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Sunday, May 17, 2020

While USCCB Bishops Bend the Knee to Caesar, One SSPX "Missionary" Sues!



Does this make you want to weep? 

As I watched it I thought about this passage from Luke's gospel:

11And it came to pass, as he was going to Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12And as he entered into a certain town, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off. 13And lifted up their voice, saying: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14Whom when he saw, he said: Go, shew yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean. 15And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God. 16And he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks. And this was a Samaritan. 17And Jesus answering, said: Were not ten made clean? And where are the nine? 18There is no one found to return and give glory to God, but this stranger. 19And he said to him: Arise, go thy way; for thy faith hath made thee whole.
Where are the other bishops and priests willing to challenge Caesar? Apparently, Fr. Robinson's lawyer, Chris Ferrara, couldn't find any. A Jewish rabbi joined the suit but none of the five bishops of New Jersey. 

In my own diocese, the bishop's message about reintegrating the Mass talks about the governor telling us what we are "allowed" to do. Several Northern Virginia counties may hold Communion services but not have Mass by order of the governor. (What? Really?) The bishop apparently doesn't see anything strange about that. Caesar has spoken. The Church bows to the rule of Caesar who will determine all things including whether we can have Mass vs. a Communion service. Do you find that troubling? I do.

The SSPX which has offered Masses in Front Royal every Sunday since the shutdown has shown their concern for the sheep. Drive in Masses were always permitted in Virginia. Every county has a fairground that could have been used. Instead, we get TV Masses, virtual presence, and spiritual Communion. But we aren't spirits! We have bodies and the physical presence and physical reception of Jesus in the Eucharist is our daily bread.

The SSPX is consistently maligned by many in the Church. "They're not like us. They're schismatic!" (They aren't.) "They think they're better than everybody else." (Do they? Or are they simply trying to worship as the Church has for centuries?) My observation is that the priests of the SSPX appear to be the few who recognize the necessity of making Christ in the Eucharist present to the people -- not on TV, not virtually, but really.

I found out something this week about the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) offered at St. John the Baptist in Front Royal which puzzled me. Only the congregation sitting on the gospel side of the Church receives the Eucharist actually blessed by the priest during the Mass. The other side of the church receives Communion from the reposed species in the tabernacle, a mandate from the pastor according to my source. Why? Why can't the priest celebrating the TLM bless enough hosts to dispense the Body of Christ to the entire congregation?

Masses are now resuming in most counties of Virginia with all kinds of restrictions. No holy water, no pew hymnals, mandated mask-wearing, distancing, 50% capacity, etc. etc. Whenever I asked at my local parish if daily Masses would start on May 15th when Virginia entered "phase 1" of the governor's reopening plan I heard, "We're waiting for the bishop's guidelines." 

Good grief! Didn't the bishop have two months to think about "guidelines?" 

I've listened to the bishop's video and read the guidelines and was seriously disturbed. Those of us of a certain age are encouraged to stay home. What an irony! The very group closest to the exit door, the ones most in need of preparing to meet the Lord of the Universe soon are told we should stay home. Will we be pariahs if we go? Will we get the evil eye? "What are you doing here? Don't you know you're taking up a seat for a younger person? Go home, you old bat!"

The SSPX looks better and better these days as we hear bishop after bishop either mandate or encourage receiving Communion in the hand -- as if those hands aren't among the germiest places on the body. So Jesus gets "dropped" into the hand as one bishop illustrated, in a shocking display of irreverence! (Shall we give him a parachute as my colleague Susan suggested?) 

Meanwhile, what will be the reaction to those of us who refuse to treat Jesus like a frisbee? Will we be accused of being holier than thou and wanting to kill people if we receive on the tongue? I hope not. Many people in my parish receive on the tongue. I hope they continue, but we're living in panic mode these days so who knows?

As we continue in this driest of Easter seasons, I go in my meditations out to the desert with Jesus. The devil assaults us these days with renewed vigor which I believe comes from the millions of babies legally murdered in this country since Roe v. Wade. The whirlwind was inevitable and it's here -- not a reason to despair, but a time to dig in and hold our ground and try to take some back from the enemy instead of conceding more to him as the bishops are doing.

