Reflection of Pope Benedict on the Priesthood

The following reflection on the priesthood is taken from Pope Benedict's recent Christmas greetings given at the Apostolic Palace... [Note: We have changed spelling of two words below]

"[In the wake of the 'Year for Priests'] Among us as priests and among the laity, also and especially the young, a renewed awareness arose of the great gift of the priesthood of the Catholic Church, which was entrusted to us by the Lord. One again we came to understand how beautiful it is that human beings [priests] are authorized to pronounce the name of God and, with complete authority, the word of forgiveness, and thus that they are able to change the world, to change life. How beautiful it is that human beings [priests] are authorized to pronounce the words of consecration."

Related: Sacrament of Penance (Topic Page) | Priests / Holy Orders (Topic Page) | Holy Eucharist (Topic Page)

[12/20]

News Highlights

Some recent news highlights...

* A Spanish Jesuit is reportedly on a hunger strike in protest over land disputes in Venezuela. The hunger strike is apparently putting his health at "grave risk"

* In an address to members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope Benedict indicated that science should not be feared, but that it is also not a panacea

* A Brazilian priest was reportedly shot in the back and found dead in his car earlier this week. No suspects or motives were indicated

* The planned gathering in Rome of abuse victims & and their supporters - scheduled for the anniversary day of Martin Luther's nailing of his '95 Theses' to the door (10/31) - which seeks to "demand greater accountability from the Vatican" will proceed. However, since permission to hold the event in St. Peter's Square was denied, they will apparently gather at a nearby location. According to a Canadian Press report, "A few hundred people from a dozen countries are expected" to participate

* Here we go again: The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue has wished Hindus a "joy-filled Deepavali" and a "a happy Deepavali" (Deepavali is a Hindu festival in which Hindus worship false gods) [Commentary: Ignoring the First Commandment won't make it go away, it just makes for scandal: "I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me"]

* The USCCB is reportedly 'moving towards official mutual recognition of baptism' between the Catholic Church and various Protestant groups. While properly conducted baptisms performed by Protestants (or anyone for that matter) have always been recognized as valid by the Church, 'scrupulous priests' - aware of the grave importance of baptism - (wisely!) recommend "conditional baptism" for those entering the Catholic Church. A USCCB document concerning "the Eucharist/Lord’s Supper" is also expected a result of dialog between Catholics (who have and accept the Real Presence) and heretical groups (who typically neither have nor accept the Real Presence) [Commentary: Truly reconciling two contrary positions is an effort square the circle. Obviously, to stand in truth the erring party must actually change their position - and to do so concerning the Holy Eucharist would essentially require that Protestants repudiate their entire religion. Remember that the Catholic religion stands or falls (stands!) on the doctrine that the Holy Eucharist is literally the Flesh & Blood of Christ under the mere appearance of bread and wine. It is obviously a matter of the utmost significance and compromise is impossible]

[10/29]

Year of the Eucharist in Sri Lanka

The following are some highlights from a circular of Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith in connection with "The Year of the Eucharist" he has proclaimed for the Archdiocese of Colombo (Sri Lanka), starting in August, 2010...

* "[The] Eucharist is Jesus' sacramental self-gift to us. The Church, therefore, draws life from this most wondrous Sacrament and cannot survive without it. For, it is the real and life-giving presence of the Lord and Master within the community of his disciples."

* "The Eucharistic Lord sustains the universal Church, and strengthens it so that it could withstand any evil onslaught from both within and without. This is effected by means of our intimate communion with Him. Each time we receive Him, in a state of grace, He draws us into His act of self-oblation; absorbs us unto Himself, and transforms us into His own likeness. That is the life-giving principle of the most Holy Eucharist."

* "Latin still remains the main liturgical language of the Church. In Sri Lanka we made a mistake in abandoning the language of our worship altogether. Let this Eucharistic Year be an occasion for us to resuscitate this lost tradition at least to some extent. I appeal to all priests, religious and laity to cooperate."

