Fr. Z's Blog | Formerly entitled: "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" – Clear, straight commentary on Catholic issues, liturgy and life by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)

QUAERITUR: Can EMHCs purify sacred vessels after Holy Communion?

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

I moved to a new parish about month ago, and while I didn’t register (I usually move every few months for work), I do contribute monetarily. I’m unsure if I’m even in a position to raise a concern.

This parish has reverent Masses, but there is an odd practice I’m not used to seeing- the EMHC’s purifying the Sacred Vessels after Mass and consuming the remaining Precious Blood.

I didn’t think it was my business to meddle into how the priest runs his parish, but the last couple of weeks have made me re-think that.

Two weeks ago I was praying after Mass had ended, and I was startled by a loud metal crashing sound coming from the side table below the Sanctuary steps. I looked up, and one of the EMHC’s had dropped either the priest’s chalice, or one of the common chalices. I was bothered by it, but didn’t do anything.

Then this weekend, I was sitting in the pews somewhat close to the table praying after Mass, but I got distracted by all the EMHC’s. They were huddled around the table, and while they were consuming the remainder of the Precious Blood, they were visiting with each other.

When you are not formally a member of a parish, it is harder to intervene in these matters.

However, I think it is within your rights to express your concerns, kindly and respectfully, to the pastor.

In Redemptionis Sacramentum we read:

6. Complaints Regarding Abuses in Liturgical Matters

[183.] In an altogether particular manner, let everyone do all that is in their power to ensure that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist will be protected from any and every irreverence or distortion and that all abuses be thoroughly corrected. This is a most serious duty incumbent upon each and every one, and all are bound to carry it out without any favouritism.

[184.] Any Catholic, whether Priest or Deacon or lay member of Christ’s faithful, has the right to lodge a complaint regarding a liturgical abuse to the diocesan Bishop or the competent Ordinary equivalent to him in law, or to the Apostolic See on account of the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. It is fitting, however, insofar as possible, that the report or complaint be submitted first to the diocesan Bishop. This is naturally to be done in truth and charity.

While this says “the diocesan bishop”, I would start with the pastor. Very calmly express your observations and concerns.

Redemptionis Sacramentum 119 points out that, after the priest and deacon, the duly instituted acolyte purifies vessels, not someone who substitutes for the acolyte.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion do not… not… have permission in the USA to purify sacred vessels. This permission was explicitly denied by the Holy See. It had earlier been permitted, but the permission was not renewed. NB: The Pope himself got involved with this one.

It is therefore a serious liturgical abuse for EMCH’s to purify. It may be that the pastor of the parish is not aware of this.

Here is the text of the letter from the Holy See explanation the situation to the USCCB:

CONGREGATIO CULTO DIVINO ET DISCIPLINA SACRAMENTORUM

Prot. n. 468/05/L Rome, 12 October 2006

Your Excellency,

I refer to your letters of 9 March 2005 and 7 March 2006, in which, in the name of the Conference of Bishops of which you are President, you requested a renewal of the indult for extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to purify the sacred vessels after Mass, where there are not enough priests or deacons to purify a large number of chalices that might be used at Mass.

I have put the whole matter before the Holy Father in an audience which he granted me on 9 June 2006, and received instructions to reply as follows:

1. There is no doubt that “the sign of Communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 281; Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 390).

2. Sometimes, however, the high number of communicants may render it inadvisable for everyone to drink from the chalice (cf. Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 102). Intinction with reception on the tongue always and everywhere remains a legitimate option, by virtue of the general liturgical law of the Roman Rite.

3. Catechesis of the people is important regarding the teaching of the Council of Trent that Christ is fully present under each of the species. Communion under the species of the bread alone, as a consequence, makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace (cf. Denzinger-Schönmetzer, no. 1729; General Instruction of the Roman Missal, nos. 11, 282). “For pastoral reasons”, therefore, “this manner of receiving Communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1390).

4. Paragraph 279 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal directs that the sacred vessels are to be purified by the priest, the deacon or an instituted acolyte. The status of this text as legislation has recently been clarified by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. It does not seem feasible, therefore, for the Congregation to grant the requested indult from this directive in the general law of the Latin Church.

