Christmas vigil Mass was packed and overflowing. 90% of everyone went up for Communion

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I’m happy that the church was packed. But I got to believe that not a few of those in attendence were “holiday” catholics. And furthermore, there had to have been numerous unworthy Communions. I wish that that priest would have made a simple 30 second announcement prior to Communion that only those properly disposed to receive are welcome to receive. The numbers simply do not add up. There’s always a trickle of people in line for Confession(which is held for 1 hr each saturday). If I, who am a daily communicant feel compelled to go to confession once per month and sometimes more frequently, then there is probably a lot of catholics out there who do not fathom the concept of sin.
 
blaskoman said:
I’m happy that the church was packed. But I got to believe that not a few of those in attendence were “holiday” catholics. And furthermore, there had to have been numerous unworthy Communions. I wish that that priest would have made a simple 30 second announcement prior to Communion that only those properly disposed to receive are welcome to receive. The numbers simply do not add up. There’s always a trickle of people in line for Confession(which is held for 1 hr each saturday). If I, who am a daily communicant feel compelled to go to confession once per month and sometimes more frequently, then there is probably a lot of catholics out there who do not fathom the concept of sin.
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That is not for you to judge. You have no way of knowing the state of the soul of anyone who was in the Communion line and its none of your business.
 
blaskoman said:
I’m happy that the church was packed. But I got to believe that not a few of those in attendence were “holiday” catholics. And furthermore, there had to have been numerous unworthy Communions. I wish that that priest would have made a simple 30 second announcement prior to Communion that only those properly disposed to receive are welcome to receive. The numbers simply do not add up. There’s always a trickle of people in line for Confession(which is held for 1 hr each saturday). If I, who am a daily communicant feel compelled to go to confession once per month and sometimes more frequently, then there is probably a lot of catholics out there who do not fathom the concept of sin.
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I prefer to focus on Christ during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Merry Christmas!
 
Just an observation. Not judging! Just looking at this from a statistical probability regarding unworthy Communions.
 
blaskoman said:
I’m happy that the church was packed. But I got to believe that not a few of those in attendence were “holiday” catholics. And furthermore, there had to have been numerous unworthy Communions. I wish that that priest would have made a simple 30 second announcement prior to Communion that only those properly disposed to receive are welcome to receive. The numbers simply do not add up. There’s always a trickle of people in line for Confession(which is held for 1 hr each saturday). If I, who am a daily communicant feel compelled to go to confession once per month and sometimes more frequently, then there is probably a lot of catholics out there who do not fathom the concept of sin.
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I don’t understand how this is your concern.
 
You should probably focus more on Jesus in the Eucharist instead of every one else
 
Focus on the fact that those individuals WERE THERE and let the Holy Spirit do his work!

Say a prayer for them, and for yourself. Merry Christmas!
 
I know how you feel! All these unworthy people lining up to receive Our Lord. Scandalous! Thank God we are not like other men! The priest ought to be counselled by those of us who know better.
I read recently that this recent Pope has talked about the Eucharist as a medicine for the sinner, not a reward for the worthy. But really!!!
I feel a strongly worded letter to your Bishop may be your only recourse. Do you have one of those little white name tags that shows others your authority in the parish?
My brother seems to be so pleased he is anywhere near Our Lord, he doesn’t see the holiday catholics. I have told him about how some of them are dressed and he just mutters something about a ring and sandals given to some son. He is such a strange man. He has no opinion on these people who look as though they haven’t seen the inside of a confessional in years. He just talks about shepherds that travelled from the hills unwashed to see the Child Emmanuel. He walks to a different drum, my brother. But keep up the good work. Brother Screwtape sends his regards.
 
The guy who came in and sat down next to me brought his dog with him (a 30-40-lb, looked like border collie mix), took her with him in the communion line. I had to be careful not to step on someone’s tail. Father did a double-take. The dog did not receive.
 
blaskoman said:
I’m happy that the church was packed. But I got to believe that not a few of those in attendence were “holiday” catholics. And furthermore, there had to have been numerous unworthy Communions. I wish that that priest would have made a simple 30 second announcement prior to Communion that only those properly disposed to receive are welcome to receive. The numbers simply do not add up. There’s always a trickle of people in line for Confession(which is held for 1 hr each saturday). If I, who am a daily communicant feel compelled to go to confession once per month and sometimes more frequently, then there is probably a lot of catholics out there who do not fathom the concept of sin.
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I also notice how on Christmas and Easter the Churches are usually packed and on other sundays, there are signifcantly less, but I would like to just quote this passage here for you -
Luke 18:9-14:
A Pharisee and a Tax Collector

9 Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else:

10 Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood over by himself and prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not greedy, dishonest, and unfaithful in marriage like other people. And I am really glad that I am not like that tax collector over there. 12 I go without eating for two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all I earn.”

13 The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven. He was so sorry for what he had done that he pounded his chest and prayed, “God, have pity on me! I am such a sinner.”

14 Then Jesus said, “When the two men went home, it was the tax collector and not the Pharisee who was pleasing to God. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.”
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“Humility opens the doors to the kingdom of heaven.”

I believe we should feel pity for these people, for our Christmas and Easter Catholic brothers and sisters who have resource and are able to recieve that enourmours gift where Christ comes down and feeds us with his body, blood, soul and divinity (Holy Eucharist) at each mass.

