I really am horrified by the the desacration of the Blessed Sacrament in Australia, reported in the last post, it makes me feel both angry and sick.
Australia is the land of Bishop Morris and Fr Kennedy, both aged hippies who rejected the Catholic faith years ago. In the case of Bishop Morris I was surprised that his brother bishops seemed to take no action, indeed when his forced resignation was announced many seemed to support him. In the case of Fr Kennedy, for years he baptised invalidly and preached heresy with no censure from the Archbishop Brisbane, until Rome acted he was a "priest in good standing", as that was so one ask whether Bishop Bathurst is really a "bishop in good standing", could he be if he is tolerant of heresy an error in his diocese.
Fr Greg Reynolds' bishop had indeed suspended him but yet tolerated his celebrating Mass at which he preached heresy and set up his own church, an anti-church to the Church, for dissident Catholics. I really cannot understand why this priest having celebrated the sacraments whilst suspended was not excommunicated, if he continued to celebrate Mass then those who attended should also have been excommunicated.
Harsh? That is certainly what the liberal would claim. If I were the Pope I would place the whole continent under interdict until reparation was made, I would demand every bishop wore sackcloth for a year. It should certainly, at the very least make me, consider removing the indult for communion in the hand,
What strikes me as being strange is that Archbishop Hart, Reynolds' bishop takes a rather high handed approach towards the liberal secular Melbourne daily, The Age, for the way in which they report the story, they refer the Holy Eucharist as "bread and wine" and treat the whole incident as a bit of a joke, yet the Archbishop doesn't seem inclined to examine why the newspaper, published in his diocese, doesn't seem to have a higher understanding of a fundamental Catholic belief: could it not be that years and years of bad liturgy and poor catechesis have so degraded Catholicism that the bread of Angels has become crumbs given to housedogs? It should make him realise that far from being "awesome mysteries" most parish liturgies seem to give the impression we are distributing merely bread and wine. This just a notch down from the diocese of Linz's foccacia on stick Corpus Christi procession, and a few notches down from those people who used to ask me when I was going to let them "give out the wine again" or bishops who talk about the "Eucharist representing Christ" or priests being ordained to "build community".
Make some act of reparation for this sacrilege, and most especially for those who don't see it as a sacrilege.
19 comments:
God bless you, Fr Blake.
Go for it Father!
Words as always are important. After 40 years of cutting edge catechesis I am horrified by this account but not because of anything I was taught by a catechist but rather because of the piety my parents taught me and which I still treasure. I have seen priests at the Grotto in Lourdes drop the blessed sacrament on the floor and berate me for picking up the Body of Christ saying it was no longer such as it was no longer bread if it touched the floor; I have been assured in a "Diocesan Easter School" that the fragments of the Blessed Sacrament scattered over the floor were not important as they were no longer recognisable as bread ( though they never had been as he had used Matzos Crackers to connect better with the Passover)I have had to constantly to priests saying from the altar that hosts and the chalice would be distributed to the faithful at Communion.
Phrases such as the "wine of salvation" and "this one bread and one cup" may satisfy some but they also dislocate the understanding from the observation; I see bread but I know that it is now the Body of Christ, I see wine but I know it is the Blood of Christ. Words are more and more important because the essence of our faith is being replaced with euphemism. People talked of Special Ministers of the Eucharist because Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist sounded too important; then they simply spoke of Eucharistic Ministers because it sounded more humble thereby completely missing the point that the original title had a specific meaning. Now who complains when the Eucharistic Minister shares her thoughts after she has read the Gospel at a "service of the word with communion" celebrated because parishioners would rather drive to their parish church than to drive in the other direction to Mass at a neighbouring Parish!
Father what are we to do? What words and actions can draw us back to the true expression of our faith? Please, recommend specific actions that can be reparation for these things.
These "guys/priests?" are so out dated. Why oh, why can't they use rap to attract they young?!
Snoop Ggod
(dogG spelled backwards)
In the name of the Dude
And of the Dogg
And the rizzle dizzle for shizzle bizzle.
(In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit)
Fo shizzle
Welcome to my
Hizzle.
(...the Table of the Lord)
Fo sheezy
No more on
Your neezy
(The people stand)
Hell to the nizzle.
(No hell)
You da bomb fo shizzle
(Amen)
You’ll find it all in you gangsta’s Mizzle.
(Missalette)
Jehovah, he da man
All clap
Aka H.O.V.A. he rap
(Self explanatory)
So H to the O, V to the A
Wat up dude?
Dat’s all I got to say!
(Go…the Mass has ended)
(My apologies to Snoop Dogg)
Archbishop Hart is my archbishop and yes, he is a personally holy man but his tolerance for dissidents who scandalise the faithful is puzzling.