5. This letter is therefore a request to the members of the Bishops’ Conference of the United Status of America to prepare the necessary explanations and catechetical materials for your clergy and people so that henceforth the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 279, as found in the editio typicatia of the Roman Missal, will be observed throughout its territories.

With the expression of my esteem and fraternal greetings, I remain, Your Excellency,
Devotedly yours in Christ,

+ Francis Cardinal Arinze
Prefect

Monsignor Mario Marini
Under-Secretary

So, in the parish, the only vessels that EMCH’s who are not actually instituted acolytes should be purifying are their mugs during in the parish hall when they have finished their…

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Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged CDW, EMCH, Holy Communion, Redemptionis Sacramentum, RS 119, RS 183, sacred vessels
40 Comments

QUAERITUR: Extraordinary Form “vigil” Mass on Saturday afternoon or evening?

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Is it permissible to have a Extraordinary Form Vigil Mass on a Saturday evening?

Yes, I believe it is. I believe so… again… I believe so.

Permission to say Holy Mass in the evening was granted before the 1962 Missale Romanum was issued. The older Code of Canon Law, of 1917, said that Mass could not begin more than one hour after noon (without distinction of solar time or civil time). But that was not something of the rubrics found in the Missale Romanum. The time of Mass, other than in the case of the Vigil of Easter and, perhaps, the Masses of Christmas, isn’t given much attention in the Missale Romanum.

Also, one fulfills one’s obligation by attending Mass on the day of precept itself or on its vigil.

Therefore, were one to attend Holy Mass on a, say, Saturday afternoon, that would fulfill the obligation regardless of the texts used for Mass. If the Mass was of the Saturday, one’s Sunday obligation would nevertheless be fulfilled.

That brings up the thornier question – and I think this is probably what you were really asking – of whether the Sunday texts can be used Saturday afternoon.

While I am unaware that the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” has yet ruled on this, I suspect… suspect, mind you, that – with the permission of the Commission – it would be permissible to use the Sunday texts on a Saturday afternoon, since the liturgical day can be reckoned to begin on the afternoon before the feast or Sunday. I wouldn’t do it on my own.

I have little doubt that all sorts of people are ready to jump in now.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, Universae Ecclesiae | Tagged anticipated Mass, Saturday evening Masses, Sunday obligation
21 Comments

QUAERITUR: Priest complains about people not receiving from EMHC

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

We have a priest celebrating a NO mass in Latin (for a month now). Two weeks ago he was agitated and asked that people receive also from the extraordinary minister (who’s line was much shorter). This week he distributed the blood, not the body (which was distributed by emhcs.)

No one doubts that one doesn’t receive “more Jesus” when receiving from a priest, or deacon, rather than a lay person. The Eucharist is the Eucharist is the Eucharist.

That said, the priest’s hands are consecrated to handle the Eucharist. The lay person’s are not.

Furthermore, it strikes me that people have the right to get into whichever line it pleases them to get into.

Moreover, perhaps the priest ought to take the hint and stop employing EMHC‘s at Mass. A significant number of people seem troubled by their presence.

I have no thoughts about the priest distributing the Precious Blood instead of Hosts other than to wonder if he is trying to make sure that no “mistakes” happen. In that case there is some risk of profanation and it probably shouldn’t be done at all.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged EMHC, Holy Communion
46 Comments

Chinese bishops siezed in advance of another illicit consecration

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A reader clued me into a story about another potential ecclesial train-wreck in poor China. From Sino Daily we read this, which originated with AFP:

Chinese bishops ‘taken away’ by police: report

(AFP) – 1 day ago

VATICAN CITY — Four bishops loyal to the Vatican have been “taken away” by Chinese police in recent days to take part in a state-sanctioned ordination, the Catholic news agency AsiaNews said on Monday.

“Nobody knows where the four pastors are being held,” the report said, adding that local sources had told AsiaNews that one of the bishops “was sobbing last night as he was dragged away by government representatives.”

The Vatican and China have been locked in a bitter struggle in recent months over control of the Catholic Church in China, with the Vatican saying that ordinations being carried out by the official church are illegitimate.

AsiaNews said three bishops were taken away yesterday: Liang Jiansen of Jiangmen, Liao Hongqing of Meizhou and Paul Su Yongda of Zhanjiang. [May I suggest that you pray for them?]

