Third Sunday in Lent
March 3, 2018 Column Father De Celles
Something to Pray About During Lent. I have often written and spoken about the choices we have in the manner we receive Holy Communion. In one column I wrote, after giving my reasons, “I recommend that all of my parishioners prayerfully consider receiving Communion on the tongue. However, it is your choice…I respect your choice.” The same can be said for the choice to kneel or stand.
Given that, I refer you to a new book published (in Italian) which includes a preface by Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Vatican’s Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship (i.e. the Church’s head of Liturgy), in which he wrote about these choices. What follows is an extract from this preface (from LifeSiteNews). I ask you to read it prayerfully.
“…Before the apparition of the Virgin Mary [at Fatima], in the Spring of 1916, the Angel of Peace appeared to Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco…[T]he children realized that the Angel…held in his left hand a chalice over which a host was suspended… saying: “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.” The Angel prostrated himself again on the ground, repeating the same prayer three times with Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco.
“The Angel of Peace therefore shows us how we should receive the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ…But what are the outrages that Jesus receives in the holy Host, for which we need to make reparation?
“…[T]he 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: Satan’s target is the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Real Presence of Jesus in the consecrated Host. This robbery attempt follows two tracks: the first is the reduction of the concept of ‘real presence.’ Many theologians persist in mocking or snubbing the term ‘transubstantiation’ despite the constant references of the Magisterium…
“Let us now look at how faith in the real presence can influence the way we receive Communion, and vice versa. Receiving Communion on the hand undoubtedly involves a great scattering of fragments. On the contrary, attention to the smallest crumbs, care in purifying the sacred vessels, not touching the Host with sweaty hands, all become professions of faith in the real presence of Jesus, even in the smallest parts of the consecrated species: …The substance is the same! It is Him! On the contrary, inattention to the fragments makes us lose sight of the dogma. Little by little the thought may gradually prevail: “If even the parish priest does not pay attention to the fragments…then it means that Jesus is not in them…”
“The second track on which the attack against the Eucharist runs is the attempt to remove the sense of the sacred from the hearts of the faithful…. While the term ‘transubstantiation’ points us to the reality of presence, the sense of the sacred enables us to glimpse its absolute uniqueness and holiness. What a misfortune it would be to lose the sense of the sacred precisely in what is most sacred! And how is it possible? By receiving special food in the same way as ordinary food…
“The liturgy is made up of many small rituals and gestures — each of them is capable of expressing these attitudes filled with love, filial respect and adoration toward God. That is precisely why it is appropriate to promote the beauty, fittingness and pastoral value of a practice which developed during the long life and tradition of the Church, that is, the act of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue and kneeling. The greatness and nobility of man, as well as the highest expression of his love for his Creator, consists in kneeling before God. Jesus himself prayed on his knees in the presence of the Father….
“In this regard I would like to propose the example of two great saints of our time… St. John Paul II[‘s] …entire life was marked by a profound respect for the Holy Eucharist…. Despite being exhausted and without strength… he always knelt before the Blessed Sacrament. He was unable to kneel and stand up alone. …Until his last days, he wanted to offer us a great witness of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. Why are we so proud and insensitive to the signs that God himself offers us for our spiritual growth and our intimate relationship with Him? Why do not we kneel down to receive Holy Communion after the example of the saints? Is it really so humiliating to bow down and remain kneeling before the Lord Jesus Christ? And yet, “He, though being in the form of God,… humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2: 6-8).
“St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta… had a respect and absolute worship of the divine Body of Jesus Christ…[F]illed with wonder and respectful veneration, Mother Teresa refrained from touching the transubstantiated Body of Christ. Instead, she adored him and contemplated him silently, she remained at length on her knees and prostrated herself before Jesus in the Eucharist. Moreover, she received Holy Communion in her mouth, like a little child who has humbly allowed herself to be fed by her God… The saint was saddened and pained when she saw Christians receiving Holy Communion in their hands…
“Why do we insist on receiving Communion standing and on the hand? Why this attitude of lack of submission to the signs of God? …Let us come as children and humbly receive the Body of Christ on our knees and on our tongue. The saints give us the example….!
“But how could the practice of receiving the Eucharist on the hand become so common? …It was a process that was anything but clear, a transition from what the instruction Memoriale Domini granted, to what is such a widespread practice today… Unfortunately, as with the Latin language, so also with a liturgical reform that should have been homogeneous with the previous rites, a special concession has become the picklock to force and empty the safe of the Church’s liturgical treasures…
“I hope there can be a rediscovery and promotion of the beauty and pastoral value of this method. In my opinion and judgment, this is an important question on which the Church today must reflect…”
Knights of Columbus Food Drive. Thanks to all of you who brought in food (and food cards and checks) last week. We collected 4,500 lbs. of food for the St. Lucy Project. A great way to practice the penance of “almsgiving.” And a great example of the service the Knights provide for our parish and diocese. If you’re a Catholic man over 18 years old—why aren’t you a Knight? Maybe you could do that for Lent: commit yourself to service by joining and being an active member?
Lenten Series. My talks on “The Mass and the Eucharist” continue this Thursday at 7:00 pm in the Parish Hall. All are invited—you need not have come last week!
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles