Fr. Collins: Sloppy Morality Results when the Hierarchy Fails to Teach Clearly!

Editor's Note: I had to look up the definition of "lacunae." It is certainly not a word one hears or uses every day. Lacunae indicate deficiencies or gaps in something. There are certainly many deficiencies these days in the teaching (or non-teaching) the faithful receive about Eucharistic devotion. Fr. Collins points out many of them and his article invites serious reflection on our own treatment of the Holy Eucharist. Every one of us can contribute to the Eucharistic revival by the way we treat Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Are we among those chatting in Church or do we come dressed like we're going to the beach? Let us all examine our consciences and consider how we can give a more reverent example and witness when we are in the real presence of Jesus, our King and Lord! And a big thank you to Fr. Collins for another wonderful article. You can check out others by going to his page linked on the side bar.

LACUNAE IN THE EUCHARISTIC YEAR

by Fr. Tom Collins

Our First Duty is to God! Liturgical Worship is among the Most Important Things We Do....

....and how we do it is not a trivial issue!

Remember the story of Cain and Abel. Both sacrificed, but one sacrifice pleased God and one did not. That event in Genesis reminds us that we can say, "Lord, Lord!" without pleasing God.

I think of that when I go to the Novus Ordo (N.O.). The priest enters the church and we recite the entrance antiphon. He processes to the sanctuary steps, makes a quick genuflection or bow, climbs the steps and goes behind the altar. He kisses the altar and then many priests, with their backs to Jesus in the tabernacle, say, "Good-morning, everybody" or some other greeting that violates the rubrics. This sets the stage, not for a sacrifice, but for a conversation sharing a meal with the congregation.

USCCB Document on the Eucharist Part II: Sin Alienates us from God

The section of the Eucharistic document on sin, sacrifice, and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (paragraphs 10-50) reaffirms and summarizes the truths Catholics believe about the Eucharist. The bishops affirm the truth that sin separates us from God, and that Jesus came to save us from sin and reunite us to the Father. The sacrifice on Calvary and Christ's resurrection are the "eternal sign of His love," and the Mass is a re-presentation of that sacrifice. The holy Mass acts as a doorway "through which we, like the saints and mystics before us, may enter into a deeper perception of the mercy and love manifested in and through Christ’s sacramental presence in our midst." We should approach Almighty God, present in the Eucharist with holy fear (awe) and trembling. 

THIS was the Ciborium, then they threw it in the trash.

This paper plate bowl was used as a Ciborium. Hosts were consecrated in it and Holy Communion distributed from it, then after Mass it was thrown in the garbage. Horrified, I fished it out of the trash and the next day took it to my pastor to burn, along with the bag and tissue paper I had put it in. THIS is what leftist liberal modernist priests do - those who no longer believe in the Real Presence, if they ever did at all, that is. THIS sacrilege and utterly disgusting actions of an out-of-state priest have sent me flying into the arms of the SSPX in order to escape the horror of having to see Christ treated in such a degrading and shameful manner. The Mass was not celebrated in a diocesan church, or any church at all, nevertheless, my pastor, to whom I supplied all the pertinent information, has said that he will report it to the bishop. So we shall see. I did speak to the errant priest about this, although I did not tell him I had taken the "Ciborium" out of the trash.

Bring Back Reverence! How? Here are a few suggestions.

"Jesus gives us his living, beating heart in the Eucharist." Bring back the Communion rail.
                                                                                                                     Fr. Mark Goring



Since Vatican II all kinds of abuses have crept into our liturgies. I remember the clown Masses, the home Masses with no liturgical vestments, the guitar and mariachi Masses, the butterfly vestments, the crepe paper rainbow and cracked pot in the sanctuary, the sand in the holy water fonts during lent. My goodness, the list is endless!

Fulton Sheen: "We Live by What We Slay" - A Reflection on the Mass

Traditional Latin Rite Sacrifice of the Mass

I recently read The Ottaviani Intervention, compiled by Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, Antonio Cardinal Bacci, and A Group of Roman Theologians (who are not named). It is a Critical Study of The New Order of Mass, written shortly after the close of Vatican II.
Because I came into the Catholic Church in 1968, I barely remember attending mass at which the Novus Ordo mass was not in use. I did not realize at the time the change was made that I was witness to a great change in the Church, a change that would reverberate throughout the world causing more damage than we dare to imagine.