Celebrant at Benediction

  • Thread starter Thread starter Logan_Berry
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
L

Logan_Berry

Guest
Our parish has a large number of feminists so our PP has been allowing a female member of the laity to be the celebrant at Benediction. Is this legal within the Church?:confused:

Also, he has been asked and he has conformed to the request that he will not preach on or allow any pro-life groups to display their literature in the church or hold collections as he says ‘it is too provocative’. Is this how the church is going or is this unique to our parish? :confused:

All good wishes
 
Logan_Berry said:
Our parish has a large number of feminists so our PP has been allowing a female member of the laity to be the celebrant at Benediction. Is this legal within the Church?:confused:

Also, he has been asked and he has conformed to the request that he will not preach on or allow any pro-life groups to display their literature in the church or hold collections as he says ‘it is too provocative’. Is this how the church is going or is this unique to our parish? :confused:

All good wishes
Click to expand...
While I am not 100% on the first question, I do not believe that this is allowed. I’m sure someone else will come along and clarify that more definitively.

As for the second, no, this is not normal. I have been in what many would consider to be fairly liberal parishes (mostly liturgically) and they still were very strong on life issues. I am not sure what to tell you here other than you are in a tough spot. A priest who is blatantly not willing to preach on abortion or to display pro-life literature is something I have not encountered before. I would advise speaking with him on the issue, and praying for his strength of conviction.
 
jwinch2 said:
While I am not 100% on the first question, I do not believe that this is allowed. I’m sure someone else will come along and clarify that more definitively.

As for the second, no, this is not normal. I have been in what many would consider to be fairly liberal parishes (mostly liturgically) and they still were very strong on life issues. I am not sure what to tell you here other than you are in a tough spot. A priest who is blatantly not willing to preach on abortion or to display pro-life literature is something I have not encountered before. I would advise speaking with him on the issue, and praying for his strength of conviction.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the courtesy of your reply. Very helpful and re-assuring.
 
I believe a lay person (man or woman) can be authorized to repose the Blessed Sacrament after adoration, but certainly not conduct the Benediction ritual or blessing.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
I believe a lay person (man or woman) can be authorized to repose the Blessed Sacrament after adoration, but certainly not conduct the Benediction ritual or blessing.
Click to expand...
I suspected the answer you gave, to be the correct position. The main reason I ask is because we servers refuse to assist this unusual celebrant, participate in any way or attend said Benedictions. I am responsible for the training of young altar servers at a chapel of ease and one of them are bound to ask me, why I need a definitive answer.

Thank you for the courtesy of your reply.
 
Logan_Berry said:
Our parish has a large number of feminists so our PP has been allowing a female member of the laity to be the celebrant at Benediction. Is this legal within the Church?:confused:

Also, he has been asked and he has conformed to the request that he will not preach on or allow any pro-life groups to display their literature in the church or hold collections as he says ‘it is too provocative’. Is this how the church is going or is this unique to our parish? :confused:

All good wishes
Click to expand...
My pastor speaks out against immorality in the law and in society, including abortion.
 
Logan_Berry said:
Thank you for the courtesy of your reply. Very helpful and re-assuring.
Click to expand...
If these conditions are indeed trye, your Pastor should be reported to the Bishop of your Diocese. Such things lead to the acceptance of heresy!!! and before you know it, you will have a woman pseudo-priest conducting services at your church, all with the approval of the female congregation of your parish…and the church will be no longer a Catholic Church.
I am sorry, but I am old school and believe in unquestioning obedience to the Vatican and my Bishop and cannot broach any unauthorized deviation in holy ritual, no matter what the reason.
Never forget, many loyal Catholics died over such matters during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.
 
I suggest speaking to your pastor about the situation and if that does not lead to appropriate change, going to the diocesan bishop. I hate to be the “go the the bishop” guy here, but this is pretty egregious.
 
Let me be the devil’s advocate, just to make sure that we are all on the same page.

“Benediction” means that the Blessed Sacrament will be removed from the tabernacle, and placed in a monstrance. After a period of time the “celebrant” will pick up the monstrance, and trace a cross in the air with it, after which the Blessed Sacrament will be removed from the monstrance and replaced in the tabernacle.

