This morning, I got the bug up my nose to look up the contact info of the parish I mentioned in my post about proper reception of communion.
I sat down with my coffee and wrote them a little note. This is what I said (the specific place info has been redacted):
Good Morning,
I was baptized at St. ____ by Msgr. _____, in December of 1977. I’ve been there only a handful of times since, but I recently had the opportunity to visit while in _______ this past month.
Two things I noticed struck me as odd.
First, many of the parishioners bowed before the Blessed Sacrament rather than genuflecting. I recently came across this article by Bishop Paprocki of Illinois, in which he reminds us that the universal practice of the Church is to genuflect, not bow (it’s in the GIRM) and that only those unable to genuflect should bow.
http://www.courageouspriest.com/bishop-paprocki-bow-genuflect
The second thing I saw was the great number of people receiving communion in the hand. This practice, as you no doubt are aware, began as an abuse in the late 1970s in some of the European nations. In an attempt to contain it, Pope Paul VI issued an indult for those countries where the practice was already commonplace (the United States not among them) along with norms for proper reception according to this method which, as common sense dictates, is solicitous of not only the stealing of the Blessed Sacrament for sacrilegious purposes, but also its unintentional desecration through loss of particles or hosts later dropped by people unaware of what to do with them because they are not Catholic and should not be receiving in the first place.
In a recent speech by another esteemed bishop, Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan, this reality was brought to light:
‘There is also the question of the objectively irreverent reception of Holy Communion. The so-called new, modern manner of receiving Holy Communion directly into the hand is very serious because it exposes Christ to an enormous banality.
‘There is the grievous fact of the loss of the Eucharistic fragments. No one can deny this. And the fragments of the consecrated host are crushed by feet. This is horrible! Our God, in our churches, is trampled by feet! No one can deny it.
‘And this is happening on a large scale. This has to be, for a person with faith and love for God, a very serious phenomenon.
‘We cannot continue as if Jesus as God does not exist, as though only the bread exists. This modern practice of Communion in the hand has nothing to do with the practice in the ancient Church. The modern practice of receiving Communion in hand contributes gradually to the loss of the Catholic faith in the real presence and in the transubstantiation.
‘A priest and a bishop cannot say this practice is ok. Here is at stake the most holy, the most divine and concrete on Earth.’
It was lovely to see St. ____Â parish again, but I do believe that if the faithful were to be made aware of the danger of such practices as regards to our common belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, it would be of great spiritual benefit to them.
The faithful want to worship God appropriately. If they fail to do so, it’s often out of ignorance, not malice.
I hope you will take my correspondence in the spirit of fraternal charity in which it is offered.
Best Regards,
Steve Skojec
Manassas, Virginia
Will they simply hit delete? If I had stuck it in the mail, would they file it in the special round filing cabinet with the other trash?
I don’t know.
I do wonder if there would be some value in creating templates for letters like this to send to parishes where such abuses are rampant, as well as to the bishops of those dioceses. Would you use such templates if they existed? Would a grassroots campaign of letters and emails to parishes such as these make a difference, or at least prick the consciences of pastors of souls?
I wish I knew. But it seems awful to only complain about it and not address those who have the power to fix it.
“But it seems awful to only complain about it and not address those who have the power to fix it”
Why does it seem awful? Given recent events, it’s a perfectly reasonable conclusion that while technically they have the power to fix it, they don’t wish to, therefore writing a respectful letter is most likely a sorry waste of time. I just stop giving money.
Because when we conclude that they will do nothing — even if this is a likelihood — we never give them the chance to surprise us. We leave no room for God’s grace, as it were, to work in their hearts.
We have the example of certain saints — St. Paul in particular — who seemed unmovable. But one never knows.
My point is that if we try, and THEY fail, well, that’s on them. But if we never try, I can’t imagine God not asking us, “So, did you even attempt to convince them?”
Point well taken. We MUST give them the opportunity to respond, and then if that doesn’t work, we give them the opportunity to respond with an offer of ‘withholding’ they don’t want to refuse.
Meerk, I agree with you. Many of us realized decades ago that letters were a waste of time. The only language these people understand is money. What to protest? Stop giving money. Starve the beast.
If you don’t let them know why you stop donating, you communicate nothing. They will assume you just don’t have the money to give or are too selfish.
