Extraordinary insights into the practice of....

.......Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Are EMHCs (or Ministers of Holy Communion as they erroneously prefer to be called), legit? Do they have a role to play in today's Church?

I have always wrestled with this issue, especially when I used to attend the then Novus Ordo Mass to witness them trotting off after Holy Communion (wrong to leave before Mass ends surely?) to take the Sacrament to the sick. What happens if the poor soul is in a state of mortal sin? They can't very well hear Confessions can they? Or can they? Not yet at any rate.

And, anyway, why if there is a priest present do EMHCs have to distribute the Eucharist? I have never received Holy Communion from anyone other than a priest and would no more think about receiving from Mr X than I would attempt to carry out the removal of my appendix with a blunt knife and a wire coat hanger! It's not for me!

Now the great Fr Zuhlsdorf has thrown a hand grenade into the room with his piece on something called Ecclesia de mysterio....heard of it? No? Well he posted it in December last year but it slipped past me. He has raised it again as a parish priest (Fr Rick Heilman, brave, brave man) in the US  has given his EMHCs the order of the boot...he's sacked them!  There will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth from the Cathlib brigade but I think it's long overdue. EMHCs should only be used at time of extraordinary need.

  Here's the piece from Fr Z .......and here's the link to Fr Rick Heilman's site.

Ecclesia de mysterio…. Ever heard of it?

Posted on 28 December 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In 1997 the Holy See issued an important document, unusual in its form and provenance in that it was signed by eight dicasteries, or departments of the Roman Curia.

• Congregation for the Clergy
• Pontifical Council for the Laity
• Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
• Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
• Congregation for Bishops
• Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
• Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
• Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts

Don’t for a moment think that, just because the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wasn’t at the top of the list, it isn’t the most important.
Ecclesia de mysterio approved by the Sovereign Pontiff who ordered that it be issued in forma specifica, which gives it even greater weight.  It contains legal provisions in order to correct abuses.

In the light of the aforementioned principles, remedies, based on the normative discipline of the Church, and deemed opportune to correct abuses which have been brought to the attention of our Dicasteries, are hereby set forth.

It is called in English, “Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priests“.
You will have to look for this document on the website of the Holy See under the Pontifical Council for the Laity.  You won’t find it easily by looking on the website under the other dicasteries or by using their so-called “search” feature.
As this document itself states:

The scope of this present document is simply to provide a clear, authoritative response to the many pressing requests which have come to our Dicasteries from Bishops, Priests and Laity seeking clarification in the light of specific cases of new forms of “pastoral activity” of the non-ordained on both parochial and diocesan levels.
Though being born in very difficult and emergency situations and even initiated by those who sought to be genuinely helpful in the pastoral moment, certain practices have often been developed which have had very serious negative consequences and have caused the correct understanding of true ecclesial communion to be damaged. These practices tend to predominate in certain areas of the world and even within these, a great deal of variation can be found.

Remember, eight dicasteries of the Curia signed onto this document.
Ecclesia de mysterio, among other things, seeks to correct the abuses of the laity and of the priesthood, both, which have crept in over time because of  theological problems resulting from, for example, the terms “minister” and “ministry”.
Here the titles of the provisions:

1. Need for an Appropriate Terminology
2. The Ministry of the Word
3. The Homily
4. The Parish Priest and the Parish
5. The Structures of Collaboration in the Particular Church
6. Liturgical Celebrations
7. Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest
8. The Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion
9. The Apostolate to the Sick
10. Assistance at Marriages
11. The Minister of Baptism
12. Leading the Celebration at Funerals
13. Necessary Selection and Adequate Formation

Let’s tease out one of these: 8. The Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion
I am not making this up.  Go look for yourselves.  My emphases.

