This week, the priests of the Diocese of Savannah are on retreat at the Marywood Retreat center in Jacksonville, Florida. Here are some pictures of our Mass at the parish Church of San Juan del Rio which is in front of our retreat center as well as the grounds of the retreat center situated on the Saint John River in Jacksonville and like the Nile and the Saint Lawrence Seaway, it flows north rather than south (and of course my blog platform does not put the photos I post in the order that I post them, but rather in a random way and I don’t know why and it is too much trouble to post these individually in the right order, oh, the agony of it all!)
But, I digress, at the end of the photos are my accolades about the fact that I was right about the pandemic producing common chalice and the authentic liturgical renewal that Covid-19 hath wrought!
At our diocesan con-celebrated Masses, especially at the Cathedral or when we are on retreat, in the past-prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, priests would receive the consecrated Host during the Lamb of God and then consume the Host at the same time as the bishop (or any celebrant) received the Host. Then after the celebrant drinks from the Chalice, each priest approaches the altar and drinks from a common chalice.
Of course, if this were done in a restaurant, the establishment would be shut down by the health department and in the Covid-19 age, those who promoted this disease causing tradition would be arrested and law suits galore would be experienced. We would see commercials on TV by local and chain lawyers with this moniker: “Have you received a life-threatening disease from a Catholic Church that allowed you and in fact encouraged you, shamed you into drinking from the common pandemic producing chalice? If so contact me at 1-800-lawyer for a pricy settlement.
But in the Covid age, at our concelebrations, the Host and the Chalice are placed on the altar and after the bishop receives both the Host and the Chalice to complete the Sacrifice of the Mass, each concelebrant approaches the altar, takes the Host and intincts it into the Chalice of Precious Blood.
It is not only an antidote to shared disease of God only knows what, but it is far better visually than the previous way concelebrants received Holy Communion at Mass.
But what really strikes me is how prophetic I was over the years about calling out the pandemic spreading common chalice despite the ignorant derision I received from liturgists in the Church.
But I wear my scars in this regard as a badge of honor. Thank you Lord Jesus.
15 comments:
Your "scars" are as fake as the self-proclaimed honor they bring you. They were bought at the local Halloween costume store and pasted on for a temporary laugh. But, if that's what floats your St. John's boat, enjoy!
If we truly believe in our Lord, God and Savior, the divine physician of souls and body, made present under the form of bread and wine, it is then difficult to believe that that which is divine is now a conveyance for disease. Many within the Orthodox churches never stopped distributing from the spoon, one spoon, during the pandemic and there aren't endless stories within the press about Orthodox churches becoming super spreaders. It's reasonable to take precautions yet, is this not also and to some degree a test of our faith??? I'm not suggesting we turn the reception of holy communion into a dare.
Father K,
You should wear a Nancy Pelosi costume for Halloween - you are both condescending, not well informed, and you both vote for the party of intrinsic evil
YOU NAILED IT TJM.
Father McDonald,
You are absolutely correct and the battle you waged against those who don't truly believe in the Real Presence will no doubt be rewarded. I was always disgusted by the lack of respect shown to you on Pray Tell, that poor excuse for a Catholic website.
I'm wondering if the idea of dipping the Host into a chalice that might contain saliva from just one person is a good idea? How about the possibility that droplets occur from the chalice especially when unsteady hands dip into the chalice?
ByzRus,
The Ukrainian Catholic Mass I occasionally attend in Chicago began to use individual spoons for each communicant. Seems to me to be a very good method. I'd like to believe we are divinely protected from inadvertent decease transmission but that might be asking too much. If that were the case then the Pope wouldn't be praying about how God closed the churches during the pandemic. Or it means he doesn't believe that God offers any protection of any kind.
I commend you Father McDonald, and affirm that you have a double-honor, bearing the petty insults from the likes of that other priest. His compulsion to tear down and put everyone in their place speaks for itself. God bless you for rising above such silliness.
Thomas Garrett,
You are another sentient person who sees Father K as a berk.
TJM,
Let's not forget that he IS a priest. As distasteful and cringeworthy we might find his remarks, I would still kneel and kiss his hands, as those are the hands that can consecrate a Host, the hands that can impart a blessing, the hands of a man who can absolve my sins... all of which makes watching his incremental online meltdown the more painful.
Thomas, I would not allow you or anyone else to kiss my hands. If you are looking for hands to kiss, I suggest you seek out those hands that help a woman give birth or that caress the head of a dying COVID patient or that work in a lab where cures for diseases are found.
As for my "incremental meltdown," I would repeat what another astute poster here told you. You are VERY new to this blog. You should consider that before you make pronouncements regarding those of us who have been here a while.
Whatever you say, Father!
Fr K,
Thomas has figured you out as have many others have. You used to hide your worst through various noms de plume. But alas, you have learned nothing and forgotten nothing
Father Kavanaugh,
In the spirit of being welcoming to all immigrants you shouldn't bestow a lower class on them vs. others who have been around for awhile. I'm surprised. After all we are all immigrants to this blog site aren't we?
As far as I'm concerned I consider hands that consecrate the Blessed Sacrament to be more worthy of respect. Your words are freighting. Someone offers you an expression of peace and you spit in their face. Yikes!
Regarding expression of peace, read between the lines, folks, priestly humility was being suggested. You might not care for the directness of the delivery (and if so dependent upon fluffiness, perhaps ask yourselves why?), but, nonetheless that's what's being suggested, at least to me.
Fr. AJM, coming from the East where we've never stopped receiving communion under both species (single use wooden spoons are used then burnt, however). I suppose intinction is a reasonable middle ground.
Michael A,
That is who he is. He is like the costume I suggested he wear for Halloween.
Just a reminder...while Communion under both species, whether under the Rite of St. John Chrysostom or by intinction, it is not necessary and the laity are neither denigrated nor deprived when they are only given Communion Hosts, which was the norm for most Latin Rite Catholics for CENTURIES.
The Body AND the Blood of Christ are BOTH present in the Host.
THE BODY AND THE BLOOD OF CHRIST ARE BOTH PRESENT IN THE HOST.
Post a Comment