More Bad News from the Vatican: Catholics Told Not to Kneel or Receive Communion on the Tongue

What has been considered a "right" of the laity was soundly squashed Sunday when Francis conferred the ministry of lector and catechist on ten lay people at St. Peter's, four men and six women. In the protocols before the event, the laity were instructed (mandated) that they could not kneel or receive Communion on the tongue. It's unclear from reports whether the mandate applied only to the ten or to all those attending the event (5,000).

What's more than clear, however, is that this is one more "radical departure" from Sacred Tradition and another display of the hermeneutic of rupture. It also shows a mean-spirited and petty tyranny on the part of Cardinal Arthur Roche, liturgy head, who replaced Cardinal Sarah, a friend of the TLM.

Cardinal Sarah criticized Communion in the hand in the introduction to a book on reception of Communion published in 2018. In the introduction the cardinal wrote:

The most insidious diabolical attack consists in trying to extinguish faith in the Eucharist, by sowing errors and fostering an unsuitable way of receiving it. Truly the war between Michael and his Angels on one side, and Lucifer on the other, continues in the hearts of the faithful.

Francis was not overly enthused by Cardinal Sarah's positions and removed him as liturgy head shortly after he reached mandatory retirement age. Many bishops are asked to continue beyond 75, but Francis lost no time in ditching Sarah and naming NO enthusiast and TLM adversary Roche to the position. What happened today is consistent with Roche's contempt for the TLM whose adherents he describes as "more Protestant...than Catholic." He apparently considers those NO Catholics who receive kneeling and on the tongue as spiritual twins of the despised traditionalists.

Today's event, seems to legitimize rumors that a new, more dogmatic Francis document is in preparation. It's expected to further clamp down on the TLM and also make more changes to the Novus Ordo. Catholics, both those who attend the TLM and those who attend the NO, have legitimate reasons for concern.

Two iconoclasts at work: "We'll suppress the TLM altogether and ban Communion
kneeling and on the tongue in the Novus Ordo. The Protestants will love it!"

Roche claims that the TLM was "abrogated" by Pope Paul VI, a fact disputed by Pope Benedict who said it was "never abrogated" and any priest could celebrate it without permission from his ordinary. Today's event suggests that norms for the Novus Ordo may be in the works that forbid the reception of Communion kneeling or on the tongue.

The TLM obviously isn't the only target of these iconoclasts! Reverence for the Eucharist has to go as well. If they accomplish what seems to be in the works, how many will never attend another Novus Ordo Mass?

Stay tuned. 2023 is likely to be a very unsettling year for Catholics. But we've become used to it in the era of Francis the friendly (to everyone but traditional Catholics).

But the regulars attending the mass were bored out of their minds saying the ritual things even before the priest started his sermon.

I can’t speak for those people so maybe they were bored out of their minds. (I wonder at their attendance at all if their boredom is truly a fact.)

However, your comment brings a question to mind. Are most Protestants used to their services being social gatherings with a large amount of exterior expression and camaraderie from the participants or are their services times for quiet listening and interior introspection, saving the social interaction for later? I’m truly curious, because this issue could be the cause of misunderstanding from both parties.

Catholics at mass, first of all, shouldn’t be paying attention to those people around us at all but to either the Word of God from scripture, which is the focus of the first half of the mass, or to Christ truly present in the Eucharist, the focus of the second half.

Most Catholics who are actually paying attention at mass are introspectively prayerful. That’s our traditional way of participating. It’s not meant to be primarily a social activity with other people, but a close and introspective and prayerful encounter with God.

I think this may be why non-Catholics who visit are sometimes put off. Maybe they are used to their services being more socially interactive with other people?

How are you to know that? Where you there? The disciples: Peter, James and John, fell face down at the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Why would they not kneel at the Last Supper?

If it was important for me to know that they did, it would be written as such. That it's not written speaks volumes.

As for why would they not kneel, if we're playing the supposition game, suppose anything. Don't limit it to what some bishop in the early Church claimed... because that's exactly what others done - made up something that worked for them in defiance of God.

Receiving Communion on the tongue was the early Church telling people they weren't worthy of touching the Body of Christ, which is heresy. We're worthy because Christ made it so. I was made in His image and likeness and washed in His blood.

It was false pride that led the Church to implement their version of the Last Supper in defiance of Christ.

I think you misspelled Cranmer and Luther.

Does your church practice something with unbroken tradition going back to Christ or did somebody use a bit of imagination in the past 500 years or so to make stuff up?

The Church went pretty well with Organic Development at least until the 20th century. Paul VI, rightly or wrongly, has been compared to Cramner. Luther would be an analog.

This weekend we welcomed our local bishop at our parish. We celebrated the mass with several of the prayers in Latin, the Mass said ad orientum with the bishop facing the alter in the same direction as the congregation, and we received communion on the tongue, kneeling at the communion rail. One visitor described it as the most beautiful celebration of the Novus Ordo he had ever seen. I am happy to say the only thing different from our typical Sunday Mass was that the bishop was there.

It is sad to think that in the Vatican a Mass with the Pope would prohibit some of the practices that make it beautiful to me.

Does your church practice something with unbroken tradition going back to Christ...

Going back to Christ?

The Apostles at the Last Supper did not kneel and receive Communion on the tongue. That tradition came about hundreds of years after His death and conflicts with His own decree, "Do this in memory of me." "This" didn't include kneeling and not touching His Body.

Don't take my word for it. You can read it yourself right there in Scripture.

One deviation here, another there, and a few centuries later you're conferring authority on religious who don't warrant it, calling priests "father", kissing rings, selling indulgences, creating positions of "Eucharistic Ministers", or something else.

Does your Bible claim, “Christ then told them to, ‘Stand and present your filthy palms to receive My Body”?

Filthy palms? No because they had already bathed.

John 13:6-11

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

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