Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Gospel, Saint Matthew 4:12-23
Posted on 01/22/2011 8:56:34 PM PST by Salvation
Again: Time for An Intervention
I originally wrote this post last September, saying that my heart was heavy because it had been brought to my attention that "accidents" during the distribution of Holy Communion under both species occur not infrequently in parishes, i.e., the Most Precious Blood is spilled during the administration of Holy Communion from the chalice. Recently I learned of other such "accidents." And so I decided to post this entry again.
Even if such "accidents" occur no more than twice or three times a year in a given parish, they give sufficient reason to review, and, I should think, modify the manner in which the Most Precious Blood is distributed.
A few questions?
Are these incidents reported directly to the Ordinary, so that the he can, when necessary, limit Holy Communion under both forms, and exercise vigilance over the manner in which it is carried out?
Should not parish priests be required to submit to their Ordinary a yearly report of any such incidents, so that the Ordinary, taking into account their number and frequency, can revise existing policies and promulgate suitable stricter norms for his diocese?
Why is there no critical review of a practice that, in fact, poses serious problems of irreverence?
Why are certain passages of Pope Paul VI's Sacramentali Communione (29 June 1970) systematically ignored? I give the relevant passages here in boldface:
Among the ways of communicating prescribed by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, receiving from the chalice itself ranks first. Even so, it is to be chosen only when everything can be carried out in fitting order and with no danger of irreverence toward the Blood of Christ. When they are available, other priests or deacons or even acolytes should be chosen to present the chalice. The method of communicating in which the communicants pass the chalice to one another or go directly to the chalice to take Christ's Blood must be regarded as unacceptable.
Whenever none of the ministers already mentioned is available, if the communicants are few and are to receive communion under both kinds by drinking directly from the chalice, the priest himself distributes communion, first under the form of bread, then under the form of wine.
Otherwise the preference should be for the rite of communion under both kinds by intinction: it is more likely to obviate the practical difficulties and to ensure the reverence due the sacrament more effectively. Intinction makes access to communion under both kinds easier and safer for the faithful of all ages and conditions; at the same time it preserves the truth present in the more complete sign.
Why is this clear statement in favour of Holy Communion by intinction systematically ignored?
Both Orthodox and Eastern Catholic rites have, for centuries, practiced a form of Holy Communion by intinction? Latin Rite Catholics have something to learn from this centuries-old experience.
Have our Bishops given thought to the grave scandal given to the Orthodox Churches by the current Roman Catholic practices of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, often in casual street attire, distributing the Most Precious Blood directly from the the chalice without so much as a cloth held beneath the chin of the communicant?
Why are Protestants not offended by the same practice? Why are they indifferent to it? The answer is, I think, obvious.
Has Holy Communion under both forms been used as a justification for the multiplication of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion?
In the choice of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, why are the principles and the order for selection of fit persons indicated in Immensae Caritatis (29 January 1973) not followed? Alas, there are even parishes where an open appeal for volunteers is made from the pulpit!
With regard to the first, we read that Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion may be employed:
a. whenever no priest, deacon, or acolyte is available;
Why are acolytes (now, effectively equivalent to subdeacons in the reformed Latin Rite) not employed?
Why have Ordinaries not instituted a course of preparation for acolytes, similar to that in place for deacons?
Why are men preparing for the permanent diaconate, who have already been instituted as acolytes, not preferred to Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion?
b. whenever the same ministers are impeded from administering communion because of another pastoral ministry, ill-health, or old age;
Should not the Ordinary be consulted before determining that such is, in fact, the case?
c. whenever the number of faithful wishing to receive communion is so great that the celebration of Mass or the giving of communion outside Mass would take too long.
This is frightfully vague and subject to misinterpretation.
What is too great a number of faithful? 20? 50? 100? 300? 500?
Who decides this?
What is "too long"? Who decides this?