If one of the woman in your parish does this, then this is in violation with the teachings of the Church. Only a validly ordained priest or deacon can do this.
If, however, the woman just removes the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle, and places it on the altar (in a monstrance or ciborium), and reposes it after a while, without performing any blessing, this is licit as long as she has the expressed permission of the pastor.
In the event that your pastor is allowing a woman to perform the first option, he should be spoken to about how this is not allowed. If he does not remedy the issue, you should contact your Diocese’s Office of Divine Worship, or the Bishop.

I don’t think that it’s necessary to go straight to your Bishop (I’m sure he’s a busy man and has plenty on his plate already), but this should be used if the pastor completely ignores the Church’s teachings, even after he has been humbly corrected.
 
jwinch2 said:
I suggest speaking to your pastor about the situation and if that does not lead to appropriate change, going to the diocesan bishop. I hate to be the “go the the bishop” guy here, but this is pretty egregious.
Click to expand...
And I would add ask the Parish Priest if he would be willing to have the conversation again with the Bishop. If you are going to discuss this with the Bishop you owe a courtesy to your Priest to allow him to tell his side as well.
 
ChurchSoldier said:
And I would add ask the Parish Priest if he would be willing to have the conversation again with the Bishop. If you are going to discuss this with the Bishop you owe a courtesy to your Priest to allow him to tell his side as well.
Click to expand...
No Bishop is going to deal with something like this without speaking to the pastor in addition to the parishioner. While it might be polite to do as you suggest, the Bishop is going to speak with the priest directly either way.
 
Logan_Berry said:
Our parish has a large number of feminists so our PP has been allowing a female member of the laity to be the celebrant at Benediction. Is this legal within the Church?:confused:

Also, he has been asked and he has conformed to the request that he will not preach on or allow any pro-life groups to display their literature in the church or hold collections as he says ‘it is too provocative’. Is this how the church is going or is this unique to our parish? :confused:

All good wishes
Click to expand...
Benediction requires a blessing from a cleric. A female or male member of the laity is not allowed to bless in this context.
The laity can expose or repose after or before Adoration but the cleric should perform this function if able.
Sad to say but many preach poorly with the wrong intentions.
 
thomas_jd said:
Benediction requires a blessing from a cleric. A female or male member of the laity is not allowed to bless in this context.
The laity can expose or repose after or before Adoration but the cleric should perform this function if able.
Sad to say but many preach poorly with the wrong intentions.
Click to expand...
Just a quibble, but isn’t, at Benediction, the blessing coming directly from Jesus, and not the priest? This is why the priest wears the humeral veil during the blessing, to indicate that Jesus is conferring the blessing, not the cleric.
 
OraLabora said:
Just a quibble, but isn’t, at Benediction, the blessing coming directly from Jesus, and not the priest? This is why the priest wears the humeral veil during the blessing, to indicate that Jesus is conferring the blessing, not the cleric.
Click to expand...
Correct to my understanding. Care to take any bets on how many have been taught that in their lifetime? 😃 I certainly wasn’t.

Good catch.
 
Logan_Berry said:
Also, he has been asked and he has conformed to the request that he will not preach on or allow any pro-life groups to display their literature in the church or hold collections as he says ‘it is too provocative’.
Click to expand...
“Many a modern preacher is far less concerned with preaching Christ and Him crucified than he is with his popularity with his congregation. A want of intellectual backbone makes him straddle the ox of truth and the *** of nonsense…”. Fulton J. Sheen

Once again, Archbishop Fulton Sheen for the win.
 
Canon 943

**The minister of **exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament and of eucharistic benediction is a priest or deacon; in special circumstances, the minister of exposition and reposition alone without benediction is the acolyte, extraordinary minister of holy communion, or someone else designated by the local ordinary; the prescripts of the diocesan bishop are to be observed.

Only a deacon, priest or bishop can give an official public blessing, which is what a benediction is.
 
OraLabora said:
I learned it myself on this very site 😉
Click to expand...
One of our deacons make this clear whenever he does benediction, that it is Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament and not the priest or deacon who gives the blessing, and that is why he wears the humeral veil.

He actually does a really nice short talk on it, only a minute or so, before the benediction, and reminds us that the same Jesus who looked out from the Cross and said, “Father forgive them” is the same Jesus who blesses you now.

-Tim-
 
OraLabora said:
I learned it myself on this very site 😉
Click to expand...
Same here.

I really wish the many signs and symbols of the liturgy, prayer, devotions, etc. were taught more than they are. I understand that there is a limited amount of time to do things, but I cannot help but believe it would do wonders for the spirituality of many Catholics to have a deeper understanding of such things.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top