Posted on 05/03/2002 10:46:17 AM PDT by patent
VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2002 (VIS) - Today in the Holy See Press Office, Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger and Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez and Archbishop Julian Herranz presented the Apostolic Letter In The Form Of Motu Proprio "Misericordia Dei" On Certain Aspects of the Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance.
Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, highlighted the personal nature of the Sacrament of Penance as underlined in the document. This means that both guilt and pardon "must be entirely personal." This aspect has become confused over the last few decades as recourse to collective absolution "came ever more frequently to be considered as a normal form of the Sacrament of Penance: an abuse that has contributed to the progressive disappearance of this Sacrament in some parts of the Church."
The cardinal said that "the obligation of confession is instituted - as the Council of Trent says - by the Lord Himself and is constituted by the Sacrament, thus it is not left to the disposition of the Church. It is not, then, in the Church's power to substitute personal confession with general absolution."
Cardinal Medina, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments, stressed that "the ministry of reconciliation is not a privilege or exercise of power, it is the expression of the pastoral responsibility that each bishop and priest assumed before God the day they were ordained. It is their dutiful service to their brothers and sisters."
"The Motu Proprio 'Misericordia Dei' underlines the traditional teaching of Church doctrine according to which the only ordinary way to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance is that of a full confession of sins to a priest, followed by personal absolution. So-called 'collective' or 'general' absolutions are to be considered as extraordinary and exceptional, to be used only and exclusively when threatened by death or when it is physically or morally impossible to celebrate the Sacrament in the ordinary way."
Archbishop Herranz, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, indicated that this legislative document represents "an act of ecclesial governance that is not only judicious and timely but also fully responsive to John Paul II's Magisterium on the value of justice as a primary requirement of charity and, at the same time, as inseparable from mercy in the Church's legal code."
Two dimensions are highlighted in the Motu Proprio: "The fundamental right of the faithful to receive from their pastors the Sacraments instituted by Christ," and the duty of the latter to "establish and secure the unfailing application of canonical and liturgical laws that ensure the valid and legal celebration of the Sacraments."
Archbishop Herranz affirmed that the norms of this document concern "the only ordinary way" to receive divine forgiveness for grave sins, in other words "individual confession," and, secondly, the "extraordinary way to administer the Sacrament, in other words the absolution of a number of penitents together without prior individual confession," which must happen in only two cases: "imminent danger of death and cases of dire necessity."
Finally, the archbishop recalled, the affirmation of the Pope that "what is written in the Motu Proprio is, by its nature, valid for the venerable Oriental Catholic Churches, in conformity with the respective Canons of their own Code."
We have two parishes in my area. Both have very orthodox priests. Confessions every Saturday for 5 hours in the afternoon. Plus confessions during the week before Mass. If you want good homilies, go to this site...Father Ray's Corner. He's one of the best homilists I've ever heard. He is heavy into Bishop Fulton Sheen, so you can imagine.
Oh, very nice! I love icons!
Icons are a wonderful aid to prayer, since every element in the picture is symbolic. Even the postures of the images are telling; for instance, did you know that many of the angels in icons are clapping? That symbolizes the rejoicing in Heaven. Modern "icons" do not contain many of these spiritual references, and are little more than contrived portraits of non-saints, like Oscar Romero or Ghandi. Pretty, but useless for prayer.
Gazing upon an icon while meditating on the Mystery of the Faith is profoundly spiritual, since many of them illustrate feasts and special events in the Life of Christ. There is a wonderful book out called "Praying With Icons." Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of the author. The book was a gift to me many years ago, and it contains reproductions of three large icons on fold-out pages. If you feel your prayer life needs a little boost, perhaps a good icon is what you need to focus your heart. Good luck!
It turns out that my priest was simply misinformed regarding what constitutes valid matter, as surprising as that may seem.
My initial conversation with him is posted above in #19. The next day I talked to the woman who bakes the bread. She said that she was unaware of the problem, and asked me to forward my information to her via e-mail. She said that she would take the matter up with the parish council at their next meeting which was planned for the following day.
Two days later I received a letter from her. It stated that it was the goal of the council to follow canon law, and also to provide a host that "appeared as food." They said that they were going to change the recipe to the one used by the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration that is approved under canon law.
A day or two later our priest came up to my wife at the first Communion rehearsal and apologized profusely. He said that he had gotten the recipe from a book written by a theologian. My wife said, "you know, you have to be careful with what you're reading, especially these days."
I was planning on calling the bishop's office that day, so I'm glad that I held back. It was a lesson for me in charity.
The good news is that first Communion will be valid!
Where can you buy icons? I've only found one place on-line.
Your family's situation was so much more dire than my family's situation.
You know, this is a good lesson on how we, the laity, can gently stand for what is True, and how a simple telephone call can change a dangerous situation.
Your daughter's special day is going to be beautiful weather-wise and it is so wonderful that you can go with a light heart (as opposed to a heavy heart) knowing that all the other children will have a True and truly blessed First Communion.
That's exactly how I felt. It was a great relief.
The nice weather is an added bonus.
Also, it was an important lesson for me in assuming the worst, and also the importance of following Jesus' admonition to "go up the ladder" regarding problems with one's brother (Mat 18:16-18).
patent
Is this it?
Sometimes Catholic or Orthodox calendars have icons on each page.
It is hard to find them. I think (I'm not sure on this, but I've heard it several times) that Russians consider even reproductions of their icons to be "treasures." It is VERY hard to get them outside of Russia. The Russian couple never has very many of them, so I am wondering if it isn't also hard for them to get them out of Russia.
I wish I could be of more help. I would suggest ordering the "Praying With Icons" book mentioned above, as a start.
Do not let yourself be conned by those who would insist that their depictions of Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., and other contemporary, non-canonized figures are real icons, because they are NOT. Genuine icons depict ONLY saints, angels, the Blessed Mother, and the Trinity.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.