Devout reception of the Eucharist

[Theotokos]

SPECIAL REPORT: Vatican Criticizes Catholics on Communion

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican singled out divorcees who remarry and Catholic politicians who support abortion on Thursday in criticizing the faithful who continue to receive Holy Communion while in a state of mortal sin.



The lament came in a new document on the Eucharist that details abuses of the sacrament and the need for better instruction to ensure it remains sacred. The 85-page text is the working draft of a final document that will be developed during the global synod, or meeting, of bishops Oct. 2-23 in Rome.

(The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church)

The paper covers a range of issues related to the Eucharist: It suggests, for example, that Latin be used during international liturgical gatherings so all priests involved can understand the proceedings, and it suggests that parishes consider using more Gregorian chants to prevent more "profane" types of music from being played.

It calls for priests not to be "showmen" who draw attention to themselves and says lay people can have an important but "minimal" presence in Masses. It says the tabernacle — which holds the bread and wine held by Catholics to be the body and blood of Christ — should have a prominent place in the church and not be shunted off to a corner.

Most significantly, though, the document laments the fact that fewer and fewer Catholics are going to Mass on Sundays — in some countries, only 5 percent of the faithful attend — and that fewer Catholics are going to confession.

As a result, many Catholics are living in a state of mortal sin when they receive Communion, it said. The Church defines sin as a free and deliberate violation of God's law; a mortal sin is one that involves a "grave violation of God's law" and "deliberate consent." Catholics can repent their sins by confessing them to a priest.

"The faithful frequently receive Holy Communion without even thinking that they might be in a state of mortal sin," the document said. "As a result, the receiving of Holy Communion by those who are divorced and civilly remarried is a common occurrence in various countries."

It noted that confession isn't always available to the faithful because of the acute shortage of priests in parts of the globe, but said the sacrament nevertheless was necessary. It cited statistics showing there was one priest for every 1,797 Catholics in 1978 compared to one priest for every 2,677 Catholics in 2003.

The document, "The Eucharist: source and summit of the life and mission of the church," was written starting in 2004 based on responses received by bishops from around the world reporting on their own experiences. It stresses that it is not a theological treatise on the Eucharist and in fact it restates church teaching on most key issues.

In one section, for example, the document criticized the faithful who support Catholic politicians who themselves back abortion and other policies contrary to church teaching.

"Some receive Communion while denying the teachings of the church or publicly supporting immoral choices in life, such as abortion, without thinking that they are committing an act of grave personal dishonesty and causing scandal," it said.

"Some Catholics do not understand why it might be a sin to support a political candidate who is openly in favor of abortion or other serious acts against life, justice and peace."

The issue was highlighted during the U.S. presidential election campaign after St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke said he would deny the Eucharist to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights.

[Theotokos]

i think this is simply wonderful .... a glimmer of hope.

The priest should be able to "guard" the chalice and deny Holy Communion to those who are obviously not prepared ... through their public statements in support of abortion or through publicly living in sin as a divorcee (especially one who has married outside of the Church).

The Ancient Church did not allow those who were living in sin or those who were repenting from serious sin to enter the nave of the Church during Holy Communion. They were to be outside the church weeping for their sins or prostrating in penance.

[Theotokos]

www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=2340

Read this document from the website listed above .... Is this an encyclical? Who wrote it?

I'm impressed:

Chapter II

THE EUCHARIST AND ECCLESIAL COMMUNION

“Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body,
for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:17)

Eucharistic Mystery: The Expression of Ecclesial Unity

10. In exhorting the faithful to flee from idolatry and to avoid eating flesh sacrificed to idols, St. Paul highlights the Christian’s intimate bond of communion with the Body and Blood of Christ, thus making of the multitudes of the faithful, one body, one community and one Church (cf. 1 Cor 8:1-10).

The subject of ecclesial communion received particular attention during the Second Vatican Council.16 It was also treated in the final report of the Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops—held to commemorate the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the same Council17—and the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the bishops of the Catholic Church.18 Ecclesial communion was amply set forth in Chapter VI of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores gregis, promulgated after the X Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This papal document, reflecting the mind of the synod, emphasized that the communion of the bishops with the Successor of Peter, the sign of unity between the universal Church and the particular Churches, has its culminating point in the Eucharistic celebrations of the bishops with the Pope during their ad limina visits. The Eucharist presided over by the Holy Father and concelebrated by the Pastors of the particular Churches expresses the unity of the Church in an eminent way. These concelebrated Masses clearly illustrate that “every Eucharist is celebrated in communion with one’s own bishop, with the Roman Pontiff and with the College of Bishops, and through them with the faithful of the particular Church and of the whole Church. So that the universal Church is present in the particular Church and the particular Church becomes part, together with the other particular Churches, of the communion of the universal Church.”19

The responses to the Lineamenta, in commenting on the Eucharist as the expression of ecclesial communion, highlight the following aspects of the subject which warrant particular treatment: the relation of the Eucharist to the Church; the relation of the Eucharist to the other Sacraments, especially Penance; the relation of the Eucharist to the faithful; and adverse situations or “shadows” in the celebration of the Eucharist.