Article 8
The Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion
The non-ordained faithful already collaborate with the sacred ministers in diverse pastoral situations since “This wonderful gift of the Eucharist, which is the greatest gift of all, demands that such an important mystery should be increasingly better known and its saving power more fully shared”.(95)
Such liturgical service is a response to the objective needs of the faithful especially those of the sick and to those liturgical assemblies in which there are particularly large numbers of the faithful who wish to receive Holy Communion.
§ 1. The canonical discipline concerning extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion must be correctly applied so as to avoid generating confusion. The same discipline establishes that the ordinary minister of Holy Communion is the Bishop, the Priest and the the Deacon.(96) Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are those instituted as acolytes and the faithful so deputed in accordance with Canon 230, § 3.(97)
A non-ordained member of the faithful, in cases of true necessity, may be deputed by the diocesan bishop, using the appropriate form of blessing for these situation, to act as an extraordinary minister to distribute Holy Communion outside of liturgical celebrations ad actum vel ad tempus or for a more stable period. In exceptional cases or in un foreseen circumstances, the priest presiding at the liturgy may authorize such ad actum.(98)
§ 2. Extraordinary ministers may distribute Holy Communion at eucharistic celebrations only when there are no ordained ministers present or when those ordained ministers present at a liturgical celebration are truly unable to distribute Holy Communion.(99) They may also exercise this function at eucharistic celebrations where there are particularly large numbers of the faithful and which would be excessively prolonged because of an insufficient number of ordained ministers to distribute Holy Communion. (100)
This function is supplementary and extraordinary (101) and must be exercised in accordance with the norm of law. It is thus useful for the diocesan bishop to issue particular norms concerning extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion which, in complete harmony with the universal law of the Church, should regulate the exercise of this function in his diocese. Such norms should provide, amongst other things, for matters such as the instruction in eucharistic doctrine of those chosen to be extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, the meaning of the service they provide, the rubrics to be observed, the reverence to be shown for such an august Sacrament and instruction concerning the discipline on admission to Holy Communion.
To avoid creating confusion, certain practices are to be avoided and eliminated where such have emerged in particular Churches:
— extraordinary ministers receiving Holy Communion apart from the other faithful as though concelebrants;
— association with the renewal of promises made by priests at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, as well as other categories of faithful who renew religious vows or receive a mandate as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion;
— the habitual use of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion at Mass thus arbitrarily extending the concept of “a great number of the faithful”.

Ends/................

Of course, the Bishops of England and Wales will be tripping over in their haste to implement Ecclesia de mysterio........hang on....a pig has just flown past my window!

A message to the Ordinariate.....

                    COME ON IN - CATHOLICISM'S AWFUL!

Oh dear! I hear you say. He's gone OTT again, just when all those wonderful Anglican folk are lining up to become good RCs and now he's gone and blown it.

Well, let me tell you that these are not my words but those of one time radical blue stocking journo Mary Kenny. Written by her at a time when the Church of England faced the mega issue of women priests....ancient history! The world held its breath and the Bishops of England and Wales must have had a touch of the heeby jeebies because all thought that there would be a mass exodus of vicars who would be bringing reverence and thuribles and beautiful vestments into a church that was, shall we say....going through a sort of ecclesiatical menopause?

The year? 1992. The newpaper? The Daily Telegraph. And here is an extract....Mary could have written them yesterday so appropriate are they.

"You might imagine - and some people indeed suppose - that Roman Catholics are crowing with 'triumphalism' at the prospect of a harvest of Anglicans taking the path to Rome in consequence of the present differences of opinion in the C of E.
Well au contraire as George Brown used to say. Most Catholics, it seems to me, are quaking in their shoes at the thought of these Anglicans, some of them dauntingly grand, arriving to join their ranks.
It is rather like expecting some awfully impressive relations who are coming to stay. What are they going to think of your tip of a house? How are they going to react to your badly brought-up children and ill-behaved pets? Oh dear, perhaps it would be better to put them off, for fear they might be disappointed with the scene they find.....

......The tasteless architecture of modern church buildings. The ear-splitting acoustics. The extraordinarily bad hymns or, more often, no hymns at all. And then the differences within the church, which are just as marked as within Anglicanism. The scandals of bonking Bishops and priapic priests. The feminist nuns exploring revived forms of witchcraft. The liberation theologians calling for a return to excommunication for usury. The continuing arguments about authority, birth control, divorce, married priests - you name it we've got it........(I could add Papal disobedience, Magic Circles, even, "Tradophobia").