Bishop Joseph Junqi of Guangzhou has been missing for days.

It said four other bishops loyal to Pope Benedict XVI were due to take part in the ordination of Father Huang Bingzhang on July 14 in Shantou.

It said one bishop, Paul Pei Junmin, who has been designated as the principal celebrant at the ordination, is being protected by his priests in the cathedral of Shenyang in order not to participate in the ceremony.

AsiaNews said that uniformed and plainclothes police officers were outside the cathedral, and said the priests were holding non-stop prayers inside. [Remember the story of St. Ambrose and his flock shut up in their church when the Arian-Imperial officials wanted to confiscate it for their use?]

Long-running tensions between the Vatican and Beijing frayed earlier this month after the Holy See excommunicated an “illegitimate” Chinese bishop and China’s state-run Church threatened to continue defying the pope.

China’s 5.7 million Catholics are increasingly caught between showing allegiance to the officially sanctioned Patriotic Catholic Association or to the pope as part of an “underground” Church not recognised by the authorities.

The Vatican had hoped that China would guarantee religious freedom while opening up its economy in recent years. Beijing had initially agreed to postpone new bishop ordinations but its attitude hardened again in 2010.

Tensions rose after a bishop was ordained without official permission from the Roman Catholic Church in Chengde in northern China last November.

In May, the pope called on all bishops to “refuse to take the path of separation,” in spite of “pressure” from the communist authorities.

But the Patriotic Catholic Association ignored these appeals and announced last month that it hoped to ordain 40 bishops “without delay”.

Posted in Modern Martyrs, Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices | Tagged China, Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, consecration of bishops
14 Comments

QUAERITUR: Participation in the sins of other people

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Yesterday I posted about the entry at the blog of the USCCB about the benefits of confession. In that post the subject of “structural sin” came up. “Structural sin” is something liberals use to mask the reality of personal responsibility for sins committed by individuals. All “structural sin” has its roots in the commission of personal sins.

However, sin affects more than the sinner. It affects everyone. We are all in this together. When one member of the Body of Christ sins, we all suffer. Some people are more directly affected, but all of us are weakened. Therefore, when we seek reconciliation with God, we must also be reconciled with the whole of the Church, and not just with the person or persons we may have immediately harmed. So, there is a “social” dimension to sin.

There is also a “social” dimension, as it were in how we can sin. We can sin not only be our own direct actions, but indirectly through participation in the sins directly committed by others.

How does one participate in the sin of another person? We sin through another person’s actions by …

counsel
command
consent
provocation
praise or flattery
concealment
partaking
silence
the defense of the ill done

1. Counsel: If you tell or advise another person to do something sinful, so that they do it, you have sinned by participation in that person’s sin.

2. Command: If you have authority over another, and you forced that person to commit something which is sinful, while that person might have mitigated guilt, you don’t.

3. Consent: If you are asked if you think a sin is good thing to do, and have some power over the situation, and if you permit or approve or yield to the commission of the sin, you’ve sinned.

4. Provocation: You badger or drive or dare a person to do something such that he does it.

5. Praise of flattery: Pretty clear. This is another way of prompting a person.

6. Concealment: A person commits a sin and then you help that person conceal the evidence or the action.

7. Partaking: Another person is the principal person involved, but you are right there helping the actual sinful deed. For example, a person helping a doctor commit an abortion, a politician helping an aggressive governor or president or speaker of the house drive through recognition of contrary-to-nature “marriage” by providing a vote.

8. Silence: There is an old adage that “silent implies consent”. If a person with great authority or moral authority is in a position to stop a sin from happening, and yet stays silent and doesn’t get involved, then that may constitute participation in the sin committed. This is trickier to figure out, but it isn’t rocket science. There may be attendant mitigating circumstances, such as the probable invasion of Vatican City, the capture of the Roman Pontiff and destruction of the Church in many places. In the meanwhile one could work quietly. One cannot, however, do nothing. Another point must be considered: the rules governing fraternal correction. It may not be your place to correct another person, depending on the circumstances.

9. Defense: Pretty clear. You defend or justify or give an apology in favor of the sin committed. This is not the same as what a defense lawyer does in the case of a person who is guilty.