* "In chapter 6 of the Gospel of John Jesus asked the disciples whether they would also leave Him. And it was Peter who answered, and said Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Jesus said this because by that time, after His discourse on the Eucharist many people began to abandon Him. They wanted only miracles, but Jesus wanted to offer Himself as the true bread from heaven. In the present times also people seem to look for miracles, and often only for miracles. When Jesus begins to talk about belief in Himself, people seem to lose interest. They seem to go elsewhere, Let us remember that the Catholic Church is so rich because of the treasure of the Eucharist."

The Archbishop also called for "eliminating all erroneous practices regarding the celebration of the most holy Eucharist" and noted that "the renovation and construction of churches...need[s] to be done according to the guidelines". He also called for "think[ing] seriously about Mass vestments, altar linen, altar vessels and the liturgical vesture for various liturgical ministries. Let the Year of the holy Eucharist be an occasion to improve all such aspects of our celebration."

Further, he affirmed that the Sacraments may be celebrated according to the ancient rites in accordance with Summorum Pontificum and noted that "I myself hope to celebrate a solemn Eucharist in that rite sometime in the near future at the Archdiocesan Cathedral."

Curiously, however, the text also makes reference to "loving mother nature" so that "our Eucharistic spirituality would incorporate also an eco-spirituality." [Huh?]

[Credit: Rorate Caeli Blog]

[7/26]

Response From the Congregation for Divine Worship Regarding Sacred Particles on the Floor

Those who love the Holy Eucharist and long for Vatican assistance in stopping the novel & typically disrespectful practice of dispensing Holy Communion in the hand - and the resulting sacrilegious treatment of Sacred Particles which frequently fall to the floor and are subsequently trampled on by laity - may be disappointed in a letter recently received by a Catholic lay person in response to their request for Vatican assistance. You can read the original letter as well as the response from the CDW here.

[7/16]

"So banal, so less reverent, like distributing cakes"

The General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of Kazakhstan, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, has questioned the novel practice of Communion in the hand among the laity, stating that when his family came and saw this practice in the West, "we felt so much sorrow in our soul", noting that "it has turned so banal, so less reverent, like distributing cakes." He also noted that "This is the Lord; when the risen Lord appeared to the three women and they saw Him, they knelt down...they fell on their knees on His feet and adored Him. And even the Apostles did the same when the Lord went to heaven. Why should we not do the same?"

Related: Communion in the Hand: Why Not? | Kneeling (Reflections)

[6/22]

Refresher: Holy Communion & Public Sinners

In the wake of the recent revelation concerning Patrick Kennedy's being asked to refrain from Holy Communion, numerous news reports contain misinformation. The facts are:

* Abortion - the killing of the unborn - is a grave sin, "a most serious and dangerous crime" according to Pope John Paul II. It is a sin which results in excommunication: "Can. 1398 A person who procures a completed abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication." Pope John Paul II also stated that "The excommunication affects all those who commit this crime with knowledge of the penalty attached, and thus includes those accomplices without whose help the crime would not have been committed."

* In the case of grave sin, Canon Law requires that obstinate public sinners be denied Holy Communion: "Can. 915 Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion." (1983 Code of Canon Law)

* The head of the Catholic Church's "supreme court", Archbishop Raymond Burke, earlier this year confirmed to an anti-abortion activist that Canon 915 forbids administering Holy Communion to those publicly and obstinately in grave sin ("The Canon is completely clear, it is not subject in my judgment to any other interpretations") and said that laity should pressure their bishops and priests over the scandal of notorious sinners receiving Holy Communion ("I would encourage the faithful when they are scandalized by the giving of Holy Communion to persons [who] are publicly and obstinately in sin, that they go to their pastors, whether it’s their parish priest or to their bishop, to insist that this scandal stop").