How would devout Anglicans  - and all Protestants are more respectful in church - take the extraordinary lack of punctuality so characteristic of Catholics, as they wander in and out of Mass when it suits them (Novus Ordo, I believe)...........

Ends/................

Well, that was less than twenty years ago but it's as fresh and as relevant today as it was then. I am sure that many Catholics (the chattering classes before Mass brigade) are going to be in for a mighty shock and a jolly good thing it will be. The church in England and Wales needs a healthy injection of respect and reverence. Tacky chasubles and stoles can go in the bin......here comes some decent gear. Chuck out the china chalices, rip the Save the Children posters off the walls, dress the altars so that they look like altars and put up a sign in the porch stating: "The Blessed Sacrament is present here so, please, maintain respect and do not  talk". That's just for starters.
So I say to all Anglicans who have swum the Tiber or who are considering it:

                COME ON IN - WE NEED YOU!

Will they sentence our priests to prison?

There was a very sound priest active in the 80s whose name now escapes me (but I have his article from Catholic Order packed up somewhere) who stated that he firmly believed that we would see Catholic martyrs within the next 25-30 years. He meant, of course, in Europe and possibly, the USA rather than the world at large where killings of Christians has accelerated  to over 270 each day during the last decade (see
 Joyful Papist).
Can we really expect, now that the 30 years is up, to see Catholic martyrs in the prison system in Britain  once more?  Of   course, without the death penalty we cannot have martyrs as such but the process of martyrdom does include imprisonment; many of the English and Welsh Martyrs succumbed in jail rather than on the scaffold.
And, anyway, I believe you could have a "dry" martyrdom, being pilloried in the media, jailed, reviled and despised - all of those are key ingredients to suffering for the faith.

Could it happen tomorrow? Well, if the Coalition Government has its way, it will soon be legitimate for homosexuals to have Civil Partnership  ceremonies  conducted in church.

Not too much of a problem for the Protestant faiths or for Quakers who readily accepted "gay love"(for want of a better phrase) some time ago
Just two weeks ago, a Christian couple who run a Bed and Breakfast establishment were found guilty under the law of refusing accommodation to a pair of homosexuals.
Next week, it could be Fr X who, in the wake of denying a church "wedding"to a gay couple, finds himself up on a charge.

"JUST SAY: "I DON'T"

Here's the report from Sunday's Telegraph:-

By Tim Ross, Social Affairs Editor 5:55PM GMT 13 Feb 2011

The Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone, is expected to announce that churches, synagogues and other religious settings will be able to host civil partnership ceremonies for the first time.

As The Daily Telegraph reported in December, the Coalition is also considering extending homosexual rights to allow full “marriage” for same-sex couples.

Currently, the term “marriage” applies only to the union of a man and a woman.

Liberal Jewish groups, Quakers and other Christian organisations have been pressing the Coalition to introduce the civil partnership reforms, and gay rights campaigners welcomed the latest news.

The Church of England, however, has voiced its opposition. Senior Anglican officials have said the Church is unlikely to host civil partnerships, which would include religious readings and hymns under the plan.

Peter Tatchell, voice of homosexual OUTRAGE stated: "It's long overdue".

Well, we can expect no less from this quarter, (other than some test cases);  will the Government press on with their plans?...looks likely...what was it David Cameron said when he bade farewell to the Holy Father in September? words to the effect that: "We shall protect the family unit in this country." I am disappointed in him but then, Labour is probably going to be even more extreme on this issue.

Who among our priests will step up to the mark? I know the blogging clerics will not shrink from the decision when the time comes. Pray hard for all of our priests!

So it's OK to abort babies in the womb....

...but when it comes to murdering a young, pregnant mother to be...it's a criminal offence that we call "Child Destruction."
The current, tragic case of Nikkita Grender from Newport who was brutally stabbed to death within a few days of her scheduled date to give birth to her daughter has resulted in a man being charged with her murder and, a secondary charge of "Child Destruction".
What double standards we live by. Up to 24 weeks of life you can hack away at a babe, leave it to die on the sluice draining board and you can go home with the thought that you have done your job well that day. You can be confident that the police will not come knocking at your door.

