The US bishops are going to meet in their annual November blabfest. It seems they will discuss how to revive belief in and devotion to the Eucharist.
I am not overly sanguine about their ability to produce anything proportioned to the seriousness of the problem. I would be surprised if they could come up with even “half measures”. Some will have proposals rooted in traditions (sort of). Others will immediately counter and diffuse with wokeness… because that’s their role in this, if you get my drift.
While I have my own ideas about how that might be approached, I wonder what you think.
How might the bishops, as a body and as individuals, work in concrete ways to restore, revive, expand belief in and devotion to the Eucharist according to the mind of the Church (not the heresies of modernists).
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1. Deny communion to politicians that support abortion.
2. Require all Catholics receive the Eucharist on the tongue while kneeling.
3. Get rid of offering the Precious Blood at Mass.
4. Require parishes to offer Eucharistic Adoration.
5. Have Eucharistic processions around places like abortion clinics.
6. Preach about how if you haven’t been to confession recently, you may not receive the Eucharist.
This stuff isn’t brain surgery. It will take time, but bold steps are necessary.
Put Jesus on the altar, and get out of the way.
Adoration.
Encouraging parish and diocesan devotions.
Real piety (accompanied by real belief from themselves) instead of bureaucratic programs.
Adoration. Processions.
Not much else is needed.
JohnMa put forward some good suggestions. I would only add:
1. Ban Extraordinary ministers (this might have been implied by no Precious Blood distributed)
2. Require incense and bells at consecration.
Here is my thought for what would reap the most amount of sacramental graces, which would certainly rebound toward greater Eucharistic devotion, for the least amount of money, “break out sessions”, trainings, and initiatives:
-> require priests to offer daily confession, preferably (if possible) before Mass
Stop abrogating Holy Days of Obligation
@JohnMa and @Zach sum it up pretty well, although I would amend John’s #1 to the following:
1) Deny Communion to any public figures who publicly support and/or refuse to condemn abortion and gay marriage
I would also add:
Make it so that there is always, at all times, confession available at some place within each diocese, ideally 24/7 at the cathedral, but acceptably disjointed at the various parishes and chapels within the diocese.
I have two thoughts, both of which really simplify to “Adoration and processions, but mostly processions”:
1) Being different.
2) Providing a direct encounter with Jesus.
I am not confident that we will get far with intellectual arguments or even reverent liturgy. (The Pillar, always thought-provoking, published some study results this weekend that gave no significant difference in Eucharistic belief between NO and TLM habitués.) What we must do is convince people to forget what they think they know, and take another look, so that the Lord can speak to them in their hearts.
A procession is primarily weird. It is beyond any honor we give to our secular rulers. It is not about the participants and not about the people who stand on the sidewalk to watch. It makes people really wonder what we think we’re doing. Adoration is a little less weird, and more understandable to tired moderns who are always hearing about meditation and so on. I consider it to be the softer sell, but you do have to get the potential convert through the door first. We need both.
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The comments above mine are very good, and appropriate. Might I add one? Without saying anything disparaging about the Novus Ordo, I would remind the good bishops how few issues of this type they are receiving from the TLM parishes, and ask them why that is the case, humbly and with respect.
@johnma: I’d suggest a 0) before getting to your 1). That would be a public, nationwide call for 40 Hours Devotion for the purpose of praying for the conversion of unrepentant politicians. Nationwide, and at least one location in every single county, and very public calls for prayer. It would serve as both a powerful spiritual force for those with impaired consciences, as well as a public explanation for what will come after for those who continue to commit these grave acts.
If the bishops jump straight for the ban, then they become “the bad guys.” Give the public explanation first.
And, of course, in all things the spiritual should precede the temporal.
Archbishop Cordileone has been gathering people monthly for a Litany of Reparation in honor of the Blessed Sacrament via Zoom. The cantor and the singer who leads the responses have wonderful voices. (Everyone else is muted and prays at home—Zoom is not the best place to chant as a choir.)
This may not sound like much to some, but when people list where they are attending from its quite amazing. The latest one was on this past Sunday to pray in particular for the bishops at the USCCB gathering this week.
I think it it encouraging for a bishop to know he is supported by people far and wide, especially if he is in an area like San Francisco with such a secular pushback. And those from “far and wide” are encouraged by a bishop and the other participants who come together to pray.
I always feel uplifted after these short sessions, even though they are remote.
I agree with the importance of adoration and visible processions, too!
Only a priest should distribute Communion. It should be distributed on the tongue to a person kneeling.
Many more churches should hold perpetual adoration and have processions throughout the year.
Good comment by Zack: 2. Require incense and bells at consecration.
Jesus is made present, it is a very important moment!
The Archbishop of Washington D.C. denying communion to Pelosi and Biden. Oh … wait … he would never.
Of course a complete return to the Vetus Ordo would do wonders. That aside, I would suggest restoration of the prayers from the Offertory through the Canon of the Mass. So many priests have commented on the profound effect learning the ancient prayers has had on them. If the priest gets it, so will his congregation. Proper training of servers, including use of a paten and, a return to a houseling cloth would a nice touch too.
prayfatima: I’m quite happy for a deacon to distribute holy communion. I do agree that lay Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion should not normally be involved. And, as for receiving only on the tongue, that is the practice at the Masses I usually attend. If on occasion I were to attend a Mass at Church where standing and in the hand were the norm I would be OK with that, as I believe it’s quite possible to have the right interior disposition etc to receive Holy Communion with appropriate reverence even when standing and receiving in the hand.
We need more preaching that reminds the faithful of the miracle of transubstantiation that takes place on the altar at every Mass, and that the Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament demands a high level of reverence from us.
1. Perpetual adoration chapels with a campaign specifically targeted at men to volunteer.
2. Monthly (at least) Eucharistic processions at the Cathedral and certain well placed parishes in the diocese. Encourage all parishes to participate if the priest is able/amenable.
3. Ad orientem at every parish, starting on Christmas or Easter, and preceded by thorough catechesis at every parish in homily/sermon form. The bishop should first ensure that his priests are equipped with the necessary arguments and knowledge to present to the faithful.
4. Ignoring or modifying TC with whatever legal means necessary to circumvent the catastrophe and foster the TLM.
5. Having staff go through the public positions of every local, state, and federal representative of his area and releasing a statement publicly censuring any politician who does not uphold basic moral truths in their platforms. Make it clear that no priest in the diocese is permitted to allow these persons to receive communion under pain of just punishment. Publish the pictures of these persons to the priests so that they can be identified.
6. Any initiative of this sort should be clearly legislated and led by the bishop so that priests dealing with ornery parishioners grumpy about the changes can point to the bishop and blame him. Lovely form letters with a recommendation to participate in Eucharistic adoration and a holy card with the Tantum Ergo printed on it should be sent to all whiners complaining to the chancery, and the complaints filed next to “Grouch, Oscar.”
Ad Orientem worship. I believe that many younger priests would be open to this if their bishops encouraged it.