It is good to review this list once in a while with a view to your own examination of conscience.

We all wind up in morally ambiguous or difficult situations in which we are challenged to chose between goods or between greater and lesser evils. So that we don’t wind up like Buridan’s Ass, we make choices. We have to keep track of ourselves and are interactions with others so that a) we do not endanger our souls by participation in their sins and b) we do not endanger other people’s souls by involving them in our sins.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill | Tagged confession, examination of conscience, participation in the sin of another, reconciliation, sacrament of penance, sin
20 Comments

Seminarians learning to cook

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have often opined that seminarians should be given workshops concerning some basic skills, such as some fundamental sewing, accounting, laundry, and most importantly… cooking. Many priests must live alone and the days of the old-fashioned housekeeper may be gone forever.

I noted with interest this story from UCANews:

New cooking class prepares priests to provide other types of nourishment
Tokyo Japan
July 11, 2011

It is a Sunday morning and five apron-clad seminarians are gathered in the kitchen at the Tokyo Campus of the Japan Catholic Seminary. They are about to take part in a recent and rather unusual addition to their curriculum: a cooking workshop. But they cannot start just yet; the teacher has noticed something is missing.

“Where’s the mustard spinach?” she asks. “I’ll go buy some!” says one eager student and scurries from the room.

These students have only just started seminary life. As part of their focus on “communal life and service” in their first term, they are required to attend cooking workshops like this one.

Their instructor is Ms. Akiko Kojima, a registered dietician and parishioner of Seijo Church in Tokyo. Sister Kazumi Ozaki of the Society of Helpers, who has been tasked with the formation of these students, is also here to lend a hand. Today’s menu is Chinese sweet and sour pork, a Korean disk of seasoned vegetables called namul, soup and dessert.

The seminarians set to work, occasionally asking questions and helping each other out when needed. After nearly two hours of diligent work, the food is done. As Ms. Kojima turns off the burners on the stove, the students give a cheer.

One of them, Munihiro Noguchi from Tokyo archdiocese, says, “It was pretty difficult, but in the end it’s for our own good. For my pastor at the church I belong to, breakfast is always just toast, and lunch is always just noodles.”

Kazuki Shimohara of Nagasaki archdiocese gives an embarrassed laugh as he admits that his cooking prowess is “just about limited to single-serving instant ramen. The stuff today is great!”

Japanese cooking has some quite distinctive regional variations. Perhaps that is what leads Takanori Toyoda, from Osaka, to say as he eats, “This food seems like it has a Tokyo flavor.”

Sulpician Father Mitsuru Shirahama, who is in charge of the first-year students, says the workshop got started three years ago after someone suggested that the seminarians themselves prepare food at the weekend, when the kitchen staff have a day off.

“It’s good practice,” he adds, “because when they are serving at parishes they may sometimes be asked to cook.”

Ms. Kojima uses her knowledge as a dietician to encourage the young men and help them choose a healthy diet. “When you’re living alone, it can be hard to get enough vegetables. But if you do it once, you’ll be able to do it again when the time comes.”

In the second semester, the seminarians will move on to dividing the workload, choosing menus and making the food themselves. “Their cooking skills are still iffy,” Father Shirahama says, “but still, I’m looking forward to it.”

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Lighter fare | Tagged cooking, Japan, seminarians
22 Comments

How the Office begins

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

For those who may never have seen it, this is how one starts to pray the Office in the older form. There are variations, but today’s is typical.

With the help of the iBreviary app and in English… a nice way to start any day. “Ant.” is the Antiphon.

Start
V. O Lord ? open thou my lips
R. And my mouth shall declare thy praise.
V. O God ? come to my assistance;
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Alleluia

Invitatory {Antiphona for the Common or Feast}
Ant. The Lord, He is the King of the Confessors. * let us worship Him.
Ant. The Lord, He is the King of the Confessors. * let us worship Him.
Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
Ant. The Lord, He is the King of the Confessors. * let us worship Him.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his.
Ant. let us worship Him.
For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. (genuflect) Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us: For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Ant. The Lord, He is the King of the Confessors. * let us worship Him.
Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts: As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works.
Ant. let us worship Him.
Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I said: These always err in heart. And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.
Ant. The Lord, He is the King of the Confessors. * let us worship Him.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. let us worship Him.
Ant. The Lord, He is the King of the Confessors. * let us worship Him.

