaiah 60:11 (New International Version)
11 Your gates will always stand open,
they will never be shut, day or night,
so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations—
their kings led in triumphal procession.
Isaiah 60:11 (New Living Translation)
11 Your gates will stay open around the clock
to receive the wealth of many lands.
The kings of the world will be led as captives
in a victory procession.
10. Even the Stars, according to the Bible, are in procession.
Song of Solomon 6:10 (New International Version)
Friends
10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?
11. JESUS AT THE CENTER OF PROCESSION
Matthew 21:9 (New Living Translation) 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God for the Son of David!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!
Praise God in highest heaven!”
Mark 11:9 (New Living Translation)
9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!
* If
procession is evil how come Jesus was at the center of it? The Lord
Jesus did it and God Himself promoted it. It is never disallowed by God,
Jesus or the Apostles.
12. Funeral procession is also Biblical
2 Samuel 3:31 (New Living Translation)
David Mourns Abner’s Death
31 Then David said to Joab and all those who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on burlap. Mourn for Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the procession to the grave.
Job 21:33 (New Living Translation)
33 A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery.
Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest,
and the earth gives sweet repose.
Luke 7:12 (New Living Translation)
12 A funeral procession was coming out as he [JESUS] approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her.
* These are the root and origin of
Catholic Processions. They were taken from the Bible and from the
practices of the People of God and not from the pagans.
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