Change the definition of transubstantiation. The present definition is rife with medieval terms that have no meaning in modern science or philosophy. [That’s flat out absurd.] The Orthodox have a good idea. Simply leave it a mystery and don’t try to explain it. [It is a VERY good idea ALSO to approach the Eucharist as MYSTERY. The problem is, however, is that you have to explain a) that it is a mystery and b) what a mystery is (good luck). And then we are back at your absurd proposition at that top: we can’t use terms that “have no meaning” in modern science or philosophy”. See what a box you got yourself into? Paul VI in his encyclical on the Eucharist said that, even though we seek other ways to talk about the Eucharist in modern times, we still MUST use transubstantiation. All of which reminds me… just to turn the sock inside out…]
Considering we are not able (neither worthy of) only by ourselves to receive the grace of this Gift, we must first start by making reparations, reparations, reparations.
1- Explain Fatima and demand everyone pray their daily Rosary + 10 minutes of meditation on the Word of God.
2- Demand people remove TV from their lives or at least drastically cut time on it.
3- Demand people to swap their Wednesday and Friday lunches for a 15-decade Rosary
4- Emphasize during Mass this is the TRUE Christ, not some symbol, make a passionate speech as is the priest’s duties (to be passionate about it)
5- Pray to God that he once again makes Himself visible to our blind eyes and hardened hearts.
The Pillar’s recent survey showed very clearly that unbelief in the Eucharist is disproportionately a problem in the young, millennials or gen Y. I am older than that but never encountered Eucharistic adoration or a place where people received Communion on the tongue or where there was a minimization of Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion until after having lost my Faith and come back as an adult in a different locale where there is a richer practice of the Faith. I personally think that receiving Holy Communion from another typical looking parishioner in ordinary clothes, who often has little to no particular religious preparation for the role of handing out the Eucharist, especially disposes people to think of what they are receiving as rather ordinary. Sometimes the EMHC’s demeanor is quite flat, sometimes there is an over-effort at showing some type of “love” at this moment, either way it tends to feel like an interaction of two lay people not an encounter with God. On one horrifying occasion, I approached an EMHC who was running out of Hosts, and slightly smiled while she crushed a Host in the fingers of one hand to offer me a tiny fragment. This incident was really distressing to me, reflects poor training, and would not be conducive to teaching a young person reverence for the Eucharist! At this point in my life, I go out of my way to receive from a priest or deacon rather than a lay person. In some places there is also an (intentional) disruption of postcommunion personal prayer by exhortations to all stand and/or all sing, so there is no culture in such parishes of interior prayer of thanksgiving. I think the loss of awareness and handing on of basic reverent Eucharistic discipline such as the Eucharistic fast is also more to the point than the lack of activities such as processions. Everyday discipline of reverence for the Eucharist can’t be replaced by occasional devotional events. On a theological level, there is also a problem not only of lack of consciousness or belief in the Real Presence but gross ignorance of the Catholic way of thinking of the sanctifying Grace– the life of Grace. Teaching about the Sacraments without teaching a consciousness about the life of Grace that we receive at Baptism and can lose by mortal sin, and which is necessary for benefiting from reception of the Eucharist, is totally inadequate. Without that knowledge, the Sacraments seem like kinda empty symbolic gestures. To Catholics the Sacraments are anything but empty and yet I have met SO MANY adult Catholics who found it to be a revelation when I taught them about Sanctifying Grace and how the sacraments impact the life of Grace in us. I have instructed both children and adults about Sanctifying Grace by using candles, the same imagery used in the Baptismal ritual. All ages are able to understand when you use this simple visual catechesis. After my most recent instruction of first Confession children, a parent who sat in on the class was wide eyed thanking me and praising this effective presentation. If at all possible I try to expose children to the same simple demonstration with candles more than one time in order to fix it in their mind as the way to think of their relationship with God and connect it with their understanding of the Sacraments. I absolutely believe this understanding is equally as crucial as understanding the Real Presence.
A radical proposal: Communal recitation of the Prayer Before Communion from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
O Lord, I believe and profess that you are truly Christ,
The Son of the living God, who came into the world
To save sinners of whom I am the first.
Accept me today as a partaker of your mystical supper, O Son of God,
For I will not reveal your mystery to your enemies,
Nor will I give you a kiss as did Judas,
But like the thief I profess to you:
Remember me, O Lord, when you come in your kingdom.
Remember me, O Master, when you come in your kingdom.
Remember me, O Holy One, when you come in your kingdom.
May the partaking of your Holy mysteries, O Lord,
Be not for my judgment or condemnation,
But for the healing of my soul and body.
O Lord, I also believe and profess, that this,
Which I am about to receive,
Is truly your most precious Body, and your life-giving Blood,
Which, I pray, make me worthy to receive
For the remission of all my sins and for life everlasting. Amen
O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
O God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
O Lord, forgive me for I have sinned without number.
In addition to the several excellent suggestions above, wouldn’t it be helpful if our musical ears could distinguish, when entering church, that we are not entering a jazz bar? Restore Gregorian chant to pride of place.
First thing: Promote silence in parishes. Real silence. In too many parishes, there’s so much chatter, choir practice, etc. in church before & after Mass that it can be hard to see Mass as something different than what the world offers. At a former parish of mine, one pastor had made it a point to go around and ask people who were talking before and after Mass to take their conversations outside (and the church had a very large narthex for that purpose, so he wasn’t discouraging people visiting, just the location of the visiting) so that people who wanted to pray could converse with the Lord. He had the choir practice in a room outside the church so that people could pray before Sunday Mass, etc. The parish was the most reverent and devout one I’ve ever been to (NO, even), with no trouble finding adorers for adoration, and with a confession line wrapped halfway around the church every night of the week. And it was a very active parish. But when you walked into the church, it was blissfully quiet and conducive to prayer, and it pointed to how seriously everyone took the presence of the Lord in the tabernacle.
Second, change the language. Stop referring to the Church as “it” and talking about her like any other charitable institution. It’s really hard to believe that Christ would sacrifice Himself and remain with us in the Blessed Sacrament for an it, but it becomes easier, I think, to believe that and to believe in the Real Presence when you use language that implies that the sacrifice was made for the Church as His bride. So, use “she,” “her,” etc.
And bring back more language about the Eucharist being sacrifice. The language used right now is too skewed toward the meal/eating/etc. side, and there should be more balance. Speaking more of sacrifice can prime people’s brains gradually to think about the Eucharist differently, and then they might start to think more about making personal sacrifices like fasting, working toward holiness, giving up free time to get to a weekday holiday of obligation Mass (BTW, stop celebrating holy days on Sundays!), etc.
Third, stop locking churches outside of daytime hours (happens a lot in my mostly urban area). How are people supposed to get to know and love the Blessed Sacrament if they can’t go and make a visit on their way to or from work, when they’re out and about for errands, etc.? If the neighborhood is sketchy, so what? Put up some security cameras, keep the lights on, and let people come. The way I finally came to know and love Jesus as a person, and to come to appreciate the Eucharist deeply, was through off-hours visits to church. At first, I would pop in for a quick few minutes when I was running from one place to the next, at a time when I had no sense of what the Blessed Sacrament was–I was a young adult and had only gone to Mass because my parents took us, and my family was practicing but outwardly only–but over time, those 5-minute visits opened the way to a relationship with God I couldn’t have had otherwise, and it became an hour at a time several times a week. Find a way to leave the churches unlocked, and then promote individual visits during the week.