Further, we read in the same Instruction Immensae Caritatis:
IV. The fit person referred to in nos. I and II will be designated according to the order of this listing (which may be changed at the prudent discretion of the local Ordinary): reader, major seminarian, man religious, woman religious, catechist, one of the faithful--a man or a woman.
There is an order here.
Why, in practice, do instituted readers (lectors) fall below the radar screen?
Are not deacon candidates (at least those in the final years of formation) "major seminarians"?
A Crisis
It is time to address these questions. The use of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion is completely out of control, as is the distribution of Holy Communion under both forms. The faithful are confused and misled by current practices. It is not uncommon to hear the Most Precious Blood referred to as "the wine" -- by some Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion themselves!
Might the beginning of a solution not be a "pastoral moratorium" on the appointment of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and on Holy Communion under both forms until these questions are studied, and suitable remedies mandated by the competent authority?
An Element of Solution: Acolytes
The obvious solution, it seems to me, while waiting for the restoration of the subdiaconate, would be the formation and institution of acolytes in accord with Pope Paul VI's Motu Proprio Ministeria Quaedam (15 August 1972). Acolytes instituted in accordance with Ministeria Quaedam could, effectively, replace Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and contribute to the resacralization of the ministration of the Holy Mysteries. They could, at solemn celebrations, be vested in amice, alb, cincture, and tunicle; in less solemn celebrations they would vest in cassock and surplice, or otherwise, in amice, alb, and cincture.
The acolyte is appointed in order to aid the deacon and to minister to the priest. It is his duty therefore to attend to the service of the altar and to assist the deacon and the priest in liturgical celebrations, especially in the celebration of Mass; he is also to distribute communion as a special minister when the ministers spoken of in the Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 845 are not available or are prevented by ill health, age, or another pastoral ministry from performing this function, or when the number of communicants is so great that the celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged. In the same extraordinary circumstances an acolyte may be entrusted with publicly exposing the Blessed Sacrament for adoration by the faithful and afterward replacing it, but not with blessing the people. He may also, to the extent needed, take care of instructing other faithful who on a temporary basis are appointed to assist the priest or deacon in liturgical celebrations by carrying the missal, cross, candles, etc., or by performing other such duties. He will perform these functions more worthily if he participates in the Holy Eucharist with increasingly fervent devotion, receives nourishment from it, and deepens his knowledge about it.
As one set aside in a special way for the service of the altar, the acolyte should learn all matters concerning public Divine Worship and strive to grasp their inner spiritual meaning: in that way he will be able each day to offer himself entirely to God, be an example to all by his gravity and reverence in church, and have a sincere love for the Mystical Body of Christ, the people of God, especially for the weak and the sick.
(Ministeria Quaedam VI)
Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice. For he that eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you: and many sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:27:30)
Matthew | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Matthew 4 |
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12. | And when Jesus had heard that John was delivered up, he retired into Galilee: | Cum autem audisset Jesus quod Joannes traditus esset, secessit in Galilæam : | ακουσας δε ο ιησους οτι ιωαννης παρεδοθη ανεχωρησεν εις την γαλιλαιαν |
13. | And leaving the city Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capharnaum on the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim; | et, relicta civitate Nazareth, venit, et habitavit in Capharnaum maritima, in finibus Zabulon et Nephthalim : | και καταλιπων την ναζαρετ ελθων κατωκησεν εις καπερναουμ την παραθαλασσιαν εν οριοις ζαβουλων και νεφθαλειμ |