I haven’t attended an Ordinary Form parish in ages, except the occasional holy day I have to attend in NYC on my way to work. I shut off my brain, go to the back of the church, and say rosaries during mass. It’s the only way I can get through with any sanity.
meerk, I don’t disagree with you, but I think we have an obligation to write. For example, I’m drafting a letter to the Pope: I have not the slightest hope that it will change anything, but I feel obligated to approach him personally, because I sometimes oppose his communications approach publicly because I believe it is damaging.
I like this idea.
Personally, I would send it with a return receipt. That will make it look important, you will know they got it and will have evidence of it being delivered in your hand.
The extra buck for postage is worth it.
We are biblically called to take our grievances to the person. This letter would do that.
Furthermore: Listen to this sermon by Father Michael Rodriguez, who makes many of the same points mentioned in Steve’s sample letter: http://svfonline.org/
Bishop Paprocki didn’t, but you have conflated reverence to the Eucharist in the tabernacle with the recommended gesture when receiving Communion. As you say, it’s in the GIRM:
“When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his head before the sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the body of the Lord from the minister.The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant.When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the precious blood”.(160).
Whether you like it or not (I don’t), Communion in the hand is allowed. For both these reasons letters such as yours will be ignored by parish workers less concerned than you or I with proper reverence. Technically, neither complaint is bad practice.
My unconsecrated and sinful hands do not touch the Lord of Glory. Shame you don’t “get it.”
Dear Steve –
The Church does not need Her enemies to attack Her. If the were smart, they would sit back and watch as She self-destructs from within.
I recently had the temerity to mention on Facebook some of the liturgical abuses being committed by my parish priest. Not a good move. It never occurred to me that someone would go breathlessly running to hin to be sure that this criticism was known by him.
Result? He confronts me – and none too kindly either – in the parish hall and the discussion quickly degenerates into a screaming match. As a result, I have been dismissed from the deacon candidacy program without recourse to appeal after threee years of study. I recently spoke with a dear friend from my former parish and he informed me that the Liturgy continues to be a horror show.
Yes. I wrote a letter when the cookies hit the fan. Probably went to File 13 under the heading of “troublemaker.” I intend to write to our new bishop, but I ain’t holding my breath that anything will happen.
The eparchy will whining about lack of vocations while they continue to drive the men away who enter the classes. At least 4 men in my class quit because of the liberalism in the textbooks.
We live in sad times, my brother.
You really shouldn’t be naming names and criticizing specific clergy in public. It is an insult to their office. You should confront them privately, and if you don’t get your grievances addressed, escalate to the bishop. If you still don’t get your grievances addressed, escalate to the Congregation of Divine Worship. If you still don’t get your grievances addressed, pray and fast, move to a different parish, etc. The church isn’t a democracy, and bishops and pastors have a lot of latitude as to what goes on in their diocese/parish. They will be judged accordingly.
I specifically didn’t name either my parish, my priest, or even who I am. Who taught you your cognitive skills, Ronald MacDonald???
You don’t the story at all, and yet you have the nerve to criticize what you don’t know?
For your ignorant information, what this man did in his office as priest is comparable to a Clown Mass with “liturgical dancers” and bagpipes. He is arrogant, distant, and unapproachable. I tried, as have other people.
And if you don’t like my tone, you should have seen my reply before I cooled down and hit the edit button.
Your Facebook posts were “public”. That’s what Aaron was talking about. Not your post here.
My Facebook post was made in a private forum. The only thing I said in regards to my formet parish was in a discussion of the “latinization” of our Eastern Catholic Liturgy. My “terrible comment” regarding my priest was too say that I understood and sympathized because our priest had latinized the Liturgy at our parish. That’s all I said, and I don’t think that a statement of truth like that rises to the level of public slander.
Take a chill pill somebody
Aaron’s complaint was twee.
I’m polaxed to hear this shizz was happening at an Eastern-rite parish. Was it a Maronite parish? The Maronite parishes I’ve attended have seemed more vulnerable to taking on water than the Byzantine-rite.
Now that is an example of the “new evangelization.”
BTW – forgot to say that your letter showed charity, especially knowing how you feel about such things. Good job, Steve.