First thing: Promote silence in parishes. Real silence. In too many parishes, there’s so much chatter, choir practice, etc. in church before & after Mass that it can be hard to see Mass as something different than what the world offers. At a former parish of mine, one pastor had made it a point to go around and ask people who were talking before and after Mass to take their conversations outside (and the church had a very large narthex for that purpose, so he wasn’t discouraging people visiting, just the location of the visiting) so that people who wanted to pray could converse with the Lord. He had the choir practice in a room outside the church so that people could pray before Sunday Mass, etc. The parish was the most reverent and devout one I’ve ever been to (NO, even), with no trouble finding adorers for adoration, and with a confession line wrapped halfway around the church every night of the week. And it was a very active parish. But when you walked into the church, it was blissfully quiet and conducive to prayer, and it pointed to how seriously everyone took the presence of the Lord in the tabernacle.
Second, change the language. Stop referring to the Church as “it” and talking about her like any other charitable institution. It’s really hard to believe that Christ would sacrifice Himself and remain with us in the Blessed Sacrament for an it, but it becomes easier, I think, to believe that and to believe in the Real Presence when you use language that implies that the sacrifice was made for the Church as His bride. So, use “she,” “her,” etc.
And bring back more language about the Eucharist being sacrifice. The language used right now is too skewed toward the meal/eating/etc. side, and there should be more balance. Speaking more of sacrifice can prime people’s brains gradually to think about the Eucharist differently, and then they might start to think more about making personal sacrifices like fasting, working toward holiness, giving up free time to get to a weekday holiday of obligation Mass (BTW, stop celebrating holy days on Sundays!), etc.
Third, stop locking churches outside of daytime hours (happens a lot in my mostly urban area). How are people supposed to get to know and love the Blessed Sacrament if they can’t go and make a visit on their way to or from work, when they’re out and about for errands, etc.? If the neighborhood is sketchy, so what? Put up some security cameras, keep the lights on, and let people come. The way I finally came to know and love Jesus as a person, and to come to appreciate the Eucharist deeply, was through off-hours visits to church. At first, I would pop in for a quick few minutes when I was running from one place to the next, at a time when I had no sense of what the Blessed Sacrament was–I was a young adult and had only gone to Mass because my parents took us, and my family was practicing but outwardly only–but over time, those 5-minute visits opened the way to a relationship with God I couldn’t have had otherwise, and it became an hour at a time several times a week. Find a way to leave the churches unlocked, and then promote individual visits during the week.
Father, I’d like to clarify what I said just a bit. The terms I had in mind are “substance” and “accidents”. These words have meaning to be sure, but not the meaning given in the explanation of transubstantiation. Try explaining this to someone raised as a fundamentalist Protestant (the majority of people where I live) or to an uneducated Catholic. They think the Church must be nuts. Just leave it a mystery, which by the way, is easy to explain. It’s something too deep and big to understand. It has to be experienced.
[Wrong again. The answer is NOT to dumb it down so that others can understand. Not only is that condescending, it is counterproductive. Keep it smart and explain it. But that means that you have to be able to explain it. That means that YOU have to understand what you are talking about. It isn’t rocket science, but it does need a clear explication. Can YOU do that? Can you explain matter, form, substance and accident? If you cannot, until you can perhaps you would do better not to criticize it.]
@Elizabeth D I’ve been thinking a lot about what those generational differences might signify, especially because my own family has had an enormous retention problem between those born in the ’60s and their kids born in the ’90s. When I discuss these things with the older set, it usually turns out (for example) that they do believe in the Real Presence, but avoided teaching their children to act reverently before the Sacrament, “because we’re not supposed to do that kind of thing anymore”. Twenty years later, disaster. My husband’s family took all the children to Benediction regularly, and they don’t have that problem at all.
Anyway, I suppose I was only thinking about first steps to reach adults. You’re right that good catechesis is critical.
Would it be legitimate to include that “it is important to attend mass every sunday and holy day of obligation but that doesnt mean that you need to recieve holy communion every time you attend. ” ?
Reinstate the Eucharistic Fast from Midnight.
Raphael S..
I would think too much internet is more of a hindrance to holiness today than the TV set.
But, I do watch too much college football – so, point needed.
This crisis of Faith has gone on for quite some time.
All good suggestions mentioned already.
But, I believe this will only be reversed by Divine Intervention.
Specifically, when Her Immaculate Heart Triumphs.
Then we will witness a powerful restoration of Faith in the Real Presence.
I think the best we can hope for is that the document has a snappy Latin title with Custodes in the title. That way Cdnl Cupich will call it a gift.
I agree with Roy, except I’d say allow medication.
I’d also add that my local NO priest made it a point a few weeks back to tell us the Mass is a sacrifice. It’s not just a memorial supper.
I converted when I was 14. Although it was an NO parish and it was still the felt banner kind of Era, I was blessed to be taught by a wonderful nun. She explained it something like this: our Lord knew we as people couldn’t handle a weekly crucifixion nor could we eat flesh in it’s regular form, nor drink blood in its regular for. Therefore Jesus instituted the Eucharist so we could easily follow his commands and offer him to the Father.
I will always be grateful for her wisdom and caring.
Realistically, the Bishops must demand an end to liturgical abuses. Enough is enough. They must enforce this in their dioceses.
The re-transalation of the Missale Romanum was a big first step. The issue of music must be addressed next. How about using the entrance and communion antiphons instead of replacing them with contemporary hymns? How about music that is really sacred, that makes one believe that the Real Presence is indeed really present. Declare “Jazz Masses” verbotten.
How about mandating that the clergy stop adlibbing and going “off script”? The people will take Mass and the Eucharist seriously when the clergy begin to.
“Say the black, do the red”.
Of course, all of what I said can be found in the extraordinary form. Oh, wait…
Many of these are excellent. But they address outside behavior. The law can be a teacher, but it is usually not the best. I would point the bishops as to how reverence can be manly? Our problem of loss of manliness and loss of reverence may be connected. Is adoration good? Of course. But many adoration chapels look more like nonna’s sewing room than places to encounter the Lord of Glory. Manly reverence would seem to not focus on familiarity and devotion but commitment, dedication and excellence.
1. Have all priests act in a respectful manner.
2. Make sure that altar servers act appropriately by training them.
3.Instruct congregations that genuflection is a sign of respect- and is expected unless an infirmity is present.
4. Only religious distribute the Body of Christ. Although I have been an EMHC for many years, many of my associates dress in very casual attire. I always wear my church attire out of respect for the honor that I have been permitted. I was taught to dress as if I was attending a special occasion. I dress as the sisters instructed me, long departed but not forgotten.
5. Expect silence in church out of respect for WHO is present on the altar.
6. Place a sign at every entrance to the church. This is a Sacred Place. In many churches in Rome, such signs are present and do help.People need to be constantly reminded that GOD lives here. Expect reverence and correct irreverent behavior.
I agree with the many excellent suggestions above. We get what we expect and by correcting behavior that has become the norm.
No more touching of the hosts by unconsecrated hands.
.
Restore the three hour fasting requirement.
.
Eliminate World Youth Days and other such concert-style events where the Holy Eucharist is handed out like candy even to people with food in their other hand, without a care as to whether the person is even Catholic.
There are three very easy things the bishops could do: 1) encourage/demand ad orientem worship nationwide; 2) abolish or severely limit the use of extraordinary ministers and require that Holy Communion be received on the tongue while kneeling; and 3) take seriously their responsibility to ensure reverent worship in every parish church, oratory, shrine, and chapel in their dioceses (i.e. reform all heterodox or wacky parishes and remove heterodox or wacky priests from ministry if they refuse to celebrate according to the rubrics).
