Q. A friend of mine wishes to purchase a picture of St. Germaine Cousin (1579-1601), patron saint of abused children. She was canonized 149 years ago. Can you tell me where she can purchase a picture of her? — M.S., via e-mail.
A. We don’t know, but perhaps one of our readers does. We will keep you posted.
Q. Having just finished the book AA-1025 about Communist infiltration into the Catholic Church, I am amazed at the number of undercover Communist seminarians/clergy in the 20th century who tried to destroy the Church from within. The book is essentially a diary of such a clergyman uncovered by a hospital nurse after this person expired following a traffic accident. What do you think about this book? — R.B.K., Virginia.
A. The book is allegedly a memoir of a Communist agent who was ordained a Catholic priest in the 1940s and who supposedly played a key role in the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. The agent’s code name was AA-1025, which allegedly meant that he was the 1025th “Anti-Apostle” infiltrated into the Church by the Soviet secret police. While we have no doubt that the Communists were successful in infiltrating Catholic seminaries and the Church, we have no idea whether AA-1025 is accurate or not. We find it difficult to believe, however, that a secret Communist agent would spell out his subversive role so plainly in a diary.
Q. Prior to First Holy Communion at our parish last Sunday, the pastor put the following in the bulletin: “In the United States, the body of bishops determined that Communion should be received standing, and that a bow is the act of reverence made by those receiving. These norms may require some adjustment on the part of those who have been used to other practices. However, the significance of unity in posture and gesture as a symbol of our unity as members of the one body of Christ should be the governing factor in our own actions.”
It is my understanding that we are not required to make “some adjustment” if we choose to genuflect or kneel when receiving our Lord in Holy Communion. Your comments please. — J.G., via e-mail.
A. In its 2004 document Redemptionis Sacramentum, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments agreed with you when it said:
“In distributing Holy Communion, it is to be remembered that ‘sacred ministers may not deny the sacraments to those who seek them in a reasonable manner, are rightly disposed, and are not prevented by law from receiving them’ [canon 843 §1; cf. canon 915]. Hence any baptized Catholic who is not prevented by law must be admitted to Holy Communion. Therefore, it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing” (n. 91).
Q. During the homily at our Mass for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the deacon referred to the reading from the Acts of the Apostles in which Gentiles were not required to be circumcised. He went on to say that over the many years of our Catholic faith, the Church has sanctioned many changes. He then said that it was possible that the Church would permit in the future priests to marry and women to be ordained. What is the best refutation of this comment? — B.W., via e-mail.
A. You have to make a distinction between priests being allowed to marry and women being ordained to the priesthood. The first is possible but not likely; the second is impossible. An unmarried priesthood has been the norm in the Catholic Church from the beginning (cf. Christian Cochini’s book The Apostolic Origins of Priestly Celibacy) for several reasons. One, celibacy conforms a man in a special way to Christ, who was not married and who promised great rewards to those who have “given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:29).
Two, it allows a priest to focus exclusively on serving Christ and the faithful, without at the same time worrying about wives and children. Three, it provides space and time for serious prayer and development of a deep bond with Christ, whom the priest is called to share with the world. Four, it is a foretaste of Heaven where there will be no marriage. And five, it is a wonderful example of commitment and sacrifice under difficult circumstances; it gives credibility to priests who ask their people to make great sacrifices for God.
As for those Catholic priests, mostly from the Anglican Church, who came into the Catholic Church with their wives, they received a special dispensation. However, this exception to the rule of celibacy, said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981, “should not be understood as implying any change in the Church’s conviction of the value of priestly celibacy, which will remain the rule for future candidates for the priesthood from this group.”
Regarding the ordination of women, Pope John Paul II ruled this out once and for all in his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, when he infallibly proclaimed that “in order that all doubts may be removed in a matter of great importance….I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the faithful” (n. 4).
Q. After having heard at Mass of God’s great love for each and all of us, and His proposal to be one with us for eternity (in the Liturgy of the Word), we are provided the opportunity to respond to His proposal of eternal love via the Creed and, especially, in my view, with the lifting of our hearts “to the Lord.” When we consciously lift up our hearts to the Lord, we are saying yes to His proposal of an eternal union of love and are, in fact, offering our whole lives to God. This, I believe, is intended to be a profoundly intimate moment, one that leads to full participation in the Celebration of the Eucharist.
Unfortunately though, the intimacy of that moment is dramatically diminished when the celebrant does not pause and allow for our “yes” to be fully experienced. Instead, these prayers often seem to turn into an automatic “I say this, then you say that” exchange between the celebrant and the faithful. I mean really, how sad, what’s the rush? Do you have any suggestions as to how we might call attention to this most unfortunate practice? — B.C. Virginia.
A. The dialogue that introduces the eucharistic prayer has only three responses. When the priest says, “The Lord be with you,” the people respond, “And with your spirit.” When he says, “Lift up your hearts,” the people say, “We lift them up to the Lord.” And when the priest says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God,” the faithful respond, “It is right and just.” The priest then says the preface, the people say or sing the Sanctus (“Holy, holy, holy…”), and then the priest begins the eucharistic prayer by asking the Holy Spirit to come down upon the gifts of bread and wine and turn them into the Body and Blood of Christ.
Could the priest and the people engage in the dialogue in a more thoughtful and meaningful way instead of rushing through it in a perfunctory fashion? Certainly, and the same is true of many parts of the Mass. But the familiarity of priests and people with the prayers of the Mass through their constant repetition of them sometimes leads to an almost robotic and mindless recitation of the words and performance of the gestures.
For example, we have seen some priests barely elevate the Host and chalice above the altar at the consecration, while others hold up the Body and Blood of Christ for at least ten seconds, thus reminding the faithful of the great miracle that has just taken place.
The answer to these “unfortunate practices” is to speak privately to your priest (not in front of a bunch of people after Mass) and express your concerns. Ask him if he could slow down the celebration of the Mass and, by his demeanor and his actions, emphasize the significance of what is taking place at the altar. Perhaps he could explain to the people why he is doing things in a more thoughtful and reverent way either by an announcement before Mass or through a column in the parish bulletin.
We know that the Mass in our local churches is linked with the eternal liturgy being celebrated continuously in Heaven, but have the people ever been told that? If they knew this, they might participate in Mass in an entirely different manner.
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