Great post as always, but I’m not sure precisely where you are going with the point. According to the book Mass Confusion (which I now see was written by our friend Jimmy Akin) in 1977 the Congregation of Sacraments and Divine Worship approved the National Conference of Bishops’ request to allow Communion in the hand (giving the choice to the communicant not the priest or eucharistic minister). So I’m not sure how it’s an abuse in the strict “official” sense. Though i agree that it is a practice that should never have been permitted in the first place. On the other hand, according to the same source, the use of “extraordinary ministers” where not strictly needed is an abuse contradicting numerous clear official pronouncements. And of course you see that virtually everywhere at non-traditionalist masses. I might add that the reception of Communion by virtually everyone in many churches, where, given that “reconciliation” time is only 5 minutes a week, you know mathematically, as it were, that many of them are almost surely in a state of grave or mortal sin is obviously much more than an “abuse”. Yet I have never heard a priest or any other official person in any non-Tradionalist church ever give even the softest warning or guideline on this matter.
Therein lies the problem(s) also outlined in Father Michael Rodriguez’s recent sermon linked here: “Grave Crisis in the Holy Eucharist” http://svfonline.org/
Steve J.
The closest I’ve ever heard a priest even talk about receiving communion was a priest at one of our local parishes several years back at a Funeral Mass when he gave instructions for non Catholics not to approach for communion. Other than that, I NEVER hear anything even from our slightly more traditional priests on the proper disposition in receiving our Lord’s precious body and blood. I remember reading even several years back that 70% of Catholics don’t believe in the ‘Real Presence’, so you have to know that includes our Priests and Bishops.
This said, I’m grieving the fact that our youngest granddaughter received her first communion this past May, and of course they were all taught to receive in the hand. I am hoping and praying since H and I usually take them to Mass that when they see me receive on the tongue we can eventually have the discussion. For the time being, I am just thankful that we can take them to Mass and have some influence on them regarding the faith. We also take them to Confession when we can and so far so good.
If it were up to me, I would insist that the communion rails be put back into place and the paten to be used again. There are quite a few in my parish, however, that are too infirm to be kneeling at the communion rail, but that could be worked around.
The entire problem as far as I can see, is that you have a majority of people and clergy that believe communion is only a meal, and a ‘remembrance’ and has nothing to do with Jesus being present body, blood, soul and divinity in the Holy Eucharist. They don’t buy it at all.
Hmmmm… I have mixed thoughts on the suggestion to send emails/letters and calls to parishes.
Last month, I happened upon an on line bulletin for my former very heterodox parish. They had the Ascension of Our Lord listed as “Assumption”. I left polite voicemails and sent a gentle email and never got a response. I won’t bother you with the laundry list of abuses and careless irreverence that goes on this place.
I guess saying, those in the parishes don’t care would be uncharitable and likely incorrect.
But, changes in approach as Steve suggests has to come, IMO, from the pastor. If the pastor starts this up. Puts info in the weekly bulletins and explains in a “reflection” AND is patient, this might, just might, get some traction. However, if the pastor is uninterested, ferget it.
Something else to remember: some pastors are virtual prisoners in their own parishes, powerless to change things without the support of the chancery.
I know a priest who was made pastor of a parish where Manischewitz was being used as the altar wine — totally invalid.
When he changed it, the people in the pews squawked, and he couldn’t’ get support from his bishop on making the changes for sacramental reasons.
I can’t help but think that since the people who fight orthodoxy lodge loud complaints, having support on file for positive changes has to help, especially in dioceses where the bishop is intensely political and wants to gauge public opinion.
My wager would be that the squawkers were few but included people who had a regular conduit to the chancery. Correct me if I’m in error.
The thing is, there are people the chancery rats are inclined to listen to, and there are people they are not. Just about anyone reading your words would be coded ‘not’.
It’s amazing just who gets posts in the chancery. I recall an incident from about 10 years ago when some out-of-area laymen discovered from news reports a priest in the Archdiocese of San Francisco had marched in some sort of parade sponsored by social and political organizations of the expected type. They contact the p.r. officer for the Archdiocese via e-mail, someone you might expect to have been hired for his tact, concision, and rhetorical talents, no? The twerp’s responses were variously defensive, snotty, and stupid, and, of course, ended up all over a particular subfraction of da intertubez. Even had you agreed with this bureaucratic microbe on the substantive point, you’d have fired him for incompetence unless it was your view that this is how complaints of this sort should be handled as the institution is better off without the complainers. You cannot leave, of course. You can, however, see to it that the chancery never sees one brass farthing from you.
I agree with Lorra. There is nothing, nothing that works more than the threat or reality of pulled funding.
Is a letter necessary so that the pastor and/or bishop is either made aware of the issue or that the pastor/bishop needs schooling on how to proceed?