That being said, we’ll probably just get a handful of Eucharistic-themed conferences in various dioceses replete with talks by engaging speakers punctuated by praise and worship concerts. Not necessarily bad, but not all that helpful either.
There are three very easy things the bishops could do: 1) encourage/demand ad orientem worship nationwide; 2) abolish or severely limit the use of extraordinary ministers and require that Holy Communion be received on the tongue while kneeling; and 3) take seriously their responsibility to ensure reverent worship in every parish church, oratory, shrine, and chapel in their dioceses (i.e. reform all heterodox or wacky parishes and remove heterodox or wacky priests from ministry if they refuse to celebrate according to the rubrics).
That being said, we’ll probably just get a handful of Eucharistic-themed conferences in various dioceses replete with talks by engaging speakers punctuated by praise and worship concerts. Not necessarily bad, but not all that helpful either.
Nothing will come of it because the aging hippies still control the purse strings and they want things “their way“. At least it’s that way in my parish. The pastor caves every time.
I will mention some things that have worked at our parish (NO, but also TLM).
– Well trained, reverent altar BOYS. (Demonstrate to the faithful how to behave, including silence, and kneeling while receiving)
– Adoration (1 hour), confession and Benediction before daily Mass.
– Have the servers watch closely while the faithful receive, and chase down anyone who doesn’t consume the Eucharist. (Father or another man will usually go.)
– Reverence from Father goes a long way. Love of the liturgy, love of the Eucharist.
– Obviously, we have TLM and NO. It helps the community. They are not distinct.
-We regularly have processions. We take Our Lord to the world. It’s awesome, and very well attended.
1) Leaving distribution of the Eucharist to Major Orders, and, if absolutely needed, (male) instituted acolytes.
2) Have intinction as the only way to administer Communion under both kinds.
3) Revival of the Forty Hours’ devotion. Perhaps by deanery/district, to allow the clergy in that area to participate in number. Ordinary can set an example by starting with the Cathedral; he and any auxiliaries should leave room on their calendars for participating/leading other events.
4) In densely populated cities, Corpus Christi Processions from one church to another.
4) Reviving use of the communion paten.
Forgot to edit numbering on my list. Mea culpa.
Forgot to edit numbering on my list. Mea culpa.
In addition to the excellent suggestions, I add the ones that have not been suggested.
1) Clean house in Catholic schools. A great majority of staff are in open disagreement with Church doctrine, and the Eucharist is certainly one of those issues. Get the bishops involved in the hiring and firing process and make devotion to the faith an actual job qualification.
2a) Have all bishops in the diocese where live Trudeau, Biden, and any other pro-surgical-infanticide Catholic politicians have a private sit-down and make clear to them the need for public repentance. Give them 24 hours. Do this all on the same day. Arrange for a public photo op the next day.
2b) The next day, again, coordinated in advance, each unrepentant politician is publicly excommunicated using the traditional “bell, book, and candle” rite. A photo op indeed.
2c) Weekly Friday Eucharistic processions in front of all these politicians’ offices. Prayers of reparation, and for their conversion said publicly for them, frequently. Lay people encouraged to offer up fasting for their conversions.
3) Print St. Thomas Aquinas’ pre-communion prayers and post-communion prayers and put them in the pews.
4) Temporarily, require the Eucharist to be the topic of homilies at least 2 Sundays per month, and at least once per week Monday-Saturday.
According to Cardinal Roger Mahony, in an adoring interview published by the official
Vatican News, this document is a terrible mistake that will do nothing for the Eucharist and unfairly targets Biden and other “Catholic” Democrats whose abortion bloodlust is far outweighed by their commitment to the really important Catholic teachings on climate change and illegal immigration.
According to Mahony, all we need for eucharistic revival is more “dialogue” and “encounter.”
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2021-11/cardinal-mahony-encourages-us-bishops-constructive-dialogue.html
Step 1: The bishop should act like he, personally, believes that the Eucharist is the Son of God. He can do this by personally leading adoration at the cathedral, acting with clear reverence toward the Eucharistic species, and by clearly and communicating (and maintaining a list, accessible to ordinary and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion) to the culprit and the ministers, who may not receive Holy Communion in their diocese because of manifest grave sin. Obviously this should always be accompanied by a pastoral explanation of why the sin is wrong, and the law (and I think it’s divine, not ecclesiastical?) that requires the denial of Holy Communion for manifest grave sin. He should publicly announce what sort of procedure he is following for this at the start of the year.
Step 2: Bishops can establish and enforce liturgical rules for clergy and lay ministers, including: Put the tabernacle front and center in the sanctuary. The priest is not the most important person here, so the priest is not front and center. All ministers, altar servers, etc. genuflect to the tabernacle when crossing in front of it. Yes, you have to pay attention to where you are relative to Jesus at all times. Life is like that. Provide kneelers so that those who wish to receive kneeling can do so, even if they happen to not have the best knees, balance, or leg strength. Each priest is to provide adoration at least once a month, and participate in a public Eucharistic procession in the general region at least once a year. Enforce the prohibition on receiving Holy Communion as ordered by the bishop, and any other bishop for members of his own diocese. Priests are also to exercise their best judgement on those who are not public figures, but who can nonetheless sin gravely and publicly, and inform the bishop when they do so. Extraordinary ministers who are not willing to abide by this shall cease to be extraordinary ministers (without any implication that this is a character flaw: laypersons are not the rulers of a parish so this is really not our job – but if you can’t take the heat, get out of the oven). Preach a Sunday homily yearly on receiving Holy Communion worthily, and a mini-sermon on the matter at Christmas and Easter. It should be as gentle as possible, without sacrificing an ounce of clarity. Murkiness is scary, not gentle. Provide Confession *far* more than one hour a week on Saturday. These changes should be accompanied by a letter from the bishop to be read at Mass, so people know where the changes are coming from and can receive appropriate catechesis on why.
Step 3: Most dioceses have newspapers. For a solid year, every issue should have an article discussing some aspect of Eucharistic theology, with at least 6 written by the bishop. Every issue should also have an article about a Eucharistic devotion.
I have deliberately selected these so as not to disturb any NO sacred cows (except for the one about not denying Holy Communion to anyone) too badly. EMHCs are not forbidden. Female servers, lectors, ministers are not forbidden. Receiving Holy Communion standing and in the hand is not forbidden. Liturgical behavior is enforced on clergy and servers, not on laity. This is because it is entirely unfair to take several generations of people who’ve been ignorantly acting badly since childhood, and jerk them around and force them to change all their habits and ways of thinking in a matter of months. That tactic is part of what got us into this mess. So the first step is to get the clergy and ministers to behave properly, provide options for laity to behave properly, and provide them decent catechesis for what may be the first time in their lives. Then let people ponder and ruminate on it for a while. Then reassess the situation, because it will not look anything like the present situation.
Teach, Preach about the Real Presence. Start with the folks going to Mass and teach the Real Presence. It is impossible to approach without reverence if you believe in the Real Presence.
