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Did you know? Why Catholic Churches have flat floors and statues

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 Like the great churches of Catholic tradition, the floor of this Church is flat. A flat floor tells people who enter that they will be participants.

Pope Francis will conduct mass at the University of Nairobi’s Graduation Square when he comes visiting.

The Square is an flat open field with the Papa altar serving as the elevated ground where the Pontiff will have a bird’s eye view of the faithful.

Have you ever noticed that floors in Roman Catholic Churches are flat, unlike say, in prosperity gospel churches which feature a succession of elevated pews stretches from the pulpit backwards?

The reason Catholic church floors are flat is for the simple reason that everyone is equal in the eyes of God!

The other reason is that they’re flat so that the raised altar can be seen from any corner of the church.

But why do Catholics have statues in their churches, bowing to the one of the Virgin Mary and all?

Well, while the bible says people should not worship statues, God did not abolish their use in religious settings. In Exodus 25: 18-20, God said:

“And you shall make two cherubim of gold [that is two gold statues of angels]; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece of the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.”

Catholics thus use statues, paintings, and other artistic devices to recall the person or thing depicted and as teaching tools.

Did you also know that the Kiswahili word ‘misa’ meaning Mass was fleshed from The Roman Missal- the book containing the prescribed prayers, chants, and instructions for the celebration of Mass in the Roman Catholic Church?

It is from this liturgical book that Catholics read similar scriptures simultaneously throughout the world on any given Sunday!

It is one of the greatest aspects of the Church. Reason? Wherever a Catholic attends mass anywhere in the world, they do it in full knowledge that it’s the same as at the local parish. Besides the readings, the only thing that could be different is possibly the language and the Homily- the sermon portion of the mass given by the Priest or Deacon!

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