Q. How many times can you receive Communion in one day? I have had priests tell me once and twice. Which is it? — J.S., Massachusetts.
A. Twice a day. Canon 917 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law says that “a person who has received the Most Holy Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only during the celebration of the Eucharist in which the person participates.” Furthermore, one who is in danger of death can receive Communion a second time on the same day (cf. canon 921 §2).
Q. In the Gospel reading at Mass today, Jesus told a man who was considering following Him, but who wanted first to go and bury his father, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). That seems harsh. Can you comment? — L.S., via e-mail.
A. Yes, it does sound harsh because burying one’s parents is a solemn religious duty. However, it is unlikely that the man’s father had already died. Under Jewish tradition, a person was buried on the day of his death, but would this man have been walking with Jesus to Jerusalem if his father had died and was awaiting burial? It is more likely that the man was asking Jesus to let him go home and be with his father until he died, however long that might be, and then he would be ready to follow Jesus.
But the call to help Jesus in establishing His kingdom is an urgent one that takes precedence over family obligations. Those who decline to respond quickly to this urgent invitation are, in a sense, spiritually dead.
Q. Suppose a man goes to Confession and admits molesting a young child. Would the priest require the man to turn himself over to police because he had not only committed a sin, but also a serious crime? — J.D.H., California.
A. While the priest would urge the man to turn himself over to the police, he could not require him to do so. The priest himself could not report the crime to the police since that would violate the Seal of Confession, but he could ask the man to repeat what he had said outside Confession, and then the priest could go to the police.
Q. I disagree with your opinion that great religious education material is available from Dynamic Catholic. Our parish gave out books by Matthew Kelly, including his Rediscover Jesus book. But on page 87 of that book, Kelly says that Jesus was in the womb of an unmarried woman. And on page 99, he says that James is a skeptical half-brother of Jesus. This is not true Catholic teaching and will confuse Catholics. — C.B., Michigan.
A. You are right that neither of those statements is accurate, and we hope that Mr. Kelly will correct them in a future edition of his book. Despite these errors, however, his books on the whole and his seminars are still doing a good job of educating Catholics about their faith.
Q. As you are surely aware, the acoustics in many Catholic churches are oftentimes very poor, even if supplemented by more modern sound/speaker systems. I, like many others who are getting along in years, miss out on much of the celebrant’s homily, with or without hearing aids. I was wondering whether there would be any objection to the installation of WiFi in designated pews where the hard-of-hearing could plug in some ear buds and thus hear more clearly the teaching/guidance of our priests. — W.C., Virginia.
A. We know that many parishes currently provide assisted-hearing devices in certain pews so that the hard-of-hearing can understand what the priest is saying. Without knowing the logistics, or the expense, of installing WiFi in churches, we don’t see why it couldn’t be done if both of those conditions can be satisfactorily met.
Q. A parishioner of mine says that her faith in the Church “has been shaken” by reports of “all the terrible abuses of children in our Church over the last 70 years, and likely longer.” She said that “radical change is necessary . . . changes like ordaining married priests and women priests. We need both men and women in our society to be treated as equals, and men and women with families to minister to the faithful. I believe this is necessary to stop this cycle of abuse and misogyny that seems pervasive in our society.” She also said that she needs to “take some time away from our parish and seek other faith communities that my views and beliefs are more aligned with. Unfortunately, I realize this may not be with the Catholic faith, and it is with much sadness that I have come to that conclusion.” Do you have any thoughts on how I might respond to this parishioner? — Name and State Withheld.
A. You might say that you, too, are shaken by the reports of sexual abuse by priests, and by bishops, who also covered up the abuse. However, whatever revulsion you feel about the sinful actions of a small minority of fellow priests, it can never shake your faith in the Church itself since it is the Body of Christ on Earth. Jesus promised that He would be with His Church always, until the end of time, and to leave the Church is to leave Jesus, because the Catholic Church is the only church founded by the Son of God Himself. The Church itself will always be holy, just as Jesus is holy, despite being made up of both saints and sinners.
The Church has survived many crises over its 2,000-year history, some of which, believe it or not, were worse than what we are experiencing now. For example, there was in the early centuries the Arian heresy that denied the divinity of Christ. The Church responded to this at the Council of Nicaea in 325, from which came the Nicene Creed that we recite at Mass every Sunday.
The answer to the current crisis is holiness, not ordaining women or married men. Ordaining women is theologically impossible, as St. John Paul II made clear in his infallible statement in 1994, and ordaining married men would not solve the problem either. Many cases of sexual abuse of children are committed by married men, although we hear little about this or about the widespread sexual abuse in other churches, in schools, and in youth organizations.
This in no way excuses the awful behavior of some Catholic priests and bishops, but one must also consider the moral collapse of our culture since the 1960s, which has affected not only the clergy of all faiths, but the laity as well.
We would emphasize to your parishioner that walking away from the Catholic Church is walking away from Jesus and the opportunity to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. In no other Christian denomination can one receive Jesus, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. In those other churches, His presence is only symbolic, not real, as in the Catholic Church. Remember when, in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, people walked away from Jesus because they did not accept His teaching that He was the “living bread that came down from heaven” and the source of eternal life?
When Jesus asked the apostles if they intended to leave Him, too, Peter responded, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” You should ask the same question of your parishioner. If she walks away from Jesus’ Church, she is leaving behind the only Church that has the key to eternal life. Whatever stains may mar the face of the Church, the answer is not to abandon the Church, but to remove those stains by leading a life of holiness, beginning with each one of us. Her plan to “continue to pray to Jesus and for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in this matter” is an excellent idea. Tell her that you will praying for her as well.
Q. A few Sundays ago, we had a visiting priest fill in for our priest. When it came time to say the Nicene Creed, he said we would do something different for a change. So he recited parts of the Creed to which we responded, “We do believe.” I know a variation of this is done on Easter Sunday, when we renew our baptismal vows, but is it proper for a Sunday in Ordinary Time? — E.C., via email.
A. No, it is not proper. In the words of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal: “However, the priest will remember that he is the servant of the Sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass” (n. 24).
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