Good points made by all. I think catechesis is key. People need to hear why Our Lord instituted the Eucharist, why we shouldn’t receive if not in a state of grace. Explain why we should genuflect toward the tabernacle. I think that people also need to be taught about the Incarnational aspect of our faith. Yes, God is Omnipresent and Immanent, but Our Lord is truly present in His glorified humanity in the Holy Eucharist. It is something altogether unique; although it is a mystery, there is a physicality to His Real Presence that is distinct from His Transcendence. Parents should be teaching their children. However, the bishops should by now be well aware that the laity need instruction. Every diocese could and should undertake to catechize the laity. Too many hymns, various announcements and excessively long homilies also detract from the consecration being the obvious center-point of the mass. This Sunday I attended a N.O. mass. It was hardly apparent that the consecration was the crux of the liturgy. So many protestant hymns, awkward and unnecessary applause (for dubious reasons) and a long rambling homily. All of these things detracted so much from the celebration of the liturgy. Nothing about it was….well, liturgical.
It came across as a mish-mash of various activities. One person to do the first reading. Someone else to sing the psalm. Person number one returns to read the second reading. Then the priest reads the gospel. So much doing without any focus or center of gravity. In due time, when the boomers have all gone on to their reward, those who still practice the faith will likely foster a return to a more solemn approach to worship that stems from the virtue of piety. In the meantime, a little bit of solid catechesis would be helpful. It also would be helpful if the tabernacle wasn’t tucked away around the corner near the closest with the jamitor’s shop-vac. Just sayin’.
There needs to be time ( at least 5 minutes) after Mass concludes to continue in prayer, having just received Jesus. We don’t know exactly how long the real presence remains, but our behavior reflects what we believe. By sitting or kneeling in silence, unaware of others, we model reverence for His Presence, that we hold in our hearts. It’s a very intimate time, of full of Graces from the Eucharist. Savor the time and be a good example, even if others are chatting as they hurry out of church.
Every one of the preceding entries and all of the related news items I read or hear are talking about the external forum – what is visible to another human being. Seemingly nobody talks about what really matters to each one of us, what may be known only to God and (hopefully) ourselves, the internal forum. Now a Eucharistic minister may or may not be able to recognize a pro-abortion public person and almost certainly not a private one.
But God does. And God knows when He is being mocked by someone who cares nothing about the 5th Commandment, the 2nd Great Commandment or sacrilegiously mocking God by unworthily receiving Holy Communion.
Galatians 6:7-8 : “Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh…”
More Benediction! My grandparents took me to Benediction every Sunday and I still remember it now and I am 70. Bring back incense, the Divine Praises and hymns.
Place the Tabernacle in the center of the sanctuary, prominently visible on the altar, and move the priest’s chair to the side.
(I’ve seen too many parish churches – still- where the Tabernacle is off to the side and the priest sits front and center.)
The coming widespread suffering might do it. Cf., Matthew 13: 12-15.
From Louis Bouyer’s memoirs: “…the main business of the liturgy is not to teach us this or that lesson easily converted into pat formulas; it is to place the faithful, without them quite knowing how, into a certain state of mind which it would be perfectly fruitless to try to recreate by explaining it.”
The Novus Ordo, alcohol like, will evaporate to nothing, The Mass of the Ages…Balsamic Vinegar, smaller and stronger.
What Elizabeth D said. I am reminded of Professor Kingsley’s statement in the TV series The Paper Chase “you come here with skulls full of mush; if you survive, you leave thinking like a lawyer”. We need to get parishioners who enter the Church with skulls full of mushy thinking about the faith, and have them leave thinking like Catholics
Increase times and availability of confession. Why not daily? And not just in the evening hours? We closed the Churches down so if we are that concerned, confession should be a priority. I don’t think you will get anywhere without this.
More times and places for Adoration as well. Promote good books, homilies and resources on this matter.
I am a big fan of getting out of God’s way. Get people to a state of Grace and get them before God and he will do the rest.
What the bishops can do?
Stop pretending to be politicians.
Since any attack on the Eucharist is of diabolical origin, I think they should exorcise the entire country. Together. Each day that they’re together. That would be like an entire fleet firing off a collective broadside in this realm of spirtual warfare.
There’s nothing wrong about this teaching document that they’re drafting, but who’s going to read it? Or if it does get read far and wide, who will give it more than a brief once-through? If they want direct catechesis, they might as well declare this the year if catechesis and require all their priests to preach from the Baltimore Catechism every Sunday for the year.
But catechesis becomes meaningless if act does not follow the teaching. I think it’s the bishop’s place to set a liturgical example for his priests. And everyone above has had solid points in this realm. Get rid of communion in the hand, altar girls, bad music, EP2+, and have at least the canon of the Mass ad orientem, and it’s likely that good stuff will start happening.
Here’s an example of “dumbing down” in real life. Kids shoes seem to not come with laces anymore. Why is that? Can a parent not teach a kid a simple shoe tie knot? Well, now they don’t have to because Velcro is everywhere. Velcro is quick and easy, but what about learning how to tie a knot? Isn’t that a good life skill? Isn’t the knot more secure?Apparently the powers that be have made Velcro stylish (or it just sells because it’s easy), so now kids are not needing to learn a basic life skill. This idea of dumbing things down so every age level has some grasp or ability is extremely misguided. I don’t want to live in a world where Velcro has to replace knots because no one knows what a knot is anymore, so they cannot teach how to tie one, thus the knot becomes unused and forgotten. People see a knot somewhere and they think it’s a big complicated mess. We should first try to learn what it is we have to teach so that we can teach it well and the necessary knowledge gets passed down. Adults should demand shoelace-like teachings again and be on the lookout for quick and easy Velcro-like replacements!
Over forty years ago, I recall attending a student Mass at my college (circa 1976). At the homily the presider (NO Orwellian-speak for ‘priest’) asked those in attendance what could be done to make the Mass more relevant. After listening to an endless babble of banality, I asked the priest if it were still true that the Mass was a re-enactment of calvary, an ongoing unbloody Sacrifice in which God Himself became Present under the appearance of bread and wine, to be consumed by us according to his words in the Gospel, unto eternal life? That He made Himself Present to us in the Flesh? That this great miracle took place at every Mass?
If these things were indeed true, I speculated that there was nothing we mere humans could do to make that more relevant than God had already done Himself. I hesitated to think that clowns, and balloons, and drums, and guitars, and the ongoing tinkering, from the mundane to the profane, could improve one whit on what God had ordained and the Church developed in its long liturgical history. There were clowns at the Cross to be sure – those screaming blasphemies at the dying Savior.
In so many parishes the NO has become community theatre, in which everyone has a ‘part’ to play in order to feel included. Lectors of varying reading skills, distractions, a host of un-ordained EMs mishandling without consecrated hands and fingers the Sacred Species, atrocious music, arm-raising histrionics during the Our Father, hand holding, disruptive reaching across pews and aisles to glad-hand our neighbors in the middle of the liturgy, the priest facing the congregation instead of God in prayer on behalf of our salvation, etc., etc., etc.
We have lost sight of the purpose, the meaning, and hence the belief in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. How many souls have been lost in the search for inclusion and relevance? Can we count them?
While I have attended many a reverent NO, at the end of the day TLM places the focus on God Present in the Eucharist in a way the NO cannot do. The prayers of TLM say in ways the prayers of the NO cannot what we are doing, and why we are there participating (yes, even in – or especially in – silence) along with Mary, and John, and Mary Magdelene and a host of adoring angels, awed in knowing the Living God reposes on the altar, and makes Himself with us at the Consecration and consumed by us in Holy Communion.