No matter in what manner the letter is meant, it will not be received well. It may serve to make us feel as if we are doing right according to our conscience, but the paradigm of useful letter writing shifted a long time ago.
You will even find some parish officials (whether ordained or not) encouraging letter writing because it quiets the faithful and keeps the issues from getting too much attention. Letter writers feel they have done something constructive. If the letter gets a response, it is invariably of the polite brush off variety. While engaged in a several-year-long battle with my former parish, letters made zero difference, regardless of who wrote them or to which parish/diocesan official they were sent.
I’m afraid we are dealing with a “pearls before swine” situation. Many modernist clergy/lay leaders have what is termed a ‘seared’ conscience, and have lost the ability to discern what is true and right from what is false and wrong. They are also confirmed in their errors by the insular nature of parish/diocesan power structures.
What does work is two things: 1) stop supporting a parish that is involved in chronic abuses, and 2) use forums that are outside parish/diocese control to publicize the issues.
By all means, let the parish powers that be know why you no longer support them. You will be calumniated both privately and publicly. If you get a blog/website up and expose the issues you will be counseled and humiliated. You will lose friends, you will lose your good reputation. But, if you love Truth more than these, you will be able to stand before Christ with a clean conscience (at least on that one issue).
Be prepared for dirty and underhanded tricks. This is the sad state of things in many parishes/dioceses today. In my old parish, we even had a highly-placed priest admit to us that they had spies in our parish reporting to them. I could write a book…
I am not cynical, but I have been through such battles. No one wants to hear that it takes sometimes being a white martyr to gain a little for Christ. Withhold money and publicize the issues in a forum that is not controlled by the parish. Remember Protect the Pope. Public accountability is anathema to the modernists. Losing funding is also one of their greatest fears…and one of our greatest weapons. And yes, it is a war.
Letters are an opening salvo. They are the prelude to a declaration of war. We mustn’t be content to stop there.
I agree with the “defund them” philosophy. I started a #defundtheUSCCB hashtag on Twitter, and I encourage you all to use it when discussing these things.
I think the time has come to organize a grassroots campaign to defund parishes and bishops who refuse to support orthodoxy. I don’t want them to just hear from one or two people, I want them to hear from THOUSANDS.
We live in the age of the Internet, my friends. We have ways of getting our voices heard. More people read this blog on an average day than listen to a bishop in a given week. We have the ability to reach them, but only if we work together.
I’m sticking this in the idea bucket for my upcoming projects.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Someone should write a book before all of the old timers like myself kick the bucket. Volumes could be written. The Wanderer back in the day used to have plenty of stories. It must not die out with us how priests, religious and laity were treated by the “civilization of love” crowd.
I, too, apologize if I sound cynical, and jaded, but it is the only way I can keep sane lately. Only two things matter to most of the churchmen – money and power. The cardinals, bishops and priests are career climbers. This is nothing new. It has always been in the Church. Money is their bottom line. If you are worth millions or billions, you could control their every word and move. Money talks.
It took me decades to get my head out of a Catholic cotton candy cloud and accept the reality of what the Church is really like. No different than the day Our Lord was crucified. Out of His twelve friends, only one stood by his side. One betrayed Him and then killed himself, the first pope denied even knowing Him – not once, but three times, and the rest of the chickens were in hiding. The latter group reminds me of the Cardinal Dolans of the Church. No backbone. All smiles and no substance. Real showmen.
Forgive the rant. But we either toughen up or peter out.
Poetry =+)
My guess would be (from survey research once published in Catholic World Report, IIRC) that about a third of all parish clergy are dubious characters and that another third are out-and-out institutional parasites (“Jungians, unitarians, and goofies” in the words of Fr. Joseph Wilson). That’s where your bishops are drawn from; this is our age.
It’s not that difficult to have dignified worship within the boundaries of the current Missal; Anglican congregations manage it even though their denomination is a disaster in every other respect. As for lay opinion, the Diocese of Rochester commissioned a survey some years back on worship music. Those who preferred strictly contemporary music (which is what you get about 85% of the services offered in the Diocese of Syracuse) amounted to 18% of the respondents. Again, there are lay people you listen to and lay people you do not. The motor of this mess is on the supply side. The laity should not stand for it but they do. However, the bulk of the laity are not browbeating pastors into appointing parish divas, recruiting female alter boys (and dressing them in bathrobes), having interminable ‘announcements’ (punctuated with applause), and assembling a music programs from leftovers from last year’s Hallmark special.
