I light of sad development I posted on recently, there’s this. It’s not long.
Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, OP, is an accomplished canonist. I think he makes the right point also about the moral issue involved. The question is to be asked. If the bishop says no Communion at the rail, and people go to the rail anyway, what is the priest to do? Deny them Communion? That CAN’T be right.
As a matter of fact, Redemptionis Sacramentum forcefully underscores that people have the right to receive kneeling and on the tongue. If there is a Communion rail, where should a person kneel to receive?
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25But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26“It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
A nearby parish used the communion rails exclusively for years. The priest retired. The new priest was instructed by the Bishop to distribute Communion at the center aisle. Those who wish to receive at the rail can do so, but only from an acolyte.
At one point in the course of raising daughters, I tried to explain the behavior of pre-pubescent boys and teenagers to them, and we coined the phrase “NEHAK” (rhymes with three-pack) for a young male (should I specify XY-chromatotype?) who “NEver had His Ass Kicked” – NEHAK.
Closely related to the case of the NEHAK is the idea that every step between an 8-yr-old boy and a man is accompanied by pain, humiliation, or both. Hence the emphasis on the presence or absence of an ass-kicking.
Many bishops suffer because they are NEHAKs. Many fail to realize that the whole point of Christ’s Passion was to seek the greatest ass-kicking the world (World?) could muster, and take it, and overcome.
This highlights the many prelates do not like the image of “to kick” …
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It’s a strange world we live in, where people like Biden and Pelosi are given communion even though they advocate for abortion, yet someone who wants to receive kneeling and on the tongue can be denied it.
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute… So Nancy Pelosi, spreader of lies against Catholic Orthodoxy and creator of scandal can receive the Body of Christ, but those Catholics that wish to kneel for His Body get denied? Old scratch is absolutely LAUGHING!!!
I *really* do not understand why Cardinal Cupich, et. al., are making such an issue of people kneeling for Communion, whether it is at an altar rail or not. Surely, they have more urgent things to deal with as heads of their Dioceses/Archdioceses.
That said, I think this has been handled very well in my Diocese (Cleveland) and especially at my parish and sister parish, which share an excellent and faithful pastor. We have the additional blessing of a very faithful and kind bishop.
Communion at my parish is distributed in the aisles, one by one. If anyone kneels before the Blessed Sacrament, he/she is offered the host just the same as those who remain standing. At our sister parish, there are two lines for Communion at the main aisle. Those on the left (Blessed Mother side) receive standing. Those on the right (St. Joseph side) receive at the altar rail.
I think this is an equitable and faithful way. There is no fuss or bother involved for the priest or the Communicant. *No one* is made to feel embarrassed or singled out. *No one* is scolded for receiving one way or another. *All* receive with reverence and are respected. Additionally, for the elderly and others who may have difficulty kneeling or with balance issues, they may receive Communion standing (as has always been done in the Eastern Rites) without a problem.
Isn’t it about time our hierarchy focuses on more vital issues than singling out those who want to kneel for Communion? For crying out loud, priests are being murdered and imprisoned worldwide, Catholics are being actively persecuted, vocations need fostered, and churches need replaced after being destroyed in natural disasters and war. Perhaps these are issues that deserve the hierarchy’s focus.
@Chiara
Without making a judgement about any particular priest or bishop, we must remember Christ warned us that there will be wolves in sheep’s clothing. The Bible also contains several passages warning against false shepherds. Throughout practically all of Church history, there have been bad prelates. Not just weak or worldly, but objectively evil men. Why should we assume our times would be any different?
For the hardened sinner, the last thing they would want to have happen is to be surrounded by just and pious souls. Anything objectively holy, beautiful, and good serves as a reflection of God Himself, to which the hardened sinner cannot bear to be in its presence. Thus these things must be corrupted, dismantled, or discarded.
“Monstarnce’s” response brings up a question. Faced with the situation of having to choose receiving communion from the priest while standing in the center aisle or receiving from an acolyte while kneeling at the communion rail, which would take priority, receiving from the appropriate authority/office in the Church, or receiving in the more appropriate bodily position, i.e. kneeling at the rail vs. standing???
Chiara,
It’s good to hear things are well on the North Coast.
But… How we receive Communion is a Vital Issue.
What happens at your parish when there is only 1 priest ?
There is an odd critical mass of late of bishops aggressively insisting on the American indult for standing and in the hand communion as a norm.
Is more than just the true believers who are doing it; I suspect pressure from on high.
Many people, myself included, have bad knees. There is a certain cruelty in having us kneel on hard marble floors when the altar rail is right there.
While I mainly agree with Fr. Pius Pietrzyk’s analysis of whether the bishop truly has the authority to tell a priest not to give communion at the rail, I think he overlooks the practical reality: if a bishop tells his priest “do X”, the priest has no useful pathway to dispute this. Technically, he could theoretically file an appeal, which (if he pushed it firmly) would make its way to Rome. But (a) in today’s Rome, he is extremely unlikely to get a fair hearing and a sound resolution telling the bishop “you have no such authority”. And (b) even if he did get that result, the priest would then be in the bishop’s bad books permanently and in a big way. He would get bad assignments, overt pressure to do other unpleasantly improper things, and (eventually) would likely be canceled or virtually so. So, resistance to the bishop’s order (in this case) would usually be imprudent, even though technically correct.
There is an odd critical mass of late of bishops aggressively insisting on the American indult for standing and in the hand communion as a norm.
Is more than just the true believers who are doing it; I suspect pressure from on high.
There is firm, overarching pressure from on high to get rid of all vestiges of the “traditional” attitude, even in those going to the Novus Ordo masses.
I *really* do not understand why Cardinal Cupich, et. al., are making such an issue of people kneeling for Communion, whether it is at an altar rail or not.
Chiara, it appears that some (like Soupy Cupich) are true believers in the Vatican’s “kill all traditionalist attitude”, and the others are toadying up to the powerful and policy-makers in Rome. For the true believers, they don’t really believe the Church will implode and the money will vanish, so they believe that their long-standing agenda is the top priority – and that agenda doesn’t include “what is the best way to worship”.
My Wife, My Family and I stopped giong to the NO over 40 years ago. I know a lot of NO Catholics and I believe that alot of them are way better than I. I pray that they will go or go back to TLM. I have invited them to the TLM and they always love it. Most can’t make the switch for a variety of reasons. When they attend the TLM, the will kneel and recieve on the tongue.
So I must figure that it is the Sheperds!