The National Catholic Register has an interview of a 30 something priest who just doesn't get it about why 80% of Catholics don't believe what the Church teaches about the Most Holy Eucharist or the reception of Holy Communion (both figuratively and in reality).
He thinks the problem is intellectual. He thinks that adoration and Eucharistic processions are the answers. These are in part but only touch a handful of Catholics who bother to attend these important elements of Eucharistic piety.
IT IS AT MASS THAT THE MASSES WILL BE PROPERLY OR IMPORPERLY FORMED!!!!!!
THUS THE MASS ITSELF MUST PROMOTE ORTHODOX BELIEF ABOUT HOLY COMMUNION!!!!!!
This is what this young priest says in part:
Just the difference that you mentioned there shows us how coming to Mass is an opportunity for two things: through catechesis to come to know our faith more deeply through the teaching. Both the prayers [of the Mass] and the homily are meant to be catechetical and break open the reality of who God is and how he relates to us READ THE REST HERE.
NO FATHER, EVEN IF THERE WERE NO HOMILY AND THE PRAYERS IN A LANGUAGE MOST PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND, BE IT CHINESE, SPANISH OR GOD FORBID, LATIN, THE MASS CAN INSTILL ORTHODOX BELIEF IN HOLY COMMUNION BY THE MANNER IN WHICH HOLY COMMUNION IS DISTRIBUTED AND HOW HOLY COMMUNIOIN IS RECEIVED!
I. HOLY COMMUNION ONLY DISTRIBUTED BY BISHOPS, PRIESTS, DEACONS, SUBDEACONS AND INSTALLED ACOLYTES.
II. HOLY COMMUNION RECEIVED KNEELING AND ON THE TONGUE ONLY
THESE TWO THINGS WILL TOUCH EVERY SINGLE PERSON AT MASS AND THUS THE MASSES WILL BE FORMED PROPERLY IN WHAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BELIEVES ABOUT HOLY COMMUNION EVEN IF THAT PERSON NEVER GOES TO ADORATION OR A EUCHARISTIC PROCESSIONS OR HEARS A HOMILY AT MASS OR LISTENS TO THE PRAYERS IN A LANGUAGE HE UNDERSTANDS!!!
19 comments:
Father McDonald,
I think this fits in with your thinking. Abolish the USCCB:
"Generating activity is the bread and butter of any bureaucracy. The further the bishops drift away from their spiritual goals towards worldly affairs, the more control these staffers can exercise.
The professional mode is hard to resist. The USCCB’s biannual meetings in posh hotel venues (with bare-bones Masses that demonstrate the priorities of the participants) display the vacuity of the proceedings, with no man daring to break ranks over the decisions—which run the gamut of banal to destructive—of others.
At their last convocation in Baltimore, in the wake of revelations of episcopal cover-ups, one bishop stood up to offer a timorous semblance of rebuke to his confreres when one of their endless statements proved too much for him. “No mention of Jesus,” he half-whispered. Resorting to mild sarcasm—the room seemed to get uncomfortable—he weakly offered his opinion that “it might be a good idea.”
The ghost of Bernardin haunts us to this day.
It's an idolatry of intellectualism, the praxis as the modern church practices is not reflexive of what she believes. That is the problem. Until this is remedied, the belief in the Real Presence of Christ will continue to decrease amongst Western Christians until the percentage is close to zero.
The remedies to this are (in no particular order):
1. For the love of God, end Hand Communion once and for all. There is not (yet) an active persecution in most of the Western World that justifies the practice. (paraphrasing St Basil)
2. Restore the Communion Rail/Rood Screen, and more importantly, using it. While I don't think Standing for Communion in of itself is the problem, it clearly has had a negative impact in the west and should be eliminated. (Plus the theology that goes with Western Christianity suits kneeling, wher as in the East it does not)
3. Return Liturgy to the correct Orientation (aka, Ad Orienteim, or facing God). I think this is probably even more important than the other two precisely because facing the people is a physical representation of turning one's back on God.
4. Return the Tabernacle back to the centre of the church. Even better if the Tabernacle were to return to the altar of Sacrifice. It was a stupid idea to evict Jesus from the church and banish Him to a side corner, or even worse in a chapel far away from the main church. (Yes, this even means in the Cathedral church, probably most especially in the Cathedral church....multiple tabernacles so that there might be a devotional chapel could be used for this purpose)
5. Restore the propers to the Liturgy. More Scripture can't be a bad thing ;)
You are right Fr and the young priest is half-right.