Captures it!
And I’m a former Diocese of Rochester parishioner.
I really believe we’re dealing with a 10-10-80% dialectic. That is, 10% of Clergy are the nascent, or actual, “Holiest of Saints”, St. Louis DeMontfort talked about in the latter days. Giants, he called them, because they will tower above the Saints known until that time. Still, 10% will make Judas seem acceptable, such will be their malice and forethought. Yet, a full 80% will exist between a slow pendulum swinging between the cowards and near-sell-outs on one end to the sincere new order priest, who would embrace Tradition, if he only knew it fully or truly, on the other. I imagine that would describe The Faithful as well. I think the time is VERY short so I’m all about figurative swings to the solar plexus. My prayer life is essentially Ignatian. Lots and lots of the imagination faculty employed, I assure you. What I would like is all of Neo-catholicism and Tradition, steel-caged, in a no-holds-barred octagon, till one of us can’t continue. I suppose this owes more to my lack of patience than anything pious. I am VERY fearful, however, just how THE MOST HIGH is going to fix things. Like a thief in the night, I’m afraid, So, I’d rather draw blood, in a sincere, but oxymoronic love, settling debates, then have a fatal falling of the ceiling on us all. St. Peter and St. Paul, Ora Pro Nobis!
It is an excellent letter but it is likely to be treated as a judgmental complaint issuing from a pelagian crypro-lefevbrist complainer who can not stand change; that is ,you will likely be considered a counter-revolutionary.
ABS has been there, done that for scores of years and he treasures his stripes as a result 🙂
They won. C’est la vie.
But that coming collapse is ineluctable owing to many factors – demographic, spiritual bankruptcy, political papal praxis, Prelates stepped in Americanism Ecumenism, Indifferentism, poor catechesis, fear of confrontation (the list is too long to type) – and one of the tasks of a lover of Catholic Tradition has is to not let the collapse smother his soul.
ABS believes The Holy Ghost is active in creating an online synaxis of the Traditional like-minded and that is a good thing (as Saint Martha says) for we can all help to educate, support, and pray for one another.
They won. C’est la vie.
Steve, If you should happen to format a template, I would be willing to not only use it, but I would deliver it personally to the parish priest here. It wounds me deeply to see people chatting on their way to the choir, across what USED TO BE the center of the altar, and casually nod to the cross (No Corpus!) on their left, while ignoring the Tabernacle on their right.
Communion in the hand has been going on for so many decades; I don’t think most people even KNOW what is going on when they traipse up to clutch that Host in their hand! The Church has ruined all this for us; the only reason I know this is because I grew up with the sanctity and holiness of the Church AS IT SHOULD BE.
Our pastor loves to sing, so that’s what we concentrate on all through the mass. So Protestant, but what can I do? Put up with it. No one is going to change anything for me or the other few who feel like I do.
Most people I see no longer do anything when coming in or out of the pews, never mind those who walk on the altar. So sad. It’s good we can have this discussion anyway, because it means there are still some of us who care.
I do believe when they ripped out the Communion Rails and had us stick out hands to receive the Precious Body was when the decline began in regard to believing in the Real Presence. But Pastors that resent (yep…..RESENT!) giving Holy Communion on the tongue would say we are backward. There are a lot that are all in to bring the Church ‘up to date’ whatever that means. They want to ‘Protestantize’ the Church so that we ‘fit in’ with the world…….which is controlled by Satan. Oh, I am sure they believe they will not fall into his trap, after all they are smarter than that……(NOT!) All goes back to pride. I do believe the entire ‘modernization’ is all about pride and arrogance……..has NOTHING to do with the Holy Spirit.
Hi Steve,
I just wanted to make you aware that there may be something going on with your website. The last two days I have visited, my browser has become sluggish and I ended up having to do a hard shut down through my Task Manager to dump the site.
I’m at work and I’ve experienced no problems with other websites so I believe it may be specific to yours…
Just an FYI.
John
Thanks, John. I’ll see what I can find out. Could be that it’s a non-responsive plugin or something. WordPress sites are a pain to troubleshoot because of the add-ons. In general, I find that my site load times are less responsive than I’d like, but I’ve been with this host for years and have yet to find one I’m convinced is better.
FWIW, it loaded up quickly for me just now in Chrome.
So, I got a response to my inquiry from the permanent deacon at the parish. It’s…predictable: