“… the liturgical abuse of non-communicants processing up at Communion time to get a blessing, which causes confusion and sacrilege.”
Christ told us to love our enemies. But loving our enemies does not mean pretending they are our friends. And note that Christ never said “Blessed are the pacifists.” Rather, He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Back in July, Pope Leo sent a warm and gracious message to the Life Teen organization. A priest-friend of the pope is on the leadership team at Life Teen. Have you ever heard of Life Teen? Its Wikipediapage states:
Life Teen holds youth-focused masses, which it says are the most important part of its program. Particular efforts are made to create a welcoming atmosphere, reverent and relevant music, and an engaging homily that speaks to the issues in teens’ lives.
I went to a Life Teen Mass once, over 25 years ago, when I was still a layman. I had been traveling on a Sunday and made it to my mother’s. She said there was a 5 p.m. Mass in town but added, “It’s a Life Teen Mass.” I said, “What does that mean?” And she said, “Well, it’s for the youth.” And so, duly warned, I went.
Before Mass started, an upper-middle-age man and wife, sporting bright colored T-shirts that said “Life Teen,” walked around the half-empty nave. They asked how everyone was doing, if anyone was visiting from out of town, and if it was anyone’s birthday. A young child slowly raised his hand, and all were instructed to sing “Happy Birthday” to him.
The Mass, offered by an upper-middle-age priest, began not with “In the name of the Father…” but with “Good Afternoon!” During the Gloria and Alleluia, someone played the drums while a teenage girl prompted the small crowd to make various bodily motions with their arms in some sort of half-cocked dance routine.
At Communion time, the priest processed to the front of the sanctuary to distribute Holy Communion, but he was empty-handed. Standing on his left and his right were two teenage girls wearing very short shorts. They were both holding ciboria, the sacred vessels which hold the Most Holy Eucharist.
As people processed up the aisle, two by two, the priest would take a Communion host from the girls’ ciboria. The communicants were instructed to hold out their left hand and the priest then reached out and held their hand below their wrist. He looked them in the eye while holding their hand and said, “The Body of Christ.”
While watching all this as I processed up, I said to myself, “I’m not going to hold hands with this man.” And so, as I approached, I put my arms behind my back and stuck out my tongue. Visibly shocked, the priest placed the host on my tongue.
Of course, the rules for Mass did and do not call for the priest to be holding hands or otherwise touching anyone during the Communion Rite. Last Sunday, I mentioned the liturgical abuse of non-communicants processing up at Communion time to get a blessing, which causes confusion and sacrilege. At weddings and funerals, fallen-away Catholics process up; and if they do not commit sacrilege by receiving Holy Communion, they get a blessing, which means absolutely nothing because they have no intention of reconciling with the Church.
Parents have been conditioned to have their very young children be blessed at Communion. This is a distraction for all involved. For when those parents should be focused like a laser beam on what is taking place—that God Himself is being placed on their tongue—they find themselves busy looking at their children, making sure they get a blessing.
And priests, not wishing to offend anyone, give blessings. In the past, it was considered gravely sinful for a priest to break the rules at Mass. Not so much today, as Mass has become more focused on us instead of the One person who can save us from ourselves; the One person who can save us from Hell.
That One person died, tortured to death for our sins. And so, Holy Communion only comes to us through a death. Any food we eat has to die first before we can eat it. The wheat gets ripped off the stalk, ground up, and put in the fire before becoming bread. The grape gets smashed in the press. And the lamb gets its throat slashed, bled out, and then roasted before we can have communion with it.
More: https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/the-cross-conquers-the-world
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