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The NZ Bishops, on March 4 (three days ago) announced there are now no restrictions on receiving Communion or the Sign of Peace. But in the Wellington Archdiocese Communion on the tongue is banned.
What is it with the Wellington Archdiocese? WOT is going on? Well in Karori at least, at St Thomas More at least, they have more important things to think about. Such as:
- Maori Spirituality and Connectedness with Creation (Danny Karatea-Goddard)
- The Key Messages from Laudato Si (Catherine Gibbs)
- The Intersection Points of Three Points in Laudato Si - Climate Action, Global Development, Technology Solutions (Professor David Frame)
- Measuring Your Carbon Footprint and The Implications (Stuart Henrys, Otari Parishioner
What has any of these buzz words got to do with the mission of Jesus Christ our Saviour and His Church, of saving souls?
This sort of carry-on serves as a distraction, and I suspect a deliberate distraction, from the Gospel message for Lent of repentance, prayer and alms-giving, all of which should be proclaimed from our pulpits this Sunday in a call for reparation for the sin of abortion, if nothing else.
God will not be mocked, by the kind of treatment meted out to Him in the Eucharist, 'graphically' by Wellington Archdiocesan spokesman Peter Gaines, but effectively by his Archbishop, Cardinal John Dew.
For they shall sow wind, and reap a whirlwind, there is no standing stalk in it, the bud shall yield no meal; and if it should yield, strangers shall eat it (Osee 8:7).
New Zealand has sown wind and we will reap the harvest of the evil done in Parliament last Wednesday, with the passage of the second reading of the noxious Abortion Legislation Bill.
How much 'standing stalk' is there in Northland pastures today? Or almost anywhere else in the countryside? How much 'bud' can we expect next spring, and how much 'meal' next summer?
God did not send His Son to die to save the planet, but to save us, and He saves us by the Mystery of the Eucharist, now under deliberate if well-meaning attack (we must give Cardinal Dew et al the benefit of the doubt; we can't judge their motivation).
"It seems," says Bishop Athanasius Schneider re CORONAVIRUS hysteria, "that some (Church authorities) have a kind of cynical joy to spread more and more the process of trivialization and de-sacralization of the Most Holy and Divine Body of Christ in the Eucharistic sacrament, exposing the Body of the Lord himself to the real dangers of irreverence (loss of fragments) and sacrileges (theft of consecrated hosts),” he said.
Schneider said nobody can “force” a Catholic to receive the Body of Christ in a way that “constitutes a risk of the loss of the fragments, and a decrease in reverence, as is the way of receiving Communion in the hand.”
He recommended making a Spiritual Communion rather than receiving Communion in a trivial manner.
And that's what I did this morning. Rather than put our aged PP on the spot and embarrassing him by insisting on my right to Communion on the tongue, I knelt, adored our Lord in the Host, made Spiritual Communion and returned to my pew.
In case there may be any lingering doubt as to the legitimacy of Communion on the tongue in the minds of our bishops, priests or lay people, I adduce the following:
If Communion is given only under the species of bread, the Priest raises the host slightly and shows it to each, saying, The Body of Christ. The communicant replies, Amen, and receives the Sacrament either on the tongue or, where this is allowed, in the hand, the choice lying with the communicant.
Redemptionis Sacramentum—Instruction On Certain Matters to be Observed or to be Avoided Regarding the Most Holy Eucharist, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, March 25, 2004, art. 92:
Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice, if any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand, in areas where the Bishops’ Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic See has given permission, the sacred host is to be administered to him or her.
"(The above legislation applies only to the Ordinary Form or Novus Ordo Missae.)
"If this is true for a bishop’s law, a fortiori it is true of a pastor of a parish. A layman may not be denied the Blessed Sacrament unless he is a notorious public sinner. A priest who, on his own initiative (or a 'Minister of the Eucharist, a la Mr Peter Gaines) told the people they must receive in the hand would be violating the law and leading the people into the violation of it.