A few weeks later in the pregancy and you have committed a crime which, presumably, carries a severe penalty.

Here's what the Crown Prosecution Service had to say about the facts in this case....

"Offences relating to unborn children fall outside the scope of murder legislation. Therefore in respect of Nikitta Grender's unborn child, we have also advised Gwent Police to charge Carl Whant with the offence of child destruction under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929".

Apparently, abortionists dread dinner parties when their neighbour is quite likely to turn to them and say: "What is it you do for a living?" Perhaps this would make a good line for the pro life campaigners, nothing succeeds like a bit of social ostracization and while many might approve of the act, I suspect very few approve of those who carry out the deed.

I can do without Grace..........

...Gerald Grace, that is, or, to give him his full title, Professor Gerald Grace, Director of the Centre for Research in Catholic Education and of the Institute of Education at the University of London.
Professor Grace was wheeled out to speak up for liberty, equality and fraternity on this morning's Ed Stourton show on Radio 4. He was batting for Westminster Diocese in the Cardinal Vaughan affair.
Now Prof Grace has been described as "a world renowned education author and academic," words guaranteed to loosen one's bowels, speaking as one who worked in education for a large part of his life. But, it's Sunday and I have vowed to make any comments or posts as Christian as possible (I try that every day but don't always succeed).
The stance that Prof Grace took was that the Vaughan was imposing stringent entry conditions and that this was against the ethos of a state school (I paraphrase somewhat as I am off to Swansea shortly for reasons that will become clear later).
Bishop Stack came on and backed him up by claiming that such conditions of entry discriminated against refugees from the Sudan. At this point the old thin red mist began to rise again and I had to take a firm grip of myself. Has the Catholic world gone completely barking mad? Has Lewis Carroll come back to earth to write another drug induced fantasy?
"Enough! Enough" I cried! I am in need of respite care away from such idiocies and
un-Christian thought prompting issues.
We shall take ourselves off for the 5pm EF Mass at St Therese de Liseux at Port Talbot (a 150 mile round trip for us) and enjoy a Chinese brunch in Swansea, home of Dylan Thomas among many others.
And after Holy Mass? Well some soothing tea and buns and a great deal of Catholic laughter - but no red wine, I'm driving!

I can do swishing

A cleric has criticised the traditional faith (it's all traditional, Father) sideswiping it neatly with words like 'elitism,' 'extra bowing', 'ornate decorations' and 'elaborate swishing movements' (yes, really).
So, just to remind him of what we are and where we have come from I thought this photograph (from Orbis Catholicus Secundus) would enlighten him.
It is, of course, the Holy Father's minder, Mgr Georg Ganswein, God bless him!
He looks as if he could sashay enough to please the priest in question...

And please don't comment that he shouldn't be wearing a rochet....he's the Pope's man for goodness sake!

Is combox censoring a lie?

Comments are the very air we bloggers breathe. It shows that there is someone out there who reads and, occasionally cares. I do not look for bouquets, that is not my purpose in blogging; I do expect brickbats as I hold fast to the view that, in an universal church you will get a wide range of views (at least on matters non doctrinal).
I am trying also to keep an air of humility here (and it's hard!)  over the fact that, quite often we verily thrive on a little lively debate, of being slapped down from time to time; it is, I think, a very traditionalist outlook and in my earlier, formative years I remember my six brothers and sisters holding forth on faith matters and this being a very essential part of understanding and at the same time accepting the stance taken by others. It may be one reason why Liberal Catholics accuse us Traditionalists of being 'right wing' or 'extreme', they do not have the benefit of a background of homespun apologetics (among many other things).

I allow every comment in my combox except blasphemous or ones rudely disrespectful to God or His people; I am sure that 99.9% of Catholic bloggers do the same.
Ergo, I expect the same in return. A polite comment from me to a fellow blogger should be published. If it is not, it constitutes a lie because that person is shielding their readers from full exposure to the truth of comments expressing an opposing view.