What can the bishops do? What God called them to do – shepherd souls to heaven. Allow and promote the EF. Encourage adoration chapels. Teach the doctrines of our Faith. Be fearless in proclaiming Truth. Eliminate the bit players and let the ordained priests run the liturgy. Abolish lay liturgical committees. Open the churches. Emphasize the graces obtained in confession. Act and do as if they believe in the True Presence. Catechize. Save souls. Pray without ceasing.
Yes, as others mentioned, more Jesus Christ at the altar and Eucharistic Processions in the public square. More reverence in the house of God, less late night talk show host monkeyshines at the altar, spittle-flecked Karl Marx sermons and Twisted Sister tribute skits in the sanctuary. Life is short, eternity is long.
How about starting with the priest actually preaching on the subject from the pulpit on Sunday? It would probably be the first time many parishioners ever heard about the real presence in the eucharist.
How about starting with the priest actually preaching on the subject from the pulpit on Sunday? It would probably be the first time many parishioners ever heard about the real presence in the eucharist.
Many many excellent comments – especially well summarized by “misanthrope”.
The very things they could do may have been possible but are now declared “verboten” by the current Vatican and PF with their active hatred of the UA which contains all of these important externals. I have zero expectations that anything other than sadly feeble words will emerge from this gaggle of guys and semi-guys. No actions, of course.
But the USCCB has no authority anyway. Nothing prevents each individual bishop from doing the right thing(s) in his own diocese. Nothing prevents other than the threat of retribution by the frauds currently in charge. Bishop Paprocki has done more than most and earned the displeasure of a senator and many others on the wrong side of this fight. Any one of the bishops could do what he has done, at least, and send a signal to his flock that he believes what he says and maybe they should too. I will not hold my breath waiting for the others. So sadly a missed opportunity.
When was the last time anyone saw a priest kneeling before the tabernacle in prayer? A priest who does not lead by example will not accomplish much. A priest should kneel before Mass and after Mass. Post communion is not a time for announcements, babbling, comments, clapping, congratulating. People need to contemplate the Divine Majesty and it needs to start with the priest leading the way by his own example. And grab the microphone and tell the people to leave the church immediately if they wish to chat and take it out to the parking lot. But who will reform the clergy? They’re the first to engage in loud conversation in the sanctuary with their groupie female entourage.
All of these suggestions are great – I’m struck by how, in sum, they seem to say “return to the practices of … our grandparents”.
First off, I agree 100% with all that has been said here. Really good stuff.
But, at the risk of sounding really childish I’d like to observe that if Jesus had just shown up and said, “Yeah, I am the Son of God,” no one would have believed Him. It was the miracles that gave Him credibility. He also promised that His believers will be able to do even greater works, and yet we can’t perform them. Why is that? The Saints demonstrated such amazing charisms and wonderous mystical gifts. I’ve never even met anyone who even knew anything about the nine levels of prayer beyond maybe the first two.
I’m having trouble making my point here, but the best analogy that I can think of is like an artist on a canvas. The processions and the adoration should be painting a picture on our souls; a picture that other people should see when they come into contact with us. If they can’t see that these things make us different, why should they believe that Jesus is really there? Why should we believe it?
And I will be the first one to take the blame! I have received the Eucharist many times, and I’ve been to adoration many times, and yet, I can NOT make any progress in my faith life. It makes me so frustrated! I wish there was someone out there who could show me how to make profess. Don’t tell me, SHOW me.
I was bashed in the head by the truth recently. Apparently I was not getting it so God nudged me. I had not recieved in a year or more and a priest who watched this in gave me the penance of meditating on the Eucharist. He wanted me to recieve Eucharist in the hand per Covid guidelines. Australians don’t get this at all I must say. They have been beat down by their bishops who accepted Thomas Groom as their theological model (there is no truth/truth is different for different people) so I looked it up, because you can’t meditate without matter. Without too much effort I found that EVERY SINGLE Pope and EVERY SINGLE heretic who hated or loved the Eucharist in the hand idea ALL did so for the same reason, all the way back to Arianism, Because it would destroy, by repeated action, belief in the sacrumental priesthood and because it would destroy, by repeated action, belief in the real presence. Read any writing from any Pope, even Paul VI, and you will find they hated this idea for this very specific reason. And here we are safe in our ambiguity. You want belief in the real presence. You just need to end communion in the hand and wait 3-6 months. That is all you have to do. The liturgy would be great, but you don’t need to fix the whole liturgy to get this one point right. We actually have bishops here who will tell the congregation that, “this is Jesus made really present for you…+ rest of homily” in so many words, and then give communion in the hand and don’t get why people don’t believe it.
So many excellent suggestions that will never be implemented. Ohmie hammered the bull between the eyes for me though: Act like you believe. If their excellent selves have no idea what that looks like they could go into the streets and find a Protestant (or anyone really) and ask “if you believed what I say I believe what would that look like?”
That is why the people in the pews don’t believe, it’s why the Protestants in the streets don’t believe… it’s why my children don’t believe. They look at the bishops, the priests, the parents and they compare what belief would look like to what they actually see and then they wonder who we think we’re fooling, other than ourselves.
One of the most heartening things I have observed was Bishop Baker in Birmingham Alabama coming to my parish for confirmation. He does not celebrate the Latin Mass but he used the traditional rite of confirmation in Latin. Since he does not celebrate the TLM, our priest celebrated the Mass and Bishop Baker kneeled along with the servers during Amanda after the consecration. I found this degree of humility on his part very moving and believe it could only be exhibited by a Bishop who truly believes in the divinity of the Holy Eucharist. Hence my recommendation is to ban concelebrations. If there are two or more priests present no celebrants can kneel with the servers to show their sincere faith in divinity of the Eucharist.
During and after the consecration. . .
Like many others: communion on the tongue, to kneeling communicants, would probably do more than any other similarly-sized change. I am not sure a bishop in the US can mandate it in his own diocese, (under current universal norms), but he can sure promote it far and wide. press it, ask his pastors whether they are promoting it and if not, WHY not…etc.
But not alone. With major catechesis from the pulpit, and with an example set by the priest, and by altar boys who are re-trained to treat the entire time they are in the sanctuary as a time they give every moment their attention to Christ in the tabernacle, on the altar, etc.
This reminds me of another pious wish have have had: I would love to see a priest undertake a whole year of educating his parish during mass, on the mass and how it all fits together: how every aspect of it leads inexorably to the climax of the consecration, the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary, offered to the Father. It could be done as a series of 5 minutes before mass (while people are coming in and getting settled, every week. Start with the prayers at the foot of the altar. Or start with Old Testament sacrifices, which the New Covenant replaced. But TEACH people what the mass really is, extensively.
Devotion to the Eucharist arises from belief in it; it would be a terrible devotion which lacked belief. And belief arises from faith, and faith arises from three basic sources: one’s family, or other grounding authority; personal conversion or conviction; and the evidence of one’s own senses.
It is impossible for our bishops to do what the family does: with a few scattered exceptions, they have removed themselves from any authoritative place in the hearts of their own charges. And unless they are thaumaturgists in the style of Elijah, we should not look for any physical evidence from them.
As to conversions, there have been bodies of bishops who have increased faith in the Eucharist this way. I can think of one well-known incident, long ago, in which a group of bishops converted a large number of Jews all at once, at about nine o’clock in the morning. But I am not sure our own bishops will duplicate this success.