14. | That it might be fulfilled which was said by Isaias the prophet: | ut adimpleretur quod dictum est per Isaiam prophetam : | ινα πληρωθη το ρηθεν δια ησαιου του προφητου λεγοντος |
15. | Land of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: | Terra Zabulon, et terra Nephthalim, via maris trans Jordanem, Galilæa gentium : | γη ζαβουλων και γη νεφθαλειμ οδον θαλασσης περαν του ιορδανου γαλιλαια των εθνων |
16. | The people that sat in darkness, hath seen great light: and to them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up. | populus, qui sedebat in tenebris, vidit lucem magnam : et sedentibus in regione umbræ mortis, lux orta est eis. | ο λαος ο καθημενος εν σκοτει ειδεν φως μεγα και τοις καθημενοις εν χωρα και σκια θανατου φως ανετειλεν αυτοις |
17. | From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. | Exinde cpit Jesus prædicare, et dicere : Pnitentiam agite : appropinquavit enim regnum cælorum. | απο τοτε ηρξατο ο ιησους κηρυσσειν και λεγειν μετανοειτε ηγγικεν γαρ η βασιλεια των ουρανων |
18. | And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishers). | Ambulans autem Jesus juxta mare Galilææ, vidit duos fratres, Simonem, qui vocatur Petrus, et Andream fratrem ejus, mittentes rete in mare (erant enim piscatores), | περιπατων δε παρα την θαλασσαν της γαλιλαιας ειδεν δυο αδελφους σιμωνα τον λεγομενον πετρον και ανδρεαν τον αδελφον αυτου βαλλοντας αμφιβληστρον εις την θαλασσαν ησαν γαρ αλιεις |
19. | And he saith to them: Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men. | et ait illis : Venite post me, et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum. | και λεγει αυτοις δευτε οπισω μου και ποιησω υμας αλιεις ανθρωπων |
20. | And they immediately leaving their nets, followed him. | At illi continuo relictis retibus secuti sunt eum. | οι δε ευθεως αφεντες τα δικτυα ηκολουθησαν αυτω |
21. | And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. | Et procedens inde, vidit alios duos fratres, Jacobum Zebedæi, et Joannem fratrem ejus, in navi cum Zebedæo patre eorum, reficientes retia sua : et vocavit eos. | και προβας εκειθεν ειδεν αλλους δυο αδελφους ιακωβον τον του ζεβεδαιου και ιωαννην τον αδελφον αυτου εν τω πλοιω μετα ζεβεδαιου του πατρος αυτων καταρτιζοντας τα δικτυα αυτων και εκαλεσεν αυτους |
22. | And they forthwith left their nets and father, and followed him. | Illi autem statim relictis retibus et patre, secuti sunt eum. | οι δε ευθεως αφεντες το πλοιον και τον πατερα αυτων ηκολουθησαν αυτω |
23. | And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom: and healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity, among the people. | Et circuibat Jesus totam Galilæam, docens in synagogis eorum, et prædicans Evangelium regni : et sanans omnem languorem, et omnem infirmitatem in populo. | και περιηγεν ολην την γαλιλαιαν ο ιησους διδασκων εν ταις συναγωγαις αυτων και κηρυσσων το ευαγγελιον της βασιλειας και θεραπευων πασαν νοσον και πασαν μαλακιαν εν τω λαω |
Introduction |
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Hymn |
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Psalm 109 (110) The Messiah, king and priest |
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Psalm 110 (111) Great are the works of the Lord |
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Canticle | (Apocalypse 19) |
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The wedding of the Lamb |
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Short reading | 1 Peter 1:3-5 © |
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Short Responsory |
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Canticle | Magnificat |
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My soul rejoices in the Lord |
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Prayers and Intercessions |
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Immediate Responses to His Call |
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Jan. 23, 2011)
