Desecration of the Body and Blood of Christ!

                                                  ```Fr. Conrad Saldanha

There was this little news article on Jul 28, 2011 in the Catholic News Agency which read as follows: “Spanish cardinal recommends that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue.”  Further the news article had the following to state: “He recommended that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue and while kneeling.”

”Receiving Communion in this way, the cardinal continued, is the sign of adoration that needs to be recovered. I think the entire Church needs to receive Communion while kneeling.”

“In fact,” he added, “if one receives while standing, a genuflection or profound bow should be made, and this is not happening.” “If we trivialize Communion, we trivialize everything, and we cannot lose a moment as important as that of receiving Communion, of recognizing the real presence of Christ there, of the God who is the love above all loves, as we sing in a hymn in Spanish.” (CNA)

The official church teaching:

The congregation for Divine Worship introduced a document in May, 1969;  Memoriale Domini, in which each bishops' conference was supposed to  petition the Vatican to allow the faithful in their jurisdiction to receive Communion in the hand. Until such permission is granted, it was not lawful for the faithful to do so (or for bishops or priests to allow it).

The instruction also said that “in view of the seriousness of the matter and the importance of the arguments proposed, the Supreme Pontiff judged that the long received manner of ministering Holy Communion to the faithful should not be changed.  Further, “The Apostolic See therefore strongly urges bishops, priests and people to observe zealously this law, valid and again confirmed, according to the judgment of the majority of the Catholic episcopate, in the form which the present rite of the sacred liturgy employs and out of concern for the common good of the Church.”

In 1977, the Congregation for Divine Worship reiterated this point: “The practice must remain the option of the communicant. The priest or minister of Communion does not make the decision as to the manner of reception of Communion. It is the communicant’s personal choice.”

This recommendation also applies to the Priest, Bishop or Pope. It is said;  once, when Pope St. Pius X was on his deathbed in August of 1914, and Holy Communion was brought to him as Viaticum, he did not and was not allowed to receive in the hand. He received on the tongue according to the law and practice of the Catholic Church. And so, even in the traditional liturgical practice of the Roman Rite, if a priest were assisting at Mass (and not celebrating) and if he wished to receive Holy Communion, he did not do so by his own hand; he received on the tongue from another priest. The same would be true of a Bishop or even a Pope.

Thus when this congregation was receiving specific complaints from the USA and other places, they had a strong rebuke against the imposed practices by the clergy and Bishops. This is what they had to say; “….and considers any refusal of Holy Communion to a member of the faithful on the basis of his or her kneeling posture to be a grave violation of one of the most basic rights of the Christian faithful, namely that of being assisted by their Pastors by means of the Sacraments (Codex Iuris Canonici, canon 213). In view of the law that "sacred ministers may not deny the sacraments to those who opportunely ask for them, are properly disposed and are not prohibited by law from receiving them" (canon 843 ß 1)----July 2002; Responses to Questions on Kneeling for Holy Communion  by the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments

Abuses in the Church: (Names have been withheld)

This made me go down memory lane on some of the more serious violations I have seen, heard or experienced.

There was this theologian whom I had come across who taught in keeping with his liberal view that everything is holy and that there was no difference between cow dung and a piece of Holy Eucharist.  Since he taught in a formation house I was compelled to report this to the authorities through proper channels after having confronted him myself on this and various subjects.

Further, it was the same priest whom I once witnessed inviting a non-Christian, who was invited by them for a mass to receive Holy Communion. 

There was another who continued in the same aberration and taught that rituals by themselves have no meaning and the only value they had was, of uniting people; a sociological viewpoint.  Hence, rituals were encouraged not because of the grace and sanctification they offered, but more because it helped achieve a social cause. For this very reason, we see, why many lay emphasis and participate in the Eucharist as if it were a mere meal rather than as a sacrifice; the sacrifice of Jesus for our sanctification and salvation. 

