Tradicat

+ JMJ I was engaged in a lengthy discussion (ok - it was more than a simple heated argument) with a modern Catholic friend. We touched on a number of points and a couple I'd like to bring out some issues that I think could have been explained better or in more detail. This will probably be a long post, so bear with me! Firstly, what is sin?  I know people who state "that's a big sin" for actions that ... well really aren't sinful. So We need to start off with an understanding of what actions are sinful. Sin is nothing else than a morally bad act ( St. Thomas , "De malo", 7:3), an act not in accord with reason informed by the Divine law . God has endowed us with reason and free-will , and a sense of responsibility; He has made us subject to His law , which is known to us by the dictates of conscience , and our acts must conform with these dictates, otherwise we sin ( Romans 14:23 ). ( Catholic Encyclopedia ) The key element is in the ...

+ JMJ Communion in the Hand is but one facet of this crisis. Just a little definition first ...   i·ro·ny 1 ˈīrənē/ noun the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. "“Don't go overboard with the gratitude,” he rejoined with heavy irony" synonyms: sarcasm , causticity,  cynicism ,  mockery ,  satire , sardonicism "that note of irony in her voice" a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. plural noun:  ironies "the irony is that I thought he could help me" synonyms: paradox ,  incongruity , incongruousness "the irony of the situation" a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character. noun:  dramatic iro...

+ JMJ There is nothing so ordinary (regular) in the Catholic Church as 'Extra-Ordinary Eucharistic Ministers' (EOEM). I added the attached article because it provides references to actual rules. I would like to offer the following commentary: Delegating the distribution of communion to the laity to hospitals etc causes problems.  A person who is confined to a hospital or similar circumstance will not have the opportunity to go to confession.  So, when a EOEM arrives, they will have peer pressure to receive.  This will, I posit, increase the sacrilegious receipt of Holy Communion.  If a priest is ill, I find it hard to believe that he would have sole responsibility for a parish. There is only one person who must receive communion at mass, the priest who is celebrating Mass.  In this way the sacrifice is consummated.   Laity do not need to receive communion. Regular confession is as needed as regular communion. P^3 Catholic Answers: What i...

+ JMJ Here's a scholarly article on the topic. Something to ponder: If we as Catholics know and believe the Catholic Teaching on the Eucharist, what is our responsibility in participating in a liturgy where sacrilege is being committed. Ponder this well and act accordingly! P^3 http://www.catholic-pages.com/mass/inhand.asp

+ JMJ One interesting aspect of the 'communion in the hand' is its link with the disappearance of kneelers in Catholic Churches - especially those in North America. Not only was kneeling and receiving on the tongue discouraged (understatement), kneeling was made difficult be the removal of kneelers during 'renovations'. Want to resolve this crisis? Don't go to a Church where communion is given on the hand. Don't go to a Church where there are no kneelers. When Catholics begin to act as Catholics - then we will start to emerge from this crisis. P^3 Reference Links https://adoremus.org/2001/11/15/Communion-in-the-Hand/ http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWMEMOR.HTM https://adoremus.org/2003/02/15/Vatican-on-Communion-in-the-hand/ http://www.usccb.org/about/divine-worship/index.cfm http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congreg...

+ JMJ Beyond the insult offered to Our Lord Jesus Christ, another problem with Communion in the Hand is the vice of Pride. I have heard some say: I'm not a child etc. Well, Our Lord said that unless we become like a child (humble) we shall not be saved. P^3

+ JMJ Communion in the hand is a curious thing because it is both a cause and a symptom at the same time. It is a symptom of a lessening of the Faith in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist. It is a cause of the lessening of that Faith in others. Here's some information on the 'rules' of the Indult. Oh yeah, keep in mind, communion in the hand is legalized or permitted abuse.  Anyone who thinks this is how it was done in the early Church is either ignorant or a liar. For the record, here's the 'rules'. P^3

+ JMJ One of the glaring differences (there are many) between the Novus Ordo and Tridentine Masses is the manner of receiving Holy Communion. I'll give you a hint - one shows a Protestant understanding of the Eucharist, the other Catholic. It literally is that simple. P^3 Courtesy of the Remnant: Commmunion-in-the-hand-the-floor-is-stained-with-his-blood

+ JMJ Communion in the hand: Legalized abuse and enabler of sacrilege. When the Church bans this protestant practice, then we'll know that we have reached the end of the beginning of this crisis of the Church. Fr. Jerabek's article provides some insight to this practice and who is defending the truth about it. Worth reading and please say a prayer for Fr. Jerabek, because those who defend this truth will be attacked. P^3

One of the travesties of this age is communion in the hand. Here is a timely reminder of why it is 'evil'. P^3 Courtesy of LMS Travails of Communion in the Hand This blog post is too good to miss: an American deacon, Greg Kandra recants his support for Communion standing and in the hand. It is wide open to all manner of abuses. I've watched a mother receive communion, her toddler in tow, then take it back to the pew and share it with him like a cookie. At least four or five times a year, I have to stop someone who just takes the host and wanders away with it and ask them to consume it on the spot.  Once or twice a month I encounter the droppers. Many are well-intentioned folks who somewhere, somehow drop the host or it slides out of their hands and Jesus tumbles to the floor.  A couple times a year I get the take-out crowd. They receive the host properly, and then pull out a hanky and ask if they can take another one home to a sick relative. Go...