I also become very frustrated when people use terms like “obligation” “sinful” or “duty” etc when talking about mass, to me it’s like saying to someone “you have an obligation to recieve this enourmous gift” or “your commiting a mortal sin by refusing this priceless gift.” or “it’s our duty to recieve this gift.” it’s illogical to phrase it in such ways, the question should be “why don’t they want this priceless gift?” because Christ does not want people to attend mass out of fear, guilt or by feeling forced to go, instead he wants us to attend because we love him and want to recieve that priceless gift where he comes down and feeds us with his body, blood, soul and divinity (Holy Eucharist), I believe we should pray for those who go to mass out of habbit, who allow the mass to become some routine that lacks all enthusiasm, instead of another unique and loving encounter with out Lord Jesus Christ, because they are missing out on so much I believe, they don’t know what they have. Forgive them lord, they know not what they do.

Thank you for reading
Josh
 
Funny how all the posters that like to bring up “thou shall not judge” come here to post and judge the OP. He made a simple observation, and stated how it would have been nice for the priest to make an announcement on who can receive Holy Communion. Quite frankly, I agree with him. It took our priest all of 30 seconds before his homily to make this announcement.

We’d have to be extremely naive to believe that there aren’t C&E (Christmas and Easter) Catholics out there that only attend Mass on these occasions, so don’t you think it would be more charitable to Our Lord as well as these guests (some possibly not even Catholic) for the priest to make this simple announcement than to risk sacrilege of the Most Blessed Sacrament? I would certainly think so.
 
Yes, we had a huge crowd, many of whom may not attend weekly (of course, they may attend somewhere else, or a different Mass than I do).

Yes, just about everyone came up for Communion. Many of them are people I haven’t seen in the line for Confession. Not that I have a list of who goes to confession, where and when.

My reaction as I was privileged to administer the chalice? Bless these people, Lord, and may this Mass and this Precious Blood bring them closer to You and to the Church.
 
larsont7 said:
Funny how all the posters that like to bring up “thou shall not judge” come here to post and judge the OP. He made a simple observation, and stated how it would have been nice for the priest to make an announcement on who can receive Holy Communion. Quite frankly, I agree with him. It took our priest all of 30 seconds before his homily to make this announcement.
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Agreed…the poster was not implicating certain people (“OMGosh I saw Greg in line for Holy Communion, and I’m sure he wasn’t in line for Confession last Saturday!”)

Some people have never been told that they must be a properly disposed Catholic in order to receive the Eucharist; it’s just a Catholic-y thing that everyone is doing and it would be weird to not go along with it. Without singling out individuals, it would be absurd to assume that NO ONE in the congregation needs to know that Jesus is present in the Eucharist and that they should not consume Him if they are still in mortal sin.
 
The priest didn’t need to make an announcement. All Catholics know that you cannot receive unless you are properly disposed.

All you can do is pray for them, as they grant themselves the eternal damnation of their soul by receiving in mortal sin.
 
I think priests SHOULD tell people that. They SHOULD tell people that often not just on the big holidays. Do we think that everyone we see even weekly is always in a state of grace when they receive Communion? It may not be my problem, but it is the problem of the person receiving and therefore should be a concern especially for the priests whose principle job is to get people to Heaven.
 
bben15 said:
The priest didn’t need to make an announcement. **All Catholics know that you cannot receive unless you are properly disposed. **

All you can do is pray for them, as they grant themselves the eternal damnation of their soul by receiving in mortal sin.
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I think you might be surprised how many Catholics have been so poorly catechized that they do not know this. In the case of our vigil Mass last night, the situation was the same as the OP stated – place was packed, almost everyone went up for Holy Communion, and I’m sure there were some who were not properly disposed; however, my take was that I had not been granted authority over the situation, and therefore it was NOMB. Maybe Father should have made an announcement; he didn’t, so the situation was what it was.

With regard to the OP, he wasn’t calling out anyone specifically; he was making a general observation. Cut him some slack.
 
blaskoman said:
I’m happy that the church was packed. But I got to believe that not a few of those in attendence were “holiday” catholics. And furthermore, there had to have been numerous unworthy Communions. I wish that that priest would have made a simple 30 second announcement prior to Communion that only those properly disposed to receive are welcome to receive. The numbers simply do not add up. There’s always a trickle of people in line for Confession(which is held for 1 hr each saturday). If I, who am a daily communicant feel compelled to go to confession once per month and sometimes more frequently, then there is probably a lot of catholics out there who do not fathom the concept of sin.
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I’ve observed that in the English Masses, virtually everyone receives while at the Spanish and Polish Masses, only about half receive, sometimes not even that many when there are more kids than adults (and the ones who do go get blessings). When I go to confession at the local churches, I generally find that I’m the only one going to confession. But I’m of the old school, that confession and communion go together.
 
blaskoman said:
Just an observation. Not judging! Just looking at this from a statistical probability regarding unworthy Communions.
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This is a definition of* judging *found on dictionary.com: **to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about or assess: **

You are probably correct and as others have said
  1. Perhaps the priest should have made an announcement, but did not
  2. You were not in charge
  3. Ultimately what happens between another person and God is between them
  4. If you feel strongly about this, discuss it directly with the priest
Now, have a Merry Christmas and I really hope you experience Christmas peace in your heart
 
Receiving the Eucharist unworthily is sinful. We are right to be concerned.

If a priest makes a statement about the Church’s requirements, it can only help would-be sinners and reinforce the sacredness of the sacrament to others.
 
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