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January 23, 2011 Matthew 4:12-23 Introductory Prayer: Jesus, what a beautiful day in the life of your disciples: you walked along the shore and called them! I wish to respond to your gentle call in the same way they did. I know that you will never lead me astray; rather, you will protect me and lead me home to heaven. Here I am Lord, at your service. Petition: My dear Lord Jesus, help me follow you faithfully without weighing the cost. 1. Just Walking along the Shore It might appear that Christs meeting his first disciples was a chance encounter: He was out walking and saw them. The overall context tells us much more. John was in prison, and Jesus knew his time had come. A significant part of his mission for the next three years would be to teach and form his apostles. These apostles had been selected by Divine Providence since the beginning of time, and now the call to them was made. These were not chance encounters. Jesus knew who he wanted and what he would ask of them. He also knows each of us and what he wants from each of us. His love and attention are entirely personal and very important to him. 2. A Simple Call When Jesus engages the rich young man later in his life (cf. Matthew 19:16-22), the conversation is much more involved than the brief meetings in todays Gospel. Here, Jesus approaches and asks the four men to follow him. It is simple, and it is brief. Many other steps in their mission will be made known later. For now: Follow me! We cannot spend our lives waiting for Gods call to do something great. In the process we might miss the many simple calls of everyday life: calls to be more charitable with our friends and family, calls to be more patient with our children, calls to be more generous in helping a neighbor in need. Be generous in the small things, and then we will be generous in the greater things. 3. They Left Everything The disciples response was heroic. They followed immediately, totally and joyfully. What is my attitude to Gods will in my life? His will is made known to me through the norms and laws of his Church and through the indications of my superiors or parents. Do I respond selflessly? Or do I count the cost and negotiate a deal before I follow him? What can I get out of this? I will get an eternity of bliss only if I generously follow him. Conversation with Christ: Lord, I need to understand better that you desire a personal and intimate relationship with me like. What can I do to show better my gratitude for your call? For your graces? Help me see that it makes a difference to you how I respond. To you I am not a number or a statistic. I am a soul for which you died. Resolution: Today I will deal with others in a way consistent with my condition as an adopted child of God. I will avoid any pettiness or selfishness in responding to the requests of others. |
January 22nd, 2011 by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Is 8:239:3 / 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17 / Mt 4:12-23 or 4:12-17
Some years ago there was a new eighth-grade class at the local parish school, and they were trouble! Negative and sniping, they were down on everything and everybody, most especially themselves. Nobody wanted to teach this class, until finally old Sister Ambrose volunteered.
She was a wise old nun, so she did something very simple. She gave each student a list of their classmates. Next to each name, she said, write down all the good things you know about that person. Dont exaggerate or make up anything. Just write the good that you see and give me your papers on Friday. And so they did.
Over the weekend, Sister read the students comments and then typed for each one a full page of all the good things the class saw in him or her. On Monday she handed them out.
The students were astonished. Is this me? asked some. I didnt think anybody noticed, said others. Wow, I cant believe Im this good! said still others. And so it went.
Years later, when the class had scattered to the four winds, many of them returned for the funeral of one of the boys who had been killed in Vietnam. After the burial they were clustered around old Sister Ambrose when the dead soldiers father came along.
Thank you, Sister, for all your help to my boy, he said. He grew up fine, just as you hoped, and he made us very proud. Now I want to return to you something you gave him long ago in the eighth grade.
With that he pressed into her hand a yellowed piece of paper, folded very small to fit into a wallet, and falling apart now from being folded and unfolded, read and reread many times. It was the list Sister had typed for that shy boy so many years before!
Silently and tearfully each of his classmates reached into their wallets or purses and produced their own worn and yellowed sheets, which we falling apart from being folded and unfolded, read and reread many times across the years.
And old Sister Ambrose, now leaning heavily on her cane, sighed and whispered a silent prayer, Thank you, God.
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A small kindness cast its light like a beacon across many years. It pierced the darkness, and nothing could put it out.
May our light shine, and bring light to all we meet. And may it never grow dim. Amen.