"A second canon lawyer agreed:
In a medical emergency the bishop has a right to take reasonable steps to protect the health of parishioners. That being said, the faithful should do what they want and feel no obligation to receive Holy Communion in the hand. They cannot be required to do that in either the OF or (theoretically) the EF in emergency circumstances.
"On a practical note, many have pointed out that germs are spread as easily by frequent hand contact as by placing the host in the mouth (which, if the priest knows what he’s doing, should not involve any transfer of saliva), as Bishop Athanasius Schneider has recently
explained."
Churches are insisting on Communion in the hand in downstate NY because
of the spread of this virus. I am fine with doing away with the handshake
because that is a distraction and our focus should be on the Eucharist. I
don't like receiving Holy Communion in my hand and am probably part of a
handful of people who receive Communion on the tongue in my parish.
Cardinal Dew is simply making communion
impossible for some. Blast him in the local media.
Kick up. Embarrass the heck out of him. The least he could do
is buy up lots of disposable tongs so all can have the Lord without irreverence
Having
cooled down, I shall be the soul of decorum and not make a fuss. But
I think basic issues should be raised in appropriate channels and get people
thinking about what many of us feel we accepted in good faith but have since
seen is highly displeasing to the Lord.and involves basic freedoms and basic
responsibility. If our leaders and their flocks won't listen then we have to be
firm and
persistent otherwise we could be spiritually deprived for a long time. Shaking
the dust off our feet may be necessary.But we can't flee to the
catacombs.They're closed for the very same reason! A new version of the Irish
Mass Rock* may be necessary.
*The Irish name for a Mass Rock is Carraig an Aifrinn. Mass Rocks may also be found in fields, woodlands and hidden in glens. The Penal Laws remain an emotive and complex subject. Passed between 1695 and 1756, they limited the public expression of Catholicism in Ireland.
"Mass became a secretive act, celebrated by fugitive priests and their congregations."
It could become so again.
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Yhe idea of touching your hand and then your mouth is
so against science. Best practice is to not touch your eyes, nose or mouth
unless you have washed your hands. These clergy advocating communion in the
hand need to be called out for their ignorance no matter their titles.
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The
ceremony after the buzzy-bee Sign of peace you could call 'communion in the
underhand'.
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The Archbishop of Orange County, CA, where I live, has called for the
discontinuation of receiving Holy Eucharist on the tongue. That seems contrary to common sense. I have zero problem
with the Archbishop's declaration to cease holding hands during the Lord's
Prayer and during the sign of peace. I welcome that on a permanent basis.
I'm 45 years-old and I have never received Communion in my hand.
When I stood before the Priest last Sunday, I quickly and quietly said,
"I've never received Communion in my hand and I'd like to receive on my
tongue." He said, "Well, you're a big girl, you can make that
decision," so I received on my tongue.
It goes against every fiber of my being to receive the Body, Blood, Soul and
Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in my hand.
I.Just.Can't.Do.It.
Bob Gill says:
Communion in the hand
only allowed at Mass in Dannevirke this morning, so forced to make a Spiritual
Communion. You'd think all NZ Bishops would be united on this issue. I wonder
what the problem is and if someone will explain?
I've
just written to my parish priest attaching the Update of 4 March and asking for
clarification on the apparent two different camps in New Zealand.
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Tony K says:
It is patently obvious that Mr Gaines has a distinct lack
of love for his neighbour,
ie those receiving the Body and Blood Of Christ on the
tongue, in fact his ranting
could be described as hatred.
I am not judging him but if
his hatred is as bad as he conveys, would that not constitute a serious sin? He is obviously
not fit to touch the Body of Jesus.
After 23 years he is obviously feeling that he is on a
slippery downhill slope and he would be best advised to resign, make his peace with God and
his neighbour and begin receiving Jesus on the tongue.
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The list of topics at Karori St Thomas More says it all. The new culture is the new religion. Environmentalism, paganism, socialism, feminism, gay rights, are now the rage. The teachings of Christ seem to be out of date, the salvation of souls seems a quaint anachronism.
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