Posted on 02/25/2008 5:48:28 AM PST by NYer
Rome - The Vatican is poised to introduce stricter norms on Roman Catholic mass, including halting the taking of communion in the hand and setting a time limit for homilies, an Italian newspaper reported Monday. Turin-based daily La Stampa quoted senior Vatican official, Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don saying the move was necessary to eliminate "extravagancies" that have crept into Mass celebrations.
Provisions include restricting to 10 minutes homilies and sermons and ensuring that they be exclusively based on the Gospel readings, said Ranjith who is Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
The practice of allowing the faithful to receive Communion - the bread host which Catholics believe represents the body of Christ - in their hands would also be "urgently reviewed", Ranjith was quoted as saying.
The Vatican wants the host "placed directly into the mouths of the faithful so they don't touch it (with their hands)... because many don't even realize they are receiving Christ and do this with scant concentration and respect," Ranjith said.
The distribution of communion on the hands of those attending mass has been widespread since the so-called Vatican II Council - a series of reforms introduced in the 1960s aimed at making church celebrations more accessible to the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
But according to Ranjith the practice was "illegally and hastily introduced by certain elements of the Church immediately after the Council".
"Some people keep hosts with them as a sort of souvenir, others sell them while in some cases the hosts have been taken away to be used in blasphemous Satanic rituals," he said.
Ranjith said the measures to bring back "dignity and decorum" to mass celebrations were in line with Pope Benedict XVI's wishes, but he did not specify when they would be introduced, nor if they would be issues as an order or a set of guidelines.
Benedict, who earned a reputation as a conservative before being elected pontiff in 2005, last year eased restrictions introduced by Vatican II on the celebration of the traditional Latin mass.
The move which has included softening a prayer for the conversion of Jews contained in the Latin liturgical text, has drawn criticism from Jewish groups who resent what they say remains a singling out of members of their faith.
Meanwhile hard-line traditionalist Catholics have expressed anger over what they say is Benedict's tampering of the original Latin mass which they regard as sacred.
You may have seen the video, but I think your interpretations were 100% incorrect. Lay people are “trained” to be Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and are allowed to distribute the host to the faithful (I am one). So there is definitely NO teaching / rule that states a lay person cannot touch the host.
Ignore on!
I am willing to bet that her “dress” wasn’t too modest. I don’t mean buttoned to the neck but I do mean that it probably allowed for ample cleavage showing.
If this is the video clip I saw, it was a bride at her wedding and her voluptuous breasts were spilling out her bodice. Not really the attire to wear at church.
Also, speech on par with Jack Chick, VDare, National Alliance, KKK, Aryan Nations, Christian Identity et al - that attaches demonic symbolism to other beliefs to monger hatred is not allowed.
So if you truly believe that a certain doctrine leads to damnation then choose your words carefully.
Post #80?
As it stands now, that is the law of the Church, but since St. Thomas Aquinas is a high authority in the Latin rite, he taught that only those with consecrated hands should touch the Blessed Sacrament.
I'm going to pray a rosary just for you.
Pet peeve of mine...
If it were offered longer, or more frequently, I would go more often. We have some lines, but they are not typically long. But given that we only have 30 minutes, and I don't get there at the starting time that frequently, it makes it harder to go. While I may not have committed any mortal sins since the previous confession, I would like to confess weekly for the sacramental grace. However, I also use that time before Mass to settle myself, to focus on Christ, to pray, to prepare. In addition, I will look over the readings ahead of time, and peruse the prior day's Magnificat pages. It's hard to do that if you are standing in line, starting to get nervous about running out of time.
I hope they don’t bring kneeling back. I have a terrible time getting back up!
I saw that video and it reminded me of the time (last geologic age ( -;)that my veil slipped across my face. I had my eyes closed and hadn’t noticed it. The deacon took the paten and brushed the veil aside. I was quite mortified!
Yeah, I can't support that in the Bible either.
In a perfect world, they wouldn’t touch the tongue. That said, I have sometimes. I would rather do that than worry about the Host not bouncing off. In addition, there’s something called washing their hands after Mass that I am sure they are familiar with.
Your shortcoming in that regard is not my concern.
Doctrinally, the short-coming is yours.
After all, why would He have made such a big deal about it and told his disciples (not just the apostles) this was something they’d have to do, if He was going to do it only once, for a select bunch.
I teach RCIA myself. I feel pretty good about the content I’m putting out, but not so good about the dropout rate. I’m sure I could be better at it, but there’s also the fact that many aren’t ready to hear it.
Posters who challenge my authority are not allowed.
Stop, please
Who/what are you talking about?
I won’t disagree with you, but I rarely/never tend to obey those in ‘high authority’ versus the whole Magesterium. This can lead to dissent, and if I criticize those who wish to soften and liberalize, I must apply the same standards to those who wish to overtighten (so to speak) the rules.
I did add the phrase “teaching” because I could hear some saying ‘oh the Catholic Church is all about rules’, so my use of the word teaching was overly ambiguous.
FWIW, when I am not EHMCing, I receive on the tongue, and have started genuflecting in line as well.
Since when did the Bible become the ultimate authority?
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