[Theotokos]

The Close Bond Between the Eucharist and Penance

21. The Sacrament of Penance restores the bonds of communion broken by mortal sin.37 Consequently, the relation of the Eucharist to the Sacrament of Penance deserves particular attention. The responses point out the need to treat the Sacrament of Penance as geared towards the Eucharist and the Church, understanding it to be the necessary condition for encountering and adoring, in a spirit of holiness and purity of heart, the Lord who is All-Holy. Jesus washed the feet of his Apostles to indicate the holiness of the Eucharistic mystery. St. Paul affirms that sin is a profanation likened to prostitution, because our bodies are one with Christ (cf. 1 Cor 6:15-17). Thus, for example, St. Csarius of Arles states: “every time we come to Church, we set our souls in order according to the state of God’s Temple. Do you want to find a resplendent basilica? Then, don’t soil your spirit with the uncleanliness of sin.”38

The relation of the Eucharist to Penance in today’s society greatly depends on both a sense of sin and a sense of the sacred. The distinction between good and evil oftentimes becomes a subjective matter. People today, by insisting that conscience is strictly a personal affair, risk losing a sense of sin.

22. Many Lineamenta responses refer to the rapport between the Eucharist and Reconciliation.

In many countries, persons have lost, or are gradually losing, an awareness that conversion is necessary for receiving the Eucharist. Its connection with the Sacrament of Penance is not always understood, e.g., the necessity of being in the state of grace before receiving Holy Communion. As a result, the obligation of confessing mortal sins is forgotten.39

The idea of communion as “food for the journey” has also caused a minimization of the necessity of being in the state of grace. Instead, just as proper nourishment presupposes a healthy, living being, so the Eucharist requires that a person be in the state of grace so the Baptismal commitment can be re-enforced. How can a person be in the state of mortal sin and receive the One who is a “medicine” of immortality and an “antidote” to death.40

Where many faithful know that they cannot receive communion while in mortal sin, they do not have a clear idea of what constitutes mortal sin. Others give no thought to it. Oftentimes, the situation creates a vicious circle: “I won’t receive communion because I have not gone to confession; I don’t go to confession, because I have no sins to confess.” Though such an attitude can be traced to a variety of causes, the principal one is a lack of proper catechesis on the subject.

Another rather widespread problem is created by a lack of access to the Sacrament of Penance at convenient times. In some countries, individual confessions have been eliminated. At most, the Sacrament is celebrated twice a year, during a communal liturgy, resulting in a hybrid form of the Sacrament which draws from both the second and third rites provided in the ritual.

Certainly, thought needs to be given to the great disproportion between the many who receive Holy Communion and the few who go to confession. The faithful frequently receive Holy Communion, without even thinking that they might be in the state of mortal sin. As a result, the receiving of Holy Communion by those who are divorced and civilly remarried is a common occurrence in various countries. At funeral Masses, weddings or other celebrations, many receive Holy Communion only out of the generally-held, mistaken conviction that a person cannot participate at Mass without receiving Holy Communion.

23. Apart from the fore-mentioned pastoral problems, many responses were very encouraging. They call for an awareness of the proper conditions for receiving Holy Communion and the necessity of the Sacrament of Penance, which, preceded by an examination of conscience, prepares the heart, purifying it of sin. To achieve this, the responses mention that the connection between the two sacraments be often treated in homilies.

Some wished that serious thought be given to reverting to the Eucharistic fast practised by the Eastern Churches.41 Fasting relies on self-control which has recourse to the will and leads to the purification of mind and heart. St. Athanasius states: “Do you want to know what fasting does? ... it casts out demons and liberates us from evil thoughts; it raises the mind and purifies the heart.”42 The Lenten liturgy calls for the purification of the heart through fasting and silence, as St. Basil recommends.43 Some Lineamenta responses raised the question of the timeliness of returning to the obligation of the three-hour Eucharistic fast.

Greater effort is needed in providing the opportunity for individual confessions. This could possibly be done in conjunction with neighbouring parishes, not only on Saturdays and Sundays but especially during Advent and Lent. Through preaching and catechesis much can be accomplished to restore a sense of sin and penitential practice, which will counteract the difficulties resulting from a secularized mentality.