I must say that I am astonished at you writing that you would put the whole continent under interdict!
I live in Australia and so do many fine Catholics....and you would put us all under interdict!
Yes, all sorts of sacrileges have gone on in Australia just as similar things have gone on around the world. And that includes England too!
I rather think that you have spoken hastily Father.
I am SO shocked by this. It's unbelievable! Are you sure it's true? I am going to pray to the Sacred Heart tonight and for the rest of the week as an act of reparation - unless you can suggest something better Father.
Shameful. Unbelievable.
Sadly, one cannot be surprised that people believe that the "bread of life" is just bread and the wine just wine. This has been the emphasis for many decades since. Even those who received a more rigorous Catholic education have been lulled into this view by constant repetition. Many bishops themselves are of an age where they were catechised under the revised rules of V2.
It's widespread. The priest at this week's Sunday Mass talked copiously about the "bread of life" and that people should feel (note "feel") worthy to receive. Who decides? Well, obviously it's an individual thing as he then encouraged people not to feel too unworthy to receive. So that's all right, then.
Did he mention the importance of being in a state of grace, therefore the necessity of Confession (I can't remember the last time Confession was mentioned in any homily, anywhere) or that the bread of life is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ? Nope.
I really don't know what many Catholics in the 21st century think the Consecration actually is.
This is so shocking that this desecration took place by priest. Can barely look at the photo.We all are obliged to make reparation for this horrendous offense against the Holy Eucharist. I Cant comprehend what the Priest were thinking doing this.
Giving the Body of Christ to a dog is shocking. Gving the Body of Christ to those who live immoral lives is encouraged. People are encouraged to receive the Blessed Sacrament when they are not in a state of grace. I know this because it has happened to me. A confessor assured me thatbit was the right thing to do as I would receive the forgiveness of Our Lord in Communion.
It is not merely the "formal" catechesis thatbis flawed but the the catechesis of action and piety: failing to genuflect on going into church; talking while waiting for Maass to start; enduring the choir rehearsing and knowingbthat is not going to make any difference; eating chewing gum during Mass; using hordes of Extraordinary Minsters of Holy Communion to "distribute the chalice;" receiving the Body of Christ and walking away with the Blessed Sacrament still hovering between mouth and hand.
And what can one expect? During the Procesion of the Blessed Sacrament in the Shrine at Lourdes visitors wander past staring curiously as the "spare bishops" look at their watches and take photographs. I was recently privileged to see Bishop Davis of Shrewsbury demonstrate the appropriate demeanour: rapt attention to the Blessed Sacrament, distracted by nothing he knelt for more than an hour before the Blessed Sacrament as the procession moved off. There was a very real sense of adoration that was communicated so effectively to those around him.
Lord send us priests.
Lord send us many priests
Lord send us many holy priests.
I attended a splendid novus ordo Sunday Mass in Melbourne. I do not know if the celebrant was the Archbishop (no pallium) or an Assistant but he wore the dalmatic, had a 7th candle and exemplified what the n.o could be.
'priests being ordained to "build community"'
Now Father I wonder what you were thinking of when you wrote that!
Was it not contrasted with the old days when we thought the important thing was personal salvation?
Community has its place but did not St John Vianney say the role of a parish priest was to lead his flock to God:
"Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption here on earth...What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of His goods...Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest and they will end by worshiping the beasts there..The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you."
Perhaps leaving a bad priest in post has the same effect?
All this is totally shocking and terrible. I can only hope that the sacrament has been somehow invalidated (the form or intentions, I am not a theologian). An this really were only crumbs.
I found terrible also the fact that I do hope a priest should have NOT believe in real presence or done anything else to really invalidate (the form of?) the Sacrament.
After an accident involving the Precious Blood being spilled at Mass (causing much commotion) a friend told me a nun said something along the lines of If Jesus is clever enough to get into the wine he can probably get out too!
Jonty, Yes that is a problem for Lutheran nuns who believe in consubstantiation, "Jesus in the wine", rather than Catholic nuns who believe in the wine no longer existing but being totally replaced by the "blood of Christ".
@Ompholomancer there is no such thing in the Catholic Church as either an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist or a special minister of the Eucharist. There is only one Eucharistic minister, the priest celebrating Mass.
The correct term is "Extraordinary minister of holy communion" - no other term is permitted.
There are also only limited occasions when they may be used.
I don't understand why the Holy Father continues to tolerate all these abuses. Is he not being informed? Is he afraid of a backlash?
I still have hopes he will do the right thing before he passes beyond the veil but he should start now.
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