Posted in PRAYERCAzT: What Does The (Latin) Prayer Really Sound L | Tagged breviary, invitatory
11 Comments

Contrary-to-nature unions and unintended consequences

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My friend The Motley Monk writes about an interesting consequence of the NY legislature’s and Gov. Cuomo’s approval of contrary-to-nature unions as if they were “marriages”.

Homosexual marriage: The law of unintended consequence…

With the initial wave of glee receding a couple of weeks after the State of New York approved so-called “homosexual marriage,” the law of unintended consequences has now predictably come into play.

As reported in a New York Times article, some companies that heretofore have provided “domestic partner benefits” to homosexual partners who have been living in domestic partnerships are now requiring these employees to get married if they want their partners to qualify for health insurance. In the State of New York, these companies include Corning and IBM; in Massachusetts, Raytheon has moved in this direction. All three are providing a “grace period” for homosexual domestic partners to comply with the marriage requirement.

These decisions have forced proponents of so-called “homosexual marriage” to reassess.

Why?

The federal government does not recognize these so-called “marriages,” requiring corporations to comply with federal law.

The goal of achieving “equal treatment under the law” has now caused homosexual advocacy groups to wonder if they’ve pressed too far and too fast. According to the New York Times article, proponents will now argue that, until the matter is settled at the federal level, companies should stick to their current policies providing the current option to domestic partners.

[…]

Posted in The Drill | Tagged contrary-to-nature unions, Gov. Cuomo, NY State
12 Comments

An “Adopt-A-Priest” initiative

Posted on 11 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Here’s a great idea that I found in the bulletetin at ____.

ADOPT-A-PRIEST

If you are interested in Spiritually Adopting a priest or renewing

your current Spiritual Adoption for another year, you can sign up

after any of the Sunday Masses outside the Church. Through Spiritual Adoption, you agree to pray for your adopted priest each day for one year. When you register, you will be given an adoption certificate with the name of your adopted priest and a prayer card with a suggested prayer to say for him each day. Please see Sister ___. God bless you for supporting Christ’s Priesthood!

These are great initiatives. I have seen similar in different parishes.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Mail from priests | Tagged adopt a priest, Priests, vocations
7 Comments

Catholic League reacts to a Hell’s Bible book review

Posted on 11 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From our friends at The Catholic League:

NEW YORK TIMES’ DUMB TAKE ON CATHOLICISM

There was a book review in yesterday’s New York Times by Bill Keller, executive editor of the newspaper, of Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, by John Julius Norwich. Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on it today:

It’s hard to say who is dumber—Bill Keller or John Julius Norwich. But to say that Pope Urban VIII imprisoned Galileo and banned all his works is without doubt the voice of a moron: Urban VIII lauded Galileo’s work and showered him with gifts and medals. Furthermore, Galileo was never imprisoned; he was put under house arrest in an apartment in a Vatican palace, with a servant.

Similarly, to say that Pope Pius XII was an enabler of fascism is libelous: no one in the world did more to save Jews and undermine Hitler than Pius XII. That is why the Israelis planted 800,000 trees in his honor, one for every Jew he saved.

Keller is right to say that Norwich is “no scholar,” and he is doubly right to say that he is “selective about where he lingers.” Where he lingers is in the mythical world. Any author who wants to be taken seriously does not offer an entire chapter about some alleged historical figure whom the author reluctantly admits never lived. But that is just what he did by offering up fairy tales about “Pope Joan.”

Naturally, Keller says the bishops blamed “the libertine culture” for the “scourge of pedophile priests.” But the “blame Woodstock” explanation originated with the New York Times, not the bishops, and the scourge he mentions is homosexuality, not pedophilia. So he is twice wrong.

It is not surprising that the book ends by begging the Catholic Church to accept homosexuality and women priests. That is what these people live for. But since neither Keller nor Norwich is Catholic, why should they care? They care because the Church does not entertain their trendy ideas about sexuality, and it never will.

Contact Bill Keller: keller@nytimes.com

Contact our director of communications about Donohue’s remarks:
Jeff Field
Phone: 212-371-3191
E-mail: cl@catholicleague.org