In one of the lectures I heard, one theologian was speaking more about the need of receiving communion in the hand, rather than teaching the norm. All were made to believe that receiving communion on the tongue was unhygienic and hence receiving on the hand was better. 

Even in parishes, we find the same irreverence. The communion plates have become obsolete and the children are specifically taught in catechism to receive communion in the hand.  Is receiving communion in the hand the rule that our children have to be taught and even be compelled to receive? Children should be taught the norm and not the exception.

Practicality, saving on time and hygiene is given precedence over reverence, divine presence and Godly wisdom. Thus the casualty has been a weakening of the faith.

While priests are being questioned for following the norm of insisting on communion on the tongue, there are others who insist on communion either standing or from lay people, and on hand, these continue unabashedly.

One theologian calls these liturgical abuses as progress in the church guided by the Holy Spirit. While he claims that the church is progressing, on the other hand the Master has already spoken prophetically; “when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Lk. 18:8) Or is it a pressing on to the omega point of destruction in the name of progress?

In one particular parish I found the communion bowls kept inverted in the cupboard and the crumbs strewn at the base. The sacristan will do what he has been told. Are they well catechized to handle the sacred vessels?  When one parishioner wanted bowls to put petals to be sprinkled in order to welcome the holy image o f Mary, he willingly gave the communion bowls to be used.  One would, even in their personal life, not use a vessel that is used for ignoble use simultaneously used for a noble purpose.  

Those parishes which have non-Christian visitors for the Eucharistic celebration must make an announcement.  The Eucharistic ministers and rarely the priest, especially new or visiting priests are not equipped to discern the Catholic from the non-catholic.   This becomes all the more difficult in parishes which have a Syro-Malabar presence, where the laity is not trained to acknowledge with an Amen the proclamation of the ‘Body of Christ’ by the priest.

There are many other stories I keep hearing about the catechesis the children and the laity receive which are incongruous to the faith of the Church.

If hygiene is the major concern, I wondered what happens to the poor priest, who has to consume the crumbs and use those hands to purify and many a times consume from common vessels.

In one of my regular visitation I happened to visit a house and in keeping with the Indian Hospitality a poor old lady, shabbily clad, in a one room tenement insisted that I have something and she offered me a cup of milk. As she was pouring the milk into the cup she blew into it to push the cream back. How hygienic is the food that is laid at daily table, when one breathes and talks over the cooking pot and the raw salads?

Is hygiene a major concern? It could be more unhygienic giving holy communion in the hand than on the tongue. More germs are spread through the hand than through the tongue approach because the chances of touching the hand is significantly more while distributing Holy Communion, than when given on tongue.

There is a need to restore reverence and awe back into the worship life of the church.  This reverence and awe is best expressed by receiving communion on the tongue and if possible through kneeling.

 I have yet to come across a person who receiving Holy Communion in the hand has knelt down and closed their eyes in loving reverence.  This sort of reverence is only possible with Holy Communion on the tongue.

Catechesis which lays emphasis on the rational at the cost of faith has no room in the living Church of God. For rationality has its limitation before the ineffable mystery of God’s presence in our midst.  Restore the element of reverence and the sense of the divine. Celebration of the  Eucharist is not a mere ritual that has to be completed in 10-15 minute flat with smiling priests to soothe the nerves of the stressed up laity rather than seriously dispensing the sacrament of healing in which Jesus is present as a healer Body and Blood, soul and divinity. “Lord, I am not worthy to have you under my roof but only say the word and I shall be healed”. (cfr. Mt. 8:8; Lk. 7:6)

I am convinced from my many years of ministry that there are more people who are sick on account of their improper disposition in receiving communion than by receiving it on the tongue.“For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”  1 Cor. 11:29-30

Prayer: Lord forgive us and hold not this sin against us which we have committed against your Holy Presence established by you in our midst through your most sorrowful passion. Have mercy on us, and on the whole world.