So polish your armor and sharpen your sword. We're in this battle for life. I raise my sword, the word of God, in a salute to Fr. Robinson and Rabbi Knopfler and to Chris Ferrara, an indefatigable Catholic warrior. May their battle against Caesar result in a rout!

3 comments:

  1. The Imitation of Christ excerpt (in my Latin Mass missal) after the May 15th Proper for St. John Baptiste de la Salle’s feast day was amazingly apropos for the church lockdown and the no Holy Communion situation we find ourselves in right now. Perhaps this excerpt was a hint from God that the source of the church lockdowns is diabolical. Take a look:

    “ The enemy, knowing the very great fruit and remedy contained in the Holy Communion, striveth by every method and occasion, as far as he is able, to withdraw and hinder faithful and devout persons from it.” - The Imitation of Christ - Thomas A Kempis

    I wonder if this has even crossed the minds of our bishops. It seems fear is their motivation, but what about the fear of God?

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  2. Please do not let attacks on the SSPX from online blog sites, particularly Church Militant, change your views. CM has identified issues with sexual predation within the SSPX, and, if accurate, these are troubling. However, the entire Society is hardly likely to be so affected.

    While I am not an SSPX member, they have stood solely for following the True Faith into which all of us of a certain age were born and raised. The Society's sacraments are valid and licit. I suggest at least supporting them financially, while praying that the institutional Catholic Church follow much of the Society's practice in living and practicing the Catholic Faith.

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  3. Although some bishops have instructed their priests NOT to give Holy Communion on the tongue during the COVID -19 pandemic, no bishop has the canonical right to forbid a disposed Catholic from receiving on the tongue, which has been the universal law of the Church for centuries. During the Protestant Reformation (Revolution) adherents were told to receive in the hand to show their disbelief in Transubstantiation.
    In his article, “ Will Communion in Hand Be Forced Upon the People?” written by +Fr. Robert Fox in “The Catholic Register,”(8/21/1977)
    Fr. Fox wrote: “ I have not read a single reason, nor can I think of one, how Communion in the hand will aid the spiritual lives of Catholics. I can think of many reasons why it will hinder Eucharistic piety and adoration and an already weakening of Faith for the Real Presence of the God-Man.”
    Fr. Fox concludes his article: “Now that the promoters for Communion on the hand have won their day by methods at times dishonest and again by pressuring and disobedience, let our Catholic pastors and people see that in no way is the option (of receiving in the hand) forced upon our people.”

    Fr. Fox’s fear has become a reality. Communion in the hand has now illicitly trumped Communion on the tongue in some dioceses.

    During the SARS epidemic, a letter was sent to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments concerning receiving Holy Communion on the tongue during the crisis. In a letter dated 24 July 2009, Fr. Anthony Ward S.M., Under-Secretary of the
    Roman Dicastery responded: “This Dicastery observes that its Instruction “Redemptionis Sacramentum” (25 March 2004) clearly stipulates
    that “each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue” (no. 92) nor is it licit to deny Holy Communion to any
    of Christ’s faithful who are not impeded by law from receiving the Holy Eucharist.”

    It is instructive to learn the genesis of receiving in the hand in the modern Church. Because of its wide -spread use in some countries in Europe in the 1960’s, the practice of receiving in the hand (re-introduced by disobedient priests) was given an iINDULT by Pope Paul V1 to prevent further scandal. The INDULT was only given to those countries where the practice was already well established. Unfortunately, through duplicity and unmitigated pressure, countries where the practice was not commonplace, soon requested (and received) the INDULT.)

    Something else worth noting is that in the “Guidelines on Sacraments and Pastoral Care: Working Group on Infectious Disease Protocols for Sacraments & Pastoral Care” (May 7, 2020), adopted, I believe, by the United States Bishops, we read in the section: “Communion on the tongue vs, in the hand”. (p. 19) :
    “We have carefully considered the question of Communion on the tongue vs. Communion in the hand. Given the Church’s existing guidance on this point (see “Redemptionis Sacramentum” no. 92) and recognizing the differing judgments and sensibilities that are involved, we believe that, with the additional precautions listed here, it is possible to distribute on the tongue without unreasonable risk.”
    I think some bishops missed reading that part of the document. Very sad.
    Rosemary Therese Reid

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