Our bishops face an additional problem, in that their “Novus Ordo” Mass, and everything that goes with it, slowly but surely works against faith in the Eucharist. Not only that, a significant number of our bishops have no faith in the Eucharist themselves, and a number of the others are losing it. I doubt that a simple majority of the bishops actually want to encourage faith in the Eucharist.
While one could attempt to pull out the infidels, this would seem to be a situation of tares and wheat, even if the thing were possible at all. No: the only thing to do is to remove the conditions under which the tares can thrive. Restore the true Mass to its proper place: after a period of turmoil, the tares will largely remove themselves. And then, so far from requiring encouragement, faith in the Eucharist will again be impossible to suppress. I see no other plausible strategy.
The Mass for growing numbers is just something their parents went to, to listen to some boomer tier social justice blather. There is nothing spiritual. And nothing spiritual is a phrase applicable to the usual bible translation and its edited lectionary. The New Order does little to promote reverence, and priests will push rubrics to the limit and beyond with inane chatter filling the new quiet points. Eucharistic adoration will help, perhaps spiritual minded preaching (ie not do as Francis) which avoids going on about the poor who are always with us, but only with the Mass of Ages becoming common, can there be a revival, that the Great Apostasy can somehow fade. And that won’t happen with Francis and others of his mind holding power. Consider how stadia were filled for Eucharistic leagues in a previous age. Now that’s beyond comprehension to the modern. The legacy of Pope Montini has been an utter disaster.
Honest questions: why does USCCB exist? What does a US Bishop or his diocese benefit from attendance at these meetings? How does the USCCB further the mission of the church in the US?
I’m not asking to be a smart aleck, I’m asking because I don’t know.
The “Mystery of Faith” response needs to be changed in the Novas Ordo. Our responses are what the Episcopalians say (and they are Protestants btw). The True Mystery of our faith is “Christ is present on the altar before us.” What an impact that would have for the young minds and hearts.
….Along with all the other wonderful suggestions above, many of which our Pastor implements now, but the Mass is still the episcopal service, so I have started attending the TLM across town at 8:30 and singing for our good priest at 10:30, praying for change.
Lex orandi Lex credenti
Agree strongly to what Rosary Rose said about the Mystery of Faith. “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again”? As Rosary Rose points out, this misses the point (and is muddled to boot). The other versions aren’t better.
Frankly, the Mystery of Faith should be dropped. Forcing the congregation into a vocal response immediately after the Consecration is not conducive to reflection or adoration.
In addition, NO parishes should stop using Eucharistic Prayer 2. It is the favorite, being the shortest, but it says very little of substance. Eucharistic Prayers 4 and 1 are much more conducive to reverence and to an appreciation that the Mass is a Eucharistic sacrifice.
Separately: it should be made clearer that the principle reason for the Mass is not the readings and the homilies. Many, many Catholics think that they “don’t get anything” out of Mass unless there is a “good homily”. This is even true for people educated in Catholic schools. Some I know personally, who are thirsting for holiness, have turned to Protestant churches where they can hear a thoughtful sermon that includes a good deal of explanation about the Bible. There thus is a very widespread lack of understanding about the principal purpose of the Mass. (I wonder if most priests and bishops even understand this problem.) This is the most important thing to fix, I think. Secondly, as was pointed out in some of the comments above, it is important for the homilies to be tied to and explain the Mass readings. Many are thrusting for knowledge and unfortunately a lot of homilies miss the boat.
Regarding your comments ‘Lockwood’ on the Eucharistic prayers….
It has always been my sense that the NO does not sufficiently build, through its prayers, anticipation of the Consecration, the shortest version most in use (Prayer 2) being the worst offender.
In the EF, the lead-in to the Consecration is both orderly and intense, with the ringing of the bells an additional alert to the faithful of the Miracle about to transpire in its presence. We are spiritually prepared and interiorly enriched; brought to quiet, deep recollection prior to our Lord’s arrival. The awesomeness of the Sacrament is abundantly manifest.
In the NO, it often feels to me that the lead-in is rushed and insufficient, with the Consecration a sudden and almost unlooked for Event. Then – BOOM – it’s over and everyone has to ‘talk’ the mislabeled ‘Mystery of Faith’. No bells, no incense, little adoration, then a quick slide to self-awareness instead of out-of-self reverence. And we wonder why so many Catholics do not believe in the True Presence.
Admittedly, I am joyously spoiled by the reverence and majesty of the UA, and thank God for its continued practice. Is a home altar and traveling priest my future………?
Simon_GNR,
Allowing others like Deacons to distribute seems to have led to the idea that even more people are needed for distribution of Communion. Some parishes are large, but what has led to this idea that distributing Communion must go fast?
At NO parishes I’ve seen EM’s bolt to the back of the church like they’re on a mission to get their section of the church done before the song is over only to not know what to do when a child with a mask on doesn’t seem to know what he himself is doing. The EM in this particular situation ended up “blessing” the child awkwardly because he wasn’t showing in any way that he was there to receive the host (didn’t take mask off and didn’t hold out his hand either). It was a confusing sight. In the end, I saw her say something to him and he held out his hands to receive the host and then consumed it. But all that led up to the final point was completely unnecessary, showed very bad catechesis and was just awful for promoting any realization of the true presence of God to either of them, and anyone who witnessed it. These EMs need to back off and let the one who consecrated the host do the distributing. If anyone has a problem with it, they should beg God for more priests and more churches so the lines go faster. Or just use the extra time to pray in the pew, some lingering time might help awaken the idea that they just received God Almighty on their tongue. But to squish everything into one skippy hymn and call in the troops to distribute is not helping the folks in the pew recognize the sacredness of the host they are about to receive. I have also witnessed a young mother give the host to her toddler after she received it in her hands. Is this snack time or reward for being good? What is going on here? All of these unfortunate events could have been avoided with Communion on the tongue while kneeling.
So many great suggestions. But how do we get the Bishops to believe in the Real Presence?
I can’t add much to the many great suggestions.
The comment by Gab, says it all. It is not a stretch to say that most of these “shepherds” do not have supernatural faith because if they had there would have been a lot more than the faithful 8 who would have voted against the document which does not contain the refusal of communion to pro abortion “Catholic” politicians.
They got their marching orders from the Bergoglian office of the papal nuncio whose speech was about not politicizing the Eucharist. Hearing those words makes me physically sick, but they won the day, the slaughter of the innocents will continue and if we think COVID was bad then we ain’t seen nothing yet.
All this being done as we ( in the novus ordo anyway) are finishing the church year and our thoughts should be on the last 4 things proves the point that the supernatural faith is greatly lacking among the vast majority of these apparatchiks.
Save the 8, the rest are not shepherds.
May God have mercy on us!
May the BVM pray for us spiritually orphaned!
May St. Joseph, patron of the Universal church and terror of demons protect us from their evil.
… and special prayers for our brothers and sisters in the diocese of San Diego, whose “bishop” McElroy brought up his gravest concern being the need not to invest funds in companies who extract the most evil fossil fuels because you know climate change blah blah blah … what a horrible evil compared to over 60 million babies murdered while the bishops have been dialoguing for 50 years.
My utter disgust of their actions cannot be adequately expressed.
