The Problems of Being Faithful

I found myself in a difficult situation this morning when I approached the altar to receive Holy Communion.   I suddenly found that the priest was not distributing the host.   This was no fault of his since he was an old man filling in and did not have the legs to stand but hobbled around on a stick.   Facing me with the hosts was a woman who had professedly 'moved on' from the Catholic Faith and who certainly did not share the Catholic belief in the Holy Sacrament.  There was also a very young man distributing but he was too young and I did not know his beliefs.  I decided to refrain from receiving and just walked around the first bench and back up the side aisle.    I do not think anyone noticed.

But is it not something scandalous when people with anti-catholic beliefs have such a grip on the parish that even reverence for the Blessed Sacrament has gone.  Any Tom, Dick, or Harriet can handle the Body of Christ and become what is called a "Eucharistic Minister".    Of course this is a deliberate misuse of the term since only a priest can be a Eucharistic Minister and what the Church introduced was Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.   But if it gets people 'doing things' and a sense of importance in the congregation then that is a brownie point to the priest and he can delude himself that these little 'sweeties' show a community at work and we are a better Church now than 50 years ago.   Forget the Presence of Christ - he is in the community after all.

In the early Church people did not receive on the hand and this Spirit of Vatican II lie was exposed by scholars a long time ago.   The host was brought to the sick in their homes by deacons after the breaking of bread.    It is very rarely I receive Communion from any lay person since I do not know if they share the Catholic Faith with me and are worthy of holding the host or the chalice.   Despite the 'let's all be happy' priests who call everyone Catholic this is far from the truth.    In many parishes there are deep devisions and the teachings of Christ are usually mocked by those who 'hold power'.   I receive from the priest because he acts 'in persona Christi", which means he is representing Christ feeding the people.    You may remember at the last supper the disciples were not sitting at a table but on couches and Jesus as the host went from one couch to another distributing His Body at that first Mass.   Therefore unless there is an appointed Deacon present I take only from the Priest.    and I do not take the chalice from lay people either.    For when they say "The Blood of Christ"  do they believe it as a Catholic or is it just words they are supposed to say.   I doubt if in the history of the Church there has been such hypocrisy around as there is now.
  

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