Full marks plus an extra kudo to Jesuit Fr. Robert McTeigue, SJ. for his comments on “Eucharistic Revival”

I give full marks plus an extra kudo to Jesuit Fr. Robert McTeigue, SJ.

His article at Catholic World Report is OUTSTANDING.

How many times have I here urged GO TO CONFESSION!

Have I not again and and begged priests to hear confessions?

Do I not try to help people make a good confession when they go?

That’s because the Sacrament of Penance is of critical importance.  If the Eucharist (the Sacrament Itself and the celebration of the sacrament which is Mass) is the “source and summit” of our Catholic identity and lives, then the Sacrament of Penance MUST also be at the very core of our Catholic identity and lives.

Fr. McTeigue addresses the ongoing “Eucharistic Revival” effort in the USA.  He brings in a serious point and he is absolutely right to do so.   My emphases.

Will there be a Eucharistic revival?

Why invest so much time, personnel, and money into a form of Eucharistic Revival and a National Eucharistic Congress that cannot achieve its stated purposes?

My mother said, “If you don’t want people to read it, then don’t write it down.” What if you didn’t write something down because you didn’t think that it needed to be said? What if you didn’t write something down because you don’t want to say it?

I think of these things while following the three-year “Eucharistic Revival” that is underway (so I’m told) in the United States, a revival whose featured event is a National Eucharistic Congress. (Henceforth I’ll refer to the Revival and Congress together as ER/C.) I’m on the relevant mailing lists and follow the corresponding web pages. Today (10/23/23) prompted me to recall my mother’s wisdom. I searched for the words “confession” and “reconciliation” at EucharisticCongress.org There I found one reference to the sacrament. Under the menu of Frequently Asked Questions by those attending the Congress: “Will confession be available? Yes, there will be daily confession available for attendees.”

The organizers of the Eucharistic Congress, the great capstone event of the three-year Eucharistic Revival (already underway), the people who like to remind us that, “Revival is in the air!”, have nothing else to say about confession and the Eucharistic Congress. I could end here with, “And that’s why there won’t be a Eucharistic Revival.” But let’s look closer.

We needn’t review here the inseparable link between sacramental confession and Eucharistic piety. Regarding the consequences of unworthy reception of Holy Communion, it will suffice to refer to 1 Corinthians 11:27.

[…]

The lay people responsible for the content of the website—they either have a habit of frequent and devout sacramental confession, or they don’t. How likely is it that people with a habit of frequent and devout sacramental confession would have nothing to say about the link between confession and the Eucharist? How likely is it that such people really did mean to say more about it on their website, but just forgot?

Let’s turn to the clergy involved in approving, or at least agreeing to pay for, this website. How likely is it that more than a year after the launch of the website they paid for, reference to sacramental confession is still conspicuous by its absence?

[…]

Either the website for the ER/C is a monument to a lack of due diligence or nothing more was said about confession at the website because the responsible parties chose to say nothing more. In the latter case, we are looking at prima facie evidence of a sin of omission—but perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe there’s a really good reason for this silence about confession, and I’m unable to perceive it. If so, the responsible parties can contact me at the Station of the Cross Media Network. I’ll gladly present their explanation in print and on air.

Let’s expand the scope of our examination, to evaluate my claim that there will be no Eucharistic revival, if symptoms persist. I’ve written elsewhere about the link between and proper ordering of “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi.” Another reason I’m confident there won’t be Eucharistic revival this time around is because the organizers of the ER/C have focused nearly exclusively on the Lex Credendi. Whether this narrow focus is accidental or deliberate remains to be seen; but their trumpeting of Lex Credendi and their quiescence regarding Lex Orandi is at least suggestive.

[…]

I’ll stop quoting and send you there.  There is quite a bit more and he keeps hitting them out of the park.

As to his reference to lex orandi lex credendi

Do I not often say that “WE ARE OUR RITES!”?

This is what Father is getting at.    There must be a courageous and vigorous overhaul of our sacred liturgical worship.   You know the direction I would have it go.  That’s clear enough.  Most of you know, I think, how it would have to start… and NO… it would not start with sudden and brutally imposed changes as it was done in the late 60’s into the 70’s.

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Fr. Z KUDOS, GO TO CONFESSION, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Jesuits, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests, Save The Liturgy - Save The World, The Drill, The future and our choices and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

16 Comments

  1. Dan says:

    I pray that the eucharistic revival will be immensely successful. Bishop Cozzens is a good bishop and was a good choice for leadership, however….

    “We are our rites” The Eucharistic Revival was placed by the USCCB under the office of catechesis. This is mistake number one, it should be under the office of liturgy. According to the CCC 1069 “the Liturgy is the privileged place for Catechizing the people of God”!.

    No revival can take place without a correction of our Liturgical worship!

    Secondly consider the quote from Cardinal Ratzinger “Faced with the political and social crises of the present time and the moral challenge they offer to Christians, the problems of liturgy, and prayer could easily seem to be of second importance. But the question of the moral standards and spiritual resources that we need if we are to acquit ourselves in this situation cannot be separated from the question of our worship. Only if man, every man, stands before the face of God and is answerable to him, can man be sure of his dignity as a human being. Concern for the proper form of worship, therefore is not peripheral but central to our concern for man himself”

    The eucharistic revival is so much more than parading Jesus out one the town. (although the more processions the better!) If it is to be successful it has to first correct our Lex Orandi. Saying we had adoration is great, but saying we had adoration and led people to the belief they are adoring the one true God, really and truly present is quite another thing.