* Scripture says those who receive Holy Communion unworthily "will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord" (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11:27)

Those who claim to love Christ should object to the sacrilege of notorious public sinners daring to receive the Precious Body & Blood of Christ, not to a bishop's attempt to enforce Canon Law against such obstinate public sinners.

[Related Resource: The Holy Eucharist | Holy Eucharist / Mass Reflections]

[11/23]

Sacrilege in the name of charity?

In a story almost too shocking for words, we find that Vietnamese priests are aiding & abetting sacrilege because they think it's somehow "charitable".

According to one news account:

* Priests knowingly go against the Church's teaching to sacrilegiously give the Holy Eucharist to divorced and "remarried" persons

* Priests also knowingly violate Church teachings to sacrilegiously give the Blessed Sacrament to those who use contraceptives

* Priests apparently encourage parishioners to make sacrilegious confessions - their "remarried" and contracepting "penitents" have no intention of stopping their sins but go to confession for the very purpose of being allowed to make a blasphemous Communion. "Neither will that confession deliver you which is made without true repentance. For true repentance is a grief of heart and sorrow of soul because of the evils a man has committed. True repentance causes us to grieve over them with a firm intention of never committing them again." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church)

* Priests apparently knowingly give absolution to "remarried" and contracepting "penitents" who have no intention of stopping their sin. They apparently ignore the fact that, when deciding whether or not to absolve, they are obligated to "be careful to observe if the penitent be truly contrite for his sins, and deliberately and firmly resolved to avoid sin for the future." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)

Not surprisingly, the misguided sinners think the actions of priest(s) who violate Church laws are a good thing because the "feel" better as a result of their actions.

According to the same story:

* One "remarried" parishioner (otherwise known as an adulterer - see Mt. 5:31-32, Mt. 19:3-9, Mk. 10:2-12, Lk. 16:18) who "felt miserable" because he and his "wife" were denied the Holy Eucharist for decades now says his "faith life revived rapidly since I received Holy Communion". But how could it really be true that a sacrilegious Communion "revived" his faith life? Scripture says that "whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord." (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11:27)

He said he feels that "People like us need to feel God's closeness most through Holy Communion, which heals us spiritually" - obviously failing to realize that his blasphemous actions have not healed him (or his partner in adultery), but rather their actions have made both of them worse. The only way to really be healed spiritually would be to make a true Confession - including repenting of the adulterous union and putting an end to it.

Further, he apparently added a blasphemous confession to his list of sins in order to receive the Holy Eucharist (since he obviously intended to continue living as an adulterer even as he "repented" of his sins), thanks to help from his parish priest, an apparent conspirator in (or instigator of) the sin.

He is also - arguably - less likely to change his adulterous situation because he has found a priest willing to violate the laws of the Church in order to serve his desires, thereby risking his eternal soul. "Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6:9-10)

He has remained in his adulterous "marriage" for over 50 years and apparently thinks that the passage of time could somehow mitigate his sin - rather than aggravate it. Spending most of one's life in adultery would increase one's sins, not decrease them!

Sadly, but predictably, after making his blasphemous Communion he reports that he now feels "much happier"

* The complicit priest in the above case says he also does the same for 20 other people "in the same situation"

* The priest seems to be ignorant of the fact that going to confession without a resolve to stop sinning would invalidate the sacrament and make it sinful. Receiving the Holy Eucharist in such a state would, in fact, add another serious sin ["Can. 907 The precept of confessing sins is not satisfied by one who makes a sacrilegious confession or one that is intentionally null." (1917 Code of Canon Law)]

* Priests also apparently give absolution to persons they know are using contraceptives and do not plan to stop using them. Do these misguided priests actually think that if a government is oppressive, the citizens will get a pass to break God's laws? Hardly! Rather, confessions in which "penitents" do not have the intent to stop their grievous sins are sinful and invalid.

* One priest actually believes that enabling blasphemous Communions during Easter time is a "way to show them God's love and empathize with their suffering". Hello? Offending God - sin - is NOT a way to show love or empathy.