Father, I respectfully beg you to consider an idea reflected above. Why not, in your own parish, can’t both priests be present at Mass for Holy Communion? I’ve seen this work in other parishes. During the prayers leading up to Communion the priest not presiding over the Mass respectfully approaches the altar (sort of like the extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist). I believe this is the solemn duty of clergy with consecrated hands... what better to be doing at this time but serving your parish? This will undoubtedly demonstrate the duty and reverence and love your parish priests have for the Blessed Sacrament. This will allow parishioners on both sides of the aisle to receive communion from a priest instead of the priest picking a side and only one line being able to receive our Lord from consecrated hands. Please, please, please prayerfully consider this request. There are many parishioners who don’t believe “timeliness” of receiving communion is an appropriate issue or concern. What, with many people in the world not able to receive communion, what is the hardship of waiting an extra few minutes?!? The most important part of the Mass to me is right after I receive communion. I sit in the front so as to extend this time in prayer while the rest of the church receives our Lord. Because sadly, too often the post communion portion of Mass is too short to adequately reflect on what we just received... on our knees... in loving awe and reverence. Respectfully, your parishioner.
"I believe this is the solemn duty of clergy with consecrated hands."
No, there is no "duty" for the priests of the parish to be present to distribute communion at masses they are not celebrating. Sunday mornings for non-celebrating clergy can include home and hospital visits, teaching religious education classes, or other responsibilities.
Anonymous,
I have never seen a priest teaching a religious education Mass on Sunday.
"I have never seen a priest teaching a religious education Mass on Sunday."
And, because YOU have never seen it, it doesn't happen.... Gotcha.
Bee here:
Troll alert! Troll alert! Beware the troll. Please don't feed the troll.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
"I have never seen a priest teaching a religious education Mass on Sunday."
And, because YOU have never seen it, it doesn't happen.... Gotcha.
September 17, 2019 at 12:46 PM
God bless.
Bee
Anonymous K,
Never saw it and neither have you. Priests simply do not do that because they would be stealing a role that has defaulted to the laity for over 50 years. My wife taught CCD and begged the pastor to come to her class. Never did. fyi, the pastor was a big-time lefty like you so he didn't have time for the children
Bee - Thanks for the comment.
TJM - As I said, "And, because YOU have never seen it, it doesn't happen.... Gotcha."
Bee,
We must be getting to Anonymous K, the troll of all trolls. Anonymous K, just tell us the number of times YOU have taught Sunday school classes as a priest.
Anonymous, if you can find a link to a parish anywhere in the world, where the priest celebrates mass and teaches religious education on Sunday - please share that with us.
Bee, thanks for getting things rolling.
Dan, I don't know of any parish anywhere that publishes on its website any list of who is teaching religious on which days. Do you?
If so, please share with us.
Anonymous K,
But you can tell us since you are an expert in all things faux Catholic, particularly where YOU have taught, n'est ce pas?
Bee here:
TJM: Trolls don't converse or debate, they argue. If you respond to them, you feed their need. If you don't respond, you take all the fun out of it for them.
Trolls die of starvation. Better not to feed them.
God bless.
Bee
Bee,
So true
'Trolls don't converse or debate, they argue.' Actually, they don't argue in the real sense, since they are incapable of initiating or sustaining an argument. What they do is contradict, without making any effort to justify their contradiction.
Anonymous, you dont have to share link to bulletin. Just share link to parish where this happens.
This should be easy for you.
The church I frequent (when I'm not singing for the EF) is fortunate in that it has five priests and a transitional deacon. Celebrant, deacon, subdeacon (which since 1972 has been an honorary role) and MC are roles normally taken by priests.
Sometimes the homily is preached by a priest who is not fulfilling a liturgical role. However, he is in choir throughout. This was not always the case a hundred years ago. But the Oratorians, with their splendid Latin liturgy, are somewhat trendy in this regard. That said, you will look in vain for EMHC or serviettes. And priests do come out and help with the distribution of Communion when necessary.
As they always did.
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