"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali" were degraded. We also see large areas in our society which are degraded. The physical degradation of our slums is obvious; the moral degradation in our suburbs is not as noticeable but nonetheless devastating. Isaiah prophesied that degradation would be turned into glorification. Anguish, darkness, gloom, and distress would be displaced by "a great light" (Is 9:1). Jesus, the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), is the only One Who can transform degradation into glorification. He does this by calling us to repent (Mt 4:17) and follow Him (Mt 4:20, 22). When we walk in the light as He is in the light (1 Jn 1:7), we become the light of the world (Mt 5:14; see also Phil 2:15). We become like the moon reflecting the light of the sun, although we are much brighter than the moon because Jesus, the Son of God, is much brighter than the sun. Isaiah prophesied: "The light of the moon will be like that of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times greater [like the light of seven days]" (Is 30:26). Therefore, "rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears His glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance" (Is 60:1-3). Millions living in degradation await for our repentance and commitment to Jesus. Repent and follow Him immediately.One Bread, One Body
<< Sunday, January 23, 2011 >>
3rd Sunday Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day
Isaiah 8:239:3
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
View ReadingsPsalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
Matthew 4:12-23
THE LIGHT FANTASTIC
Introduction |
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This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience. In a communal celebration of Compline, one of the penitential acts given in the Missal may be recited.
Hymn |
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Psalm 90 (91) The protection of the Most High |
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Reading | Apocalypse 22:4-5 © |
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Short Responsory |
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Canticle | Nunc Dimittis |
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Alma Redemptoris Mater |
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January 24th, 2011 by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.
Flick on the television, turn to the news, and notice how hopeless it all looks. Terrorists kill hundreds and intimidate millions. Government debt in the US and Europe balloons out of control and whole countries need to be bailed out.
Things did not appear much better in first century Galilee. The king was an irreligious adulterer and a lackey of the hated Romans. Traitorous tax collectors took a big cut of the little money people managed to earn. The Sea of Galilee was really only a moderate sized lake and competition to catch its few fish was stiff. Only two things were (and still are) inevitable: death and taxes.
Into this gloom steps someone whose face radiates hope, whose words penetrate to the heart. To the people who live in the hellish kingdom of Herod, he announces that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
He walks the lakeshore alone. But his mission is not to remain alone. He has come to call people out of the darkness into the light.
This, by the way, is what the word Church really means. The word ek-klesia in Greek means those who are called out. To be a Christian means to belong to a group of people who leave behind a community of darkness with its tired way of life, to join a new community dedicated to a new, fresh way of living and an entirely different vision. This does not mean necessarily withdrawing from family and friends, moving to the mountains, and waiting for the second coming. Thats cult, not Church.
But neither does Church mean simply to attend mass once a week and subscribe to a list of dogmas. To respond to Christs call to the Church means to be in the world, but not of it. Not to be manipulated by the media. Not to be motivated by the love of money, pleasure, power. It means to re-form your life. To allow your thinking and your pattern of life to be completely reorganized around the truth of Gods word.
Belonging to the Church does not just mean that you accept Jesus as Savior. It means accepting Him also as Lord. It does not mean welcoming Christ as part of your life. It means making him the center of your life.
To respond to the call means to hand over the reins to Christ, trusting that he knows you better than you know yourself, and loves you more than you love yourself. It means willing to change anything that He wants changedfrom behavior, to ideas, to friends, to career.
Peter and Andrew were small businessmen, running a family fishing business. Jesus had a different plan for their lives. For them, the call meant leaving behind their career. The same was true for James and John. The four of them had the courage to respond, despite the cost, and the Church, the community of those called out, grew.
The Church has been growing ever since. But the Lords call, also known as vocation, is different for each person. When it came to me as a teen, it meant leaving behind my bass guitar and rock band to embrace the discipline of theological study. It also mean turning off the TV to develop a life of prayer. In my twenties, it meant surrendering the independence of single life to open my life to another in marriage, and to lovingly accept the gift of five children from God, with all the accompanying responsibilities, joys, and challenges.
The point is that a vocation is not just something that apostles, priests and religious have. God has a unique and marvelous plan for each one of our lives that involves sacrifice and joys beyond our imaginings. And this plan leads all of us to a realm far beyond the reach of death and taxes. But to experience the adventure of the journey, and arrive at the destination, we have to accept the call. And that always means being ready to re-form our lives.
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