It also indicates a rather appalling lack of belief in themselves. They must be terribly insecure individuals if they cannot stomach a little opposition.
And what impression does it leave their faithful readers with? Ah, perhaps we get to the nub; the impression must be that the blogger concerned is wonderful, enlightening and entertaining because - you see.....no one ever contradicts them!

So, come on Auntie...you keep doing this to me.....try a little honesty for a change!

THE CRITICAL MASS - ARE BOTH FORMS THE SAME?

Well, it had to be stated at some stage; I know the SSPX view would be 'no', I expect the liberal view would be 'no', but the traditional, orthodox view is, 'YES! Yes', they are the same; a Mass is a Mass is a Mass.

But what do I mean when I state that they are the same? I mean that both Masses are valid before Almighty God and that both are pleasing to Almighty God. I also mean that there is a difference between them and that difference is one of the reasons for the Holy Father giving them the two forms; Ordinary and Extraordinary.

Which form do you think more pleasing to God? Which form produces God's gift of grace more abundantly? - or are they both the same?

Anything extraordinary must, in essence, be better than its ordinary counterpart. Extraordinary calls for extra effort, a more advanced production or style, maybe, even, a more complicated structure. That is what we experience at an EF Mass. It is more demanding for the celebrant, more demanding for the altar server and arguably more demanding for the congregation (although the jury is out as to that point, much depends on whether you 'participate' or 'meditate').

What do I mean by more demanding for the celebrant? For a start, it is in Latin. That has to be learnt and comprehended. Next, is the liturgical format itself. Few would argue against the fact that the EF rubrics require much of the priest. Each move, each tone, inflection and tenor of voice; it is, as Mgr Ronald Knox once described it: "A slow and deliberate dance". Each step requiring precision and timing. As a privileged altar server, I, at certain stages during the Mass, have a close view of proceedings on the altar; I see the hands of the priest gently rotating the host in a certain direction, I see the tips of the index finger and thumb being joined so as not to be sullied by earthly things after touching the Lord, I see the earnest and silent prayers being offered up on our behalf.
It is both reverent and complicated; it is challenging to undertake and, above all else, it places the priest in a face to face confrontation with the Almighty giving him an opportunity to focus solely on God rather than the congregation.

It is not my purpose to denigrate the Ordinary Form of Mass in any way. As stated previously, it is an authentic and licit form of the Mass. But it requires less input from all concerned, it is plain, it does not challenge, it is ordinary.

Which form do you believe to be more pleasing to God? Which form do you believe produces a greater flow of grace from God to us?

They cannot be equally pleasing. Cold logic precludes that train of thought. A one line prayer enunciated in 3 seconds must be less effective in producing grace than, say, a more elaborate and longer prayer (accepting that both are delivered reverently).
Ten decades of the Rosary are better than one Hail Mary; is that not the principle?

I want to emphasize the fact that both Masses are valid but I also do not wish to shy away from the fact that the Extraordinary Form of Mass is more competent in terms of the reverence it inspires and the volume of grace that comes as a result.

I have experienced that flow of grace.
As a family, we 'bounced' back into the traditional arms of Holy Mother Church in 1988 - for a number of profound reasons. Our needs were provided by a great priest, Father Peter Lessiter. Father Lessiter travelled the country, on a continous circuit, taking the Mass and Sacraments to the faithful. As returners to the Latin Mass he explained that we would receive  tremendous grace as a result of the path we had chosen.
This was so. In fact, it was so to a point of overflowing, and so it continues to today.

Finally, I would like to ask a question of every priest that celebrates both forms of the Mass:
"Given the option, would you prefer to only celebrate one form and, if so, which one?"
The answer will be known only to God, but I think it would be an extraordinary one!

HAPPY FEASTDAY!

                       OUR LADY OF LOURDES

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!



My take on the Pareto Principle

The Pareto Principle used to be much quoted in marketing circles; it has probably been replaced by something rather nerdy by now. It owes its origins to German economist,  Joseph M Juran who named it after an Italian, one Vilfredo Pareto.
In 1906 Vilfredo noted that, 80% of the real estate in Italy was owned by 20% of the people. He went on to discover that 20% of the pea pods growing in his garden contained 80% of the crop.
Translated into commercial terms it materialises as 80% of sales coming from 20% of your customer base and all permutations thereof. It does actually often work, surprisingly accurately.