" The priest seems to think that "allowing them to receive Holy Communion is a way to welcome them back" to the Church. So adding a serious sin to one's existing serious sin is a way back into the Church? Hardly. Basic catechism teaches that re-entry necessitates true repentance for sin.

" Apparently, other priests admit that they also allow the above, but may do so in private to "avoid scandal". As if God doesn't see what they are doing!

These priests are derelict in their duties by not telling their sinful flock that they face grave eternal consequences for their sins. They are exposing the Eucharist to sacrilege, the sacrament of Penance to blasphemy, willfully disobeying the laws of the Church, and are making themselves complicit in the grave sins of others. The fact that some people may feel "happier" as a result of priests' misguided actions does not matter. What good does it really do for someone tottering on the edge of a cliff if to be made to feel "happy"? Isn't it better to try to snatch them from the edge of the cliff for their own good - even if it makes them feel less "happy"? No one is happy in hell. But Christ assures us that those who commit serious sin without true repentance will go there. And it's the priest's job to tell them that.

"Proper dispositions for Penance: "The right dispositions for Penance are: (1) To confess all our moral sins as we know them; (2) To be sorry for them, and (3) to have the determination never to commit them or others again." (Baltimore Catechism)

"It is a beautiful thought, my children, that we have a Sacrament which heals the wounds of our soul! But we must receive it with good dispositions. Otherwise we make new wounds upon the old ones. What would you say of a man covered with wounds who is advised to go to the hospital to show himself to the surgeon? The surgeon cures him by giving him remedies. But, behold! this man takes his knife, gives himself great blows with it and makes himself worse than he was before. Well, that is what you often do after leaving the confessional [after a bad confession]." (Catechism of St. John Vianney)

[8/20]

Refusing Holy Communion: An Act of Charity

Unfortunately, many wrongly think the Church is somehow "mean" or wrong in the (all too rare) instances when her leaders refuse a public sinner Holy Communion. However, as a recent interview with a leading Vatican official points out, such actions are actually acts of charity.

When a pubic sinner is refused the Holy Eucharist, we (1) shield the most sacred Object on earth - the very Flesh & Blood of Christ Himself, and (2) we protect the sinner from making a blasphemous Communion. The refusal may also encourage sinners to realize the seriousness of their situation and lead them to repentance. Further, such refusals provide good illustration to the faithful concerning the Real Presence and the consequences of sin. Such actions are also likely to prevent others from approaching Holy Communion unworthily.

[Refresher: "Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying." (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11:27-30)]

[7/24]

Why all the fuss?

Misinformed people don't understand the "fuss" being made over a well-known Protestant receiving Holy Communion from an archbishop. Could someone please explain to them that...

* This "wafer" (as many secular accounts call It) is the very flesh of Jesus - God Incarnate. It is the most sacred of all objects on earth.

* This sacred Host was received by a heretic (who they originally thought pocketed It!). Scripture says that "whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27)

* The recipient presumably failed to discern the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. As Scripture says, "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself" (1 Cor. 11:29)

* The archbishop has the duty to protect the Holy Eucharist & should have known better (or he should have paid more attention). His actions have caused grave scandal.

This is no mere "faux pas". It is a serious matter. Frankly, given the gravity of the situation, it's hard to imagine that anywhere close to enough "fuss" is being made. For the good of the recipient and for the good all Catholics (and non-Catholics alike, as this is a "teaching moment"), this abominable occurrence should be given the scrupulous attention it deserves. This is necessary in order to make adequate reparation, repair the scandal, and prevent its recurrence.

As the Scripture passages above clearly indicate, what occurred is not light blunder and it therefore must be taken very seriously. Furthermore, the Bible also indicates that unworthy reception of Holy Communion resulted in death (1 Cor. 11:30: "That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying."), but worse of all it is a direct offense to Almighty God. What could be more deserving of our attention?

[7/10]