I think,to start of the Eucharistic Years, the bishops need to have a Procession of Reparation from the USCCB building to the Basilica. They should cover themselves in ashes at their arrival at the Basilica and all lie prostrate on the steps before entrance ( or all lie prostrate on the altar) during a Litany of Reparation. Followed by Adoration. To repair for locking us out of churches and sacraments. THEN they can start their Eucharistic year.
The question itself underlines the problem. If a bishop, or especially a group of bishops, asks such a question of themselves, it immediately points to a problem in their understanding and faith. If a person has true belief in something, they never need to ask the question of how to engender true belief in others, unless you are asking from an academic or philosophical standpoint. The true belief always compels one’s actions and one “instinctively” knows what to do.
When we talk about belief in the Eucharist, it is a matter of faith, but at the same time it is a matter that is held rationally with a degree of knowledge. The laity know that the Eucharist is Christ because that knowledge has been passed to us from Christ Himself, through the apostles, their linage, and their present-day successors, one of which is the layman’s local bishop. Are the local bishops exercising their teaching office to teach knowledge of the true religion, here that the Eucharist is Christ? (No not adequately, is the charitable response, not as a whole, obviously). Because belief in the Eucharist is also a matter of theological faith (a grace), the belief exists because Christ Himself chooses to have a relationship with the individual (and the individual cooperates in this), the individual has a form of knowledge that the Eucharist is Christ because Christ has a personal relationship with Him and it is from this relationship that the individual gains this true theological belief in the Eucharist. Now if a person asks the question “How do I get other people to have a relationship with a friend that I have?”, in a non-rhetorical manner, we would seriously wonder if the person is even friends with the other. If you are a friend with someone, you know how to introduce them to other people. Now Christ is God, and it is from Him that all friendships find their beginning and end, so the question is not so much what should the person or the other do, but what can Christ do? Which of course is done with prayer, fasting, almsgiving, etc. So if a person asks “How can I get others to believe in Christ?” and they do not start with improving their own relationship and asking Christ (in prayer, fasting, almsgiving, etc.) to begin a relationship with others, their own relationship with Christ is, charitably, rocky and not on good grounds. So more prayer, fasting, almsgiving, etc.
There is so much that can be done for the laity, but it must start with the bishop’s own faith and the exercising of their own office.
If only we could recruit help. Maybe it’d go something like this.
Help Wanted: locations including major NFL, MLB, NBA, and major metropolitan and population center cities around every state in the US, as well as same type locales worldwide. Aim of role: focused re-education and up skilling of major global organizations’ key and foundational tenant, how to accomplish its mission and reasons for existence. Necessary skills include ability to explain what is a mystery, translate complex technical historic documents into understandable and pedestrian principles without condescension, speak truth to power to those unaccustomed to frank, honest ideation and discourse, using older forms of communication modalities (eg. paper) as well as new media to express concepts.
Requirements: baptized, confirmed faithful practicing Roman Catholic; willing to consent to validity of teachings and documents of Vatican Council II, the Cathechism of the Catholic Church, ability to evangelize
Ideal candidates will have: joy in living the Christian life
Key experience: frequent use of the sacrament of penance, praying the rosary, attending and praying Eucharistic Adoration
Absolute deal breaker, must have: convicted belief and demonstrated faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
So, what can the bishops do to encourage faith in the Eucharist?
Weeeelllll….
1. Form a delegation to pester Francis to declare definitively whether SSPX is or is not Catholic. I think 33 years quite enough to make a competent appraisal. They could be a great asset for renewal if everyone could put on their “big-boy” pants and learn to get along. Same for CMRI and SSPV. It’s (long since past) time to stop dithering.
2. Organize gatherings of all the wives of each parish. Provoke them to bring their all of their husbands to Mass.
3. Require a return to the all-male sanctuary. Establish twice-yearly sessions for the young men of the parish to learn to serve for Mass.
-When people scream about “rights”, remind them that women cannot be ordained as priests, thus having the ladies at the altar makes no sense.
– We’re going to Mass to meet God, not exercise (incorrectly) perceived “rights”.
..Note my sister and my younger niece may well throw a fit over that too.
4. Require every parish to organize a schola of young men for Chant. Teach the simpler chants for now. We can worry the Liber later.
(People will throw tantrums about how nobody understands Latin, so….)
5. Require Catholic high schools to teach Latin. Since every university requires foreign language, let’s allow the youth to learn something more useful than secular humanism.
6. Require Catholic high school choirs begin to learn music of traditional composers. Palestrina, Franck, Victoria, Mozart, et al. Again, educators want to teach students how music can enthrall. So, let’s be truly enthralling for a change. If I enjoyed singing Turn Back, O Man or Peace is Flowing Like a River, imagine hearing Mozart’s Te Deum or O Magnum Mysterium instead.
(I do think it very ironic how I learned a Dona Nobis Pacem and that O Magnum from a Lutheran and a Baptist respectively. ..In secular schools.)
7. Require every parish–including those arranged in semi-circle–draw up plans to install altar rails within two years. Make clear we’ll expect them be used.
8. Follow all the other guidance people have given about Eucharistic processions and whatnot. Insist that parishes shall use incense during Eucharistic prayers on Sundays. Insist that each parish must organize at least one offering of the Rosary at least once each month.
Some of these may seem harsh. Well, ….they are. I recall taking the opposing side on almost everything–passionately–within the last 30 years. If I’ve seen mild success with some, I’ve seen dismal failure with most. I’ve had more than enough of half-measures of the past 30 years. My father once complained that many priests wouldn’t give up Latin until forced. Well, I suspect most parishes won’t give up the give up on “modern” ideas, they won’t touch a scrap of tradition, never mind Latin, until forced.
“But, at the risk of sounding really childish I’d like to observe that if Jesus had just shown up and said, “Yeah, I am the Son of God,” no one would have believed Him. It was the miracles that gave Him credibility.”
Exactly. Jesus gave evidence of His Power and Divinity. He has also given evidence of His Real Presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Priests need to tell us about the Eucharistic Miracles. Teach us about the scientific examinations of the Eucharist Miracles like that at Lanciano. Tell us about His HEART flesh! Gives a whole new and clear understanding of devotion to His Sacred Heart. He wants devotion to The Eucharist. And to His precious type AB ( universal recipient) Blood through which He took into Himself all our sin (He who was without sin became sin).
Redneckpride4ever, that is a beautiful way to explain it. If we actually saw what the Eucharistic truly is, I would not be able to partake. Thanks be to Jesus for His kindness.
It was a Eucharistic Miracle which caused the Pope to institute the Feast of Corpus Christi. My priest tells us about it on the Feast. We need to hear it more often and about the fact that it wasn’t the only one.
Why are we so afraid of discussing the supernatural? The Mass is supernatural! It’s a miracle every day. We need to be told of the concrete evidence of the miracle. Just like Jesus changing water into wine so His disciples believed in Him.
And I agree with so many of the other suggestions too.
Interesting timing. We have had a sequence of readings at daily Mass from Maccabees. It starts with the capitulation, and abandonment of the holy covenant, of some of the people to worldly Gentile ways[Monday]. It is followed by Eleazar’s refusal to give bad example to young people[Tuesday]. Then we hear the story about the seven brothers and their mother[Wednesday], the revolt of Mattathias[Thursday], the rededication of the Temple[Friday], and the failure of King Antiochus to impose his designs on Judah[Saturday].
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What a contrast with the bishop’s meeting.