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A priest known for installing altar railings
in his various assignments said this in a homily: “So, why do I do this
everywhere I go? It started when I was a seminarian at the North America
College in Rome. Mother Teresa of Calcutta came to visit and when time came for
Holy Communion, she went first and knelt on the marble floor and received. We
all looked at each other and went up and knelt to receive our blessed Lord.
From that moment forward…”
The largest denomination in the US
is fallen away Catholics. Why? Because we have forgotten what the Eucharist
really is. If its only bread we are like pigs at a trough. If it is the body,
blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, then let’s act accordingly.”
My Comment: When Catholics cease to go to Mass or cease to be Catholic, is it because they believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist? No! They have lost their faith and so a non-sacramental Protestant denomination or no Church or denomination at all will do.
Does the manner in which the Mass is celebrated and Holy Communion is received have any effect on those who do receive and those who simply watch those who are receiving.
I know that the reverence and taboos that were taught to me when I was making my First Holy Communion and what I witnessed in my childhood from those who did receive was quite edifying a supported the Church's Faith about Holy Communion.
Can we say what we do today in the Normative Mass does the same or has it contributed to the malaise we have seen in Catholic participation and belief over the past 40 years? Just wondering.
20 comments:
Was it not Cardinal Burke that said something to the effect that Liturgical Abuses can lead to a loss of Faith? ...While I would not blame the Missal itself...I do believe there is something as to the celebration of Mass in the majority of parishes that has led to the loss of Faith. The attitude of the priest towards the Liturgy carries to his parishoners.
And, yes, I would have knelt if I saw Bl Mother Teresa kneel and receive Holy Communion
Joe, it was Cardinal Ratzinger who wrote:
"I am convinced that the crisis in the Church that we are experiencing today largely derives from the disintegration of the liturgy."
This raises an even broader question: why do so many Latin Catholics choose to receive the Sacrament standing and on the tongue?
Especially when standing on your tongue can hurt! :)
@JBS
BECAUSE, Father, the hordes of progressive priests over the past 40 years have mandated it!
Even our beloved Fr. macDonald did so years ago (he is very up-front about his liberal seminary training); he disallowed kneeling saying he didn't want folks tripping over us kneeling folk. He did allow receiving on the tongue, but in very plain English told us about what was commonly practiced in St. Peter's at the time...i.e. Communion in hand...
I understand the confusion on kneeling better than I understand the confusion around Communion on the tongue. Until the 2000's, there were some vagaries surrounding liturgical norms on kneeling. However, the norms have always been clear that Communion on the tongue is the "default" practice, and permission for the novel manner of reception was given with the specific condition that the traditional practice remains a legitimate option.
Rail or no rail, I would gladly kneel for Holy Communion. I stopped receiving Communion in the hand some time in the 1980's when I figured out that--contrary to what the "religious ed experts" in various parishes had told us--that we did not have to receive in the hand. Further study helped me discover that the worldwide norm for Communion in the Latin Rite Church remains ON THE TONGUE. And yes, i would even kneel on my tongue if it meant ridding the Church of the flaky (figuratively and literally) practice of Communion in the hand.
JBS,
As you no doubt know, official permission for reception on the hands while standing was given by the Vatican only on the basis that this was already standard practice in this country.
Indeed it was, beginning in the 1970s, everywhere I attended Mass. Priests and sisters generally insisted upon it, and generations of first communicants were taught only communion on the hands. Those who didn't fit in were often admonished by priests who refused to given communion on the tongue.
Whatever the written norms were didn't mean diddly squat to either priests nor lay, since prior to the late 1990s, if then, no one either priest or lay had ever heard of these written norms. It was after 2000, as I recall, that even such a liturgy wonk as me learned that communion on the tongue was still the universal norm.
With several generations having been acclimated like this to reception on the hands as the only acceptable practice, it would be passing strange indeed if this were not the default practice.
If one of my children came to see me, even after they had offended me, I would not give a shi...a hoot if they told me, by their presence, that they loved me from a standing or kneeling or sitting or lying position. I think Jesus welcomes us in ANY position.
(I once was anonymous)
Was it Newman who said, "Faith follow Praxis"? I think so...
Lex Orandi, Lex credendi.
Many Catholics simply don't believe in the Real Presence or like some others chose "think" what Jesus would or would not find acceptable.
I was once asked why I wore a suit coat, tie and polished shoes to Mass. I responded by saying "I heard the King of the Universe was going to be here..." THAT is what we are worshiping and if we really believed that, we would get on our knees to be with Him.
newguy40, do you really think that your suit coat, tie and polished shoes, and ego, please Jesus more than the family in Goodwill clothes does?
Re-read the story about the Publican and the Pharisee.
Tevye, Did newguy40 really say that?
Tevye
It has been my experience that the poorest churches in the US have the finest dressed attendees. They have one set of 'Sunday Best', and they look forward to dressing-up for church. It is the highlight of their week.
It has also been my experience that the richest church attendees tend to use the poor as an excuse to go to church in shorts and flip-flops. Church for them is a social obligation, NOT the highlight of their week.
I have seen this all over the country. I see it every week in Macon.
Henry, I know that quote, but I was thinking of an interview that Cardinal Burke gave on the Liturgy where he mentions abuses of the Liturgy...:)
As I've mentioned before, standing has the theology of the resurrection, which fits in the Byzantine Theology, but does NOT with Roman Theology. If Rome wishes to stand for Communion, the theology that accompanies the Mass must change to reflect that. (i.e. Match Byzantine Theology) as such the Roman emphasis is the Sacrifice upon Calvary as such kneeling is the appropriate posture. In Rome we should be kneeling and receiving on the tongue...
Example can be a powerful witness. There were some present such as the seminarian who observed how Mother Teresa received and it made an impression on them. So much so that they received in the same way. One person with a simple but profound gesture of humility can bring about a change in others.
I hardly need you to quote to me the publican and the pharisee. I am more than well aware of my own sinfulness.
A suit coat doesn't make my inward intentions but in fact reflects it.
I've attended Mass at parish (central coast Cali AG) with heavy latin american immigrants and I have seen many families wearing their "Sunday Best" with well turned out children who approach the sacraments worthily and with great attention.
You can't convince me that those who come to Mass in their golf shoes and outfits and do the hearty back slapping while in communion line or the teens in un-chaste skirts and tee shirts who act as EMHC's with perpetually bored expressions are attending to our King with the love and attention He deserves. Not what Newguy or you think but what is His right.
Tell me, will you? If form matters so little to you is it okay to have our Eucharistic Lord in a plastic container or recycled cup from MacDonld's rather than the gold paten and ciborium? No. He deserves the gold that He resides in because He merits and deserves our best. You've remember the man but forgotten the God, sister.
While I disagree with the certain spirit of newguy40’s previous comment, I find it amusing to think some people actually believe one cannot buy dress clothes (even a suit) at a Goodwill store. If one actually shops at Goodwill (or has stepped foot in one), one might be surprised at what one finds.
Believe it or not, not all the clothing is t-shirts and jeans with faded images of Bart Simpson and/or Ozzy Osbourne.
And I do not recall newguy40 saying his suit came from Brooks Brothers – but who knows, right?
Church going blacks who are poor wear Sunday best to Church. This doesn't mean that what they wear is expensive but it does mean it is the best they have, suits for men and dresses for women with fancy, fancy hats!
If a person doesn't present the best he has to God in church, then perhaps it's he doesn't truly believe that God is Really Present there.
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