Some feel that confessions should be heard before Mass, adapting the schedule to the penitent’s needs and offering the possibility of approaching the Sacrament of Penance even during the Eucharistic celebration, as recommended in the Apostolic Letter Misericordia Dei.44

Priests need to see that in administrating the Sacrament of Penance they themselves are a particular sign and instrument of God’s mercy. The Church is deeply grateful to priests who zealously hear confessions so the faithful can receive and encounter Christ in the Eucharist. The faithful will be more inclined to go to confession, if they see the priest exercising his ministry in the confessional, as seen in the example in our day of St. Leopold Mandić, St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and many other holy pastors.

[Theotokos]

The Relation of the Eucharist to the Other Sacraments

14. A specific relationship exists between the Eucharist and the other sacraments. A treatment of this subject needs to bear in mind the teaching of the Council of Trent which states that the sacraments “contain the grace they signify,” and confer that grace in their celebration.28 All sacraments, ecclesiastical ministers and apostolic works are intimately bound to the Sacred Eucharist and are ordered to it.29 Therefore, the Sacrament of the Eucharist is “the perfection of all perfections.”30

The relation of the Sacraments to the Eucharist does not only concern their liturgical celebration but is based primarily on the essential nature of each sacrament. The Sacrament of Baptism is indispensable for entering into ecclesial communion, which in turn is strengthened by the other sacraments, thus offering the believer “grace upon grace” (Jn 1:16). The fundamental relation of Baptism to the Eucharist is understood to be the font of the Christian life. In Churches of the Eastern tradition, Holy Communion is administered with Baptism, while in the Churches of the Latin tradition, the Eucharist is received at the age of reason, and only after Baptism.

The responses to the Lineamenta call for a clearer treatment of the theological connection of Baptism to the Eucharist as the summit of initiation, though this does not necessarily mean that the Sacrament of Baptism should always be celebrated during Mass. Concern was raised at the quality of such a catechesis.

15. A theological connection also exists between Confirmation and the Eucharist, because the Holy Spirit leads a person to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. To make this connection more evident, some particular Churches restored the practice of administering Confirmation before Holy Communion.

The Eucharist is the summit of an authentic program of Christian initiation. To live as a Christian means to put the gift of Baptism into effect, a gift which is strengthened in Confirmation and nourished through regular participation at Mass on Sundays and Holydays of Obligation.

In many cases, by delegating the administration of Confirmation to priests, the role of the bishop as the ordinary minister of the Sacrament is put at risk. In so doing, the newly confirmed lose the opportunity of meeting the father and visible head of the particular Church.

16.. Some responses commented on the proper age for receiving First Communion in the Church of the Latin tradition, given the spiritual and pastoral benefits which have resulted in administering the Sacrament in early childhood. When treating the subject, the words of Pope John Paul II, reported in his book, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way!, 31 deserve consideration. The Pope recently recalled that “children are the present and the future of the Church. They play an active role in the evangelization of the world, and, with their prayers, help to save and improve it.”32

In the past, this question received treatment in the Decree Quam singulari, which allowed children to receive the Eucharist as early as 7 years old—considered to be the age of reason—when they can distinguish the Eucharistic bread from ordinary bread. In this case, First Communion is preceded by First Confession in the Sacrament of Penance.33 Today, this approach seems even more necessary, because many children attain the use of reason and are subject to dangers and temptations at an early age. This practice affirms the primacy of grace, which has brought great benefits to the Church, and fostered priestly vocations.

[Debbie]

Wow, Theotokos... Thank you for posting the above information. How refreshing.

God's Peace,

Debbie

[passthepeace1]

debbie said:

Wow, Theotokos... Thank you for posting the above information. How refreshing.

God's Peace,

Debbie

Debbie,

Isn't it! I need to get on the stick and learn Latin, I am trying to find something that has audio, because I don't do to good...just using the pronunciation keys.

I bet Latin, with a Texas draw has an unique sound to it..lol..

Peace be with you..Pam

[holly]

Wow! I am so glad that the Church is going to crack down on abuses! I love the Mass in the vernacular. I seriously doubt that I would be able to understand a Latin Mass though I would absolutely love to visit a Traditional Latin Mass some day.

[holly]

passthepeace1 said:

debbie said:

Wow, Theotokos... Thank you for posting the above information. How refreshing.

God's Peace,

Debbie

Debbie,

Isn't it! I need to get on the stick and learn Latin, I am trying to find something that has audio, because I don't do to good...just using the pronunciation keys.

I bet Latin, with a Texas draw has an unique sound to it..lol..

Peace be with you..Pam

Hehehe. I think it'd sound neat.

[Patchsigns]

There are lots of changes coming in regard to the dispensing of the Eucharist. Just watch what happens in the coming months. We've already received word from our Diocese of Newark. You'll see.

In the months to follow, let us know if you see any changes.


Blessings,
Joe

[holly]

I hope and pray that all the parishes in my diocese (and in all dioceses) would obey this teaching and move the tabernacle to a place of prominence (preferably smack dab in the center of the front of the church). I hate it when I walk into a Catholic church and have to look around to find the tabernacle!