    Liturgy places us in our proper place before God. And the first step of that, as seen in every single Mass. Is to confess our sins.

  2. antcns says:

    My husband and I attended the ER in Mankato MN earlier this year sponsored by the Diocese of Winona Rochester. 5K attendees. Confessions were available throughout the day. Only priests distributed Communion. Excellent speakers and music. It was a beautiful event.

    I agree with all your exhortations regarding Confession. If only priests would make themselves frequently available at convenient times…our pastor does this, and the lines are long.

  3. Akita says:

    I’m 68 years old. I recall going to daily, high Latin Mass (with organ played by our Old-World trained Mr Budwiel, and sung by the 7th and 8th graders). It was profoundly beautiful and I loved it—I was a 4th grader. It was brutally taken from us. So I’m more inclined to have the liturgy brutally restored. Why waste one nano-second withholding edifying BEAUTY?

  4. Loquitur says:

    A few decades ago, my sister-in-law, who was a low-church Anglican at the time, came to a family baptism held during Sunday Mass. Afterwards she asked me: “You Catholics believe that Holy Communion is literally Jesus, don’t you?”. When I answered in the affirmative, she said: “Well, we don’t believe that, but it looks like we treat it with more reverence than you do”. I had no answer. She was right. Tragically, she still is, in most parishes anyway.

  5. BeatifyStickler says:

    Father, you have been saying this for years!!

  6. amenamen says:

    While you are at it, give him a kudos.
    Kudos is a Greek singular noun

  7. monstrance says:

    The good Bishop Baron put a booklet concerning this. It’s very well done. But…..booklets, videos, seminars, tracts, etc. just won’t cut it.
    I like to think about a child growing up in the Church witnessing nothing but the Novus Ordo Mass.
    What are the chances he believes in the Real Presence ?

  8. TheCavalierHatherly says:

    @amenamen

    “While you are at it, give him a kudos.
    Kudos is a Greek singular noun”

    Yes, and one that evokes the glorious exploits of the heroic age.

    https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=ku%3Ddos1

    How appropriate for a contemporary Jesuit standing up to speak truth.

  9. L. says:

    I think we have been catechized effectively about the Real Presence: Effectively, the “norm” is to receive in the hand while standing, and then to pinch the host between forefinger and thumb and pop Him in the mouth as, obviously, one would when consuming the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Creator of the Universe. We were taught how unimportant the Eucharist is when Catholic churches were closed without much protest all over the country during the influenza pandemic from China, including during Holy Week. In our diocese, our pretty-good Bishop re-formed lay pastoral councils. The first suggestion was to adopt the option of kneeling after the Agnus Dei prayer, as is the practice over most of the United States. Answer: “No,” because the Bishop’s corrupt and perverted predecessor maintained the practice first adopted by his modernist predecessor, so why change it? Um, because your pastoral council thought it would show reverence for the Real Presence, and the people in the pews want it?

  10. ProfessorCover says:

    “We are our rites!”
    On the Catholic Answers radio show the other day there was a guest who had written a book whose purpose was to show why no Catholic should convert to Eastern Orthodoxy (not in union with Rome). He said the “least” important issue is clown masses—when he debates an orthodox person they always bring this up because they are losing the argument. But to me it is the most important argument. Every gimmick that has been tried since the 1970’s from youth congresses to the new evangelization to Eucharistic congresses has not worked and will not work because the Rites are not consistent with the beliefs.
    If you believe it is the Body and Blood of our Lord, use a Rite that treats it seriously.

  11. Dan says:

    @L.
    I would say then the faithful should just do it. What the Bishop says against the true presence is of little importance if everyone just does it. It all starts with one. Start kneeling and watch it catch on.
    Cardinal Sarah said in one of his books. If your priest and your bishop refuse to be saints then be a saint for them.

  12. Sandy says:

    Dear Father Z, always keep shouting about confession! I was so sad to look at the bulletin at our previous parish, and see on the schedule: “confessions by appointment only”! Disgusting! Obviously it fits with what I have seen at the parish when I went back for a couple of funerals.

  13. William Tighe says:

    There is now a response to Fr. McTeigue’s article, FWIW:

    https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2023/11/07/working-for-a-eucharistic-revival-a-response-to-fr-mcteigue/

    (Please delete my previous comment.)

  14. JonPatrick says:

    Back when our parish did a survey where they asked what did we think was most important for the Eucharistic revival, I responded that we should encourage reception on the tongue and in addition provide kneelers at the front for those wishing to receive kneeling and not finding it easy to get up from the floor otherwise. Of course I never heard any response from my comments.

    At least confession is encouraged more. Back when I first started to attend this parish it was “by appointment only” then it went to “during adoration on 1st Saturday” and now there are published times before or after mass.

  15. Pingback: Fr. McTeigue responds to the response about the “Eucharistic Revival” without sufficient emphasis also on the Sacrament of Penance | Fr. Z's Blog

  16. Pingback: Fr. Z’s Commentary on Fr. McTeigue’s Response to Tim Glemkowski: “Eucharistic Revival” – Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J.

Comments are closed.