Well, Vilfredo, take a break because I have a different principle to propound although sheer modesty and an innate sense of self consciousness forbids me from calling it the Collins Principle.
It is, I suppose, an offshoot from Pareto and it relates to both people and experiences. Take people first. My priniciple holds that one third of, say, school teachers are excellent, one third mediocre and one third downright fit for the dole queue. I have based this on my experiences in dealing with teachers over many years of bringing up four children and of even more years of working in the sector.
Rubbish! I hear all you teachers shout but, wait awhile and look at a different scenario.
Take GPs in their surgeries, it works for them. In fact, it works for just about every sector of employed personnel (policemen, nurses, hotel receptionists, dustmen, it is nothing if not even handed in its application.
Now for experiences; take your wife/husband out for a meal. Did you enjoy it? Was it awful? Was it just, you know, sort of alright-ish? Yes, it was 33.3% every time. Same for holidays, films at the cinema and so on.

What has this got to do with the Catholic Faith you are now muttering in a somewhat agitated state. At last, I arrive at the point. Priests. yes, priests. I have had a go at the Bishops and so I feel it is now only fair to direct my comments to Catholic priests.

If my principle of three thirds holds true, it does mean that excellence is only apparent in a fraction of the priestly population. Sadly, I believe that it is true. I know of many, many priests who let the side down by their lack of effort, by their dress code, by their sloppy regard for liturgical niceties and for Canon Law. Another third are, how shall I put it? Treading water? plateauing ? (as we used to say about a person who has advanced so far in their career but doesn't push to go further).
Thankfully, we have the elite third who mirror Christ in all that they do and who are worthy of our constant thanks - all being worthy of our prayers.
Of course, it would be wrong to begin to name them; they would not want that but we all know who they are and where they may be found, God bless them.

To re-propose Tradition rather than to impose it

Mgr Charles Pope, excellent man that he is, has written about the EF Mass and the reform of the reform within the context of bringing the Catholics who either have no knowledge of what is involved or who actively dislike the concept of "a Latin Mass" on board. Re-proposing rather than imposing. It comes from the Archdiocese of Washington website and makes for good and heartening reading.
In recent years (probably since the Motu Proprio), I have come to believe that every parish should have both forms of Mass on offer (up until then I felt that only the EF Mass would do). The new can and does sit alongside the orthodox comfortably. It may be that OF parishioners may never wish to experience an EF Mass but that's alright....as long as both factions respect each others views and accept both forms.
Read Mgr Pope's piece here.http://blog.adw.org/

Parish priests and Catechists....here's an offer you cannot refuse!

Does the name John Madden Reid mean anything to you? Yes? Oh good. You will recall then that he was born in Chile, went to Ampleforth (when it was a half decent school) and spent his career in marketing and head hunting.
He also, in 1996, wrote and published a book called "Wake up to God". Nothing overly extraordinary about that you may say. But, you would be wrong. You see John Reid then proceeded to give this book away, not just one or two here and there but many thousands. 30,000 plus, in fact.

Now "Wake up to God" is a good book, it carries an imprimatur and it is orthodox in its slant. It is aimed at young Catholics. But the good man has a current problem; old age and infirmity are catching up with him and he has put out a call via the letters column in the LMS Magazine, 'Mass of Ages' for creative ideas as to how he can ensure volume numbers of his books fall into the right hands ie Headteachers of Catholic Schools, Priests and Catechists.

John has appealed to the Bishops for some enlightenment but received none - shock, horror, surprise!
So now I am  asking on his behalf. It is a logistics issue. John has the books but has not the health to move them around the country. He needs some distribution aid......someone with a bit of muscle, a transit van or two and a network of parishes, or whatever.He may be contacted by email on jmreid1@btinternet.com and his web address is http://www.book-disciples.org/

You will not get a much better offer than that.....and it includes homeschoolers!