Posted on 02/25/2008 5:48:28 AM PST by NYer
Rome - The Vatican is poised to introduce stricter norms on Roman Catholic mass, including halting the taking of communion in the hand and setting a time limit for homilies, an Italian newspaper reported Monday. Turin-based daily La Stampa quoted senior Vatican official, Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don saying the move was necessary to eliminate "extravagancies" that have crept into Mass celebrations.
Provisions include restricting to 10 minutes homilies and sermons and ensuring that they be exclusively based on the Gospel readings, said Ranjith who is Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
The practice of allowing the faithful to receive Communion - the bread host which Catholics believe represents the body of Christ - in their hands would also be "urgently reviewed", Ranjith was quoted as saying.
The Vatican wants the host "placed directly into the mouths of the faithful so they don't touch it (with their hands)... because many don't even realize they are receiving Christ and do this with scant concentration and respect," Ranjith said.
The distribution of communion on the hands of those attending mass has been widespread since the so-called Vatican II Council - a series of reforms introduced in the 1960s aimed at making church celebrations more accessible to the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
But according to Ranjith the practice was "illegally and hastily introduced by certain elements of the Church immediately after the Council".
"Some people keep hosts with them as a sort of souvenir, others sell them while in some cases the hosts have been taken away to be used in blasphemous Satanic rituals," he said.
Ranjith said the measures to bring back "dignity and decorum" to mass celebrations were in line with Pope Benedict XVI's wishes, but he did not specify when they would be introduced, nor if they would be issues as an order or a set of guidelines.
Benedict, who earned a reputation as a conservative before being elected pontiff in 2005, last year eased restrictions introduced by Vatican II on the celebration of the traditional Latin mass.
The move which has included softening a prayer for the conversion of Jews contained in the Latin liturgical text, has drawn criticism from Jewish groups who resent what they say remains a singling out of members of their faith.
Meanwhile hard-line traditionalist Catholics have expressed anger over what they say is Benedict's tampering of the original Latin mass which they regard as sacred.
Good news ping!
Now if they only would stop the singing...
Good.
I think we all know priests who think that the homily is their opportunity to talk about their week, to air their pet peeves, to tell jokes and to ramble on about their personal opinions on any topic.
My current pastor usually gives a 5 minute homily - it is tightly focused on that day's Gospel, Epistle and Psalm, explaining how they each relate to one another and what moral and doctrinal message can be derived from that day's Scriptures.
He clearly does his homework on each sermon - consulting the scriptural commentaries, the catechism, and the Fathers to come up with a unified exegesis.
It's a pleasant change from a former pastor of mine at another parish who would share recipes and all kinds of extraneous trivia from the pulpit.
Very good news.
Well her hands aren't qualified to touch it, but her mouth and breasts are.
Jesus must really be embarrassed -- not from touching her breasts, but from such a silly doctrine!
“Reform of the reform” bump!!
That is a complete load of garbage.
(1) If someone is in the state of grace necessary to receive Communion in the first place, they are as holy as any priest according to Catholic doctrine.
(2) As it stands right now by Church law, as long as she is a Catholic of good reputation she is qualified to serve as a Eucharistic minister and to therefore touch the host hundreds of times during the course of a Mass.
(3) As it stands right now by Church law, any layman may receive communion in their hands - thereby touching the host.
(4) In parishes where the standard practice is to receive communion on the tongue without using one's hands, the altar server holds a plate under the communicant's chin to catch the host if it is dropped.
The only conclusion I can come to is that you are either maliciously telling lies or you are shooting off at the mouth concerning matters about which you are completely uninformed.
I saw the video.
Very good news indeed!
No longer "bread", and not "represents".
a.) The woman shouldn't have been wearing such a low-cut dress to church.
b.) There might be a need for the priest to teach about modesty.
Oh, of course you did.
And then she replies: "Totally, dude! Church doctrine is that your hands are sacred, and not mine because I am just a silly, lowly woman."
Too many younger Catholics, even my daughter who had an excellent Catholic high school education, persist in calling the Host the bread. When I correct her she informs me that the Eucharistic ministers in our parish, she is one as well, routinely refer to the Host as bread when deciding who does which assignment during Communion.
I like the stricter rules on homilies. But, not in my parish, please. My pastor always gives a 15 or 20 minute homily that is based on the Gospel and that is always intelligent, orthodox, and insightful.
Is this story reputable or is the source sensationalistic? If its completely legit, however, I think that it is a wise and prudent move for the Church to reinstate such simple means of recognition during the Mass.
The worst part about reception in the hand is that Communion lines in most modern parishes have an eerie resemblance to the snack line at my daughter’s daycare. Adults and children alike show little to no reverence in receiving - they pop, chomp and walk. It really exudes an attitude of irreverance to this 20-something convert to the Church.
Fr. Z. of What Does the Prayer Really Say tears this story to shreds. Sorry...
F
Bump for later.
If people were seriously examining their consciences during the Confiteor, that wouldn't happen.
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