How should we deal with Catholics who are badly mistaken about matters of Catholic tradition?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bill_B_NY
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@(name removed by moderator),

I like your point that it doesn’t matter to Jesus which form of the Mass you participated in.

What matters to Him is if we did the Father’s Will. IMO.
 
Thanks for the follow up!

In the encounter with my friends he had noticed that they held back from communion and, without prompting, he encouraged them to “fully participate” in the Mass. I approached him afterwards and he told me that this was the practice with Protestants (not EO) in India where he had recently come from. I suspect that even there it is in error, but he had no authority to assume it was the case in Australia. (It isn’t!)

I have often seen other Catholics encourage visitors to receive communion, and my friends had also assumed they could because they regularly do when visiting Catholic churches. Before Mass I had advised them not to receive communion, and they were surprised and said “Maybe that’s a local thing”, as they always had in other parts of Australia. Curiously, the other Catholic Masses they attended were EF.

As a humorous note, one of the family is a sweet little four year old girl. She receives communion in Protestant churches. At communion time I carried her up with me, and after I had received my communion she shoved her hand out for hers, expecting to receive as normal. Father smiled, and blessed her.
 
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I’m horrified that a PRIEST would tell non Catholics that they could receive at Mass.

I’m a layman with only four years as a Catholic and I know that only Confirmed Catholics in a state of grace can receive.
 
Did we love our neighbor enough to dress appropriately before the Presence of God, and to show Him homage?
 
Tis true, @(name removed by moderator).

I don’t care what kind of Mass it is as long as it’s approved by the Church.

All that matters to me is I hope to hear from Our Lord: Enter, good and faithful servant.
 
We should care that Jesus is given the best possible worship we can offer. Let’s not give him something sloppy that we do not care about. Doesn’t He deserve our very best offering?
 
@Edmundus1581,

“ Maybe it’s a local thing “ 😮

Father, I thought the essentials was standardized all across the world in the Church.
 
Amen, @(name removed by moderator).

To do otherwise, imo; is Pharisaical at best.
I’m there for Jesus, not to impress the other folks. That’s why I go to Mass. My Lord is there.

God desires the heart.
 
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Yes, I’m talking about the liturgical rite which usually we have no control over, unless we can choose between one and another.
 
People who attend the EF seek it out for various reasons. That’s what I’m talking about.
 
Honestly, @Bill_B_NY,

Does it really matter in the end as long as the Mass is a Mass approved by Holy Mother Church?

It’s Jesus that’s important. Not the exact details of the Liturgy.
 
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Michael16 said:
Does it really matter in the end as the Mass is a Mass approved by Holy Mother Church?

It’s Jesus that’s important. Not the exact details of the Liturgy.
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Well, perhaps in theory. However, we heard a story about a priest who gives communion to non-Catholics. Now, what if we had a choice? We could have that priest teach our kids, or another priest who would never do such a thing and teached correctly?
Could we say “it doesn’t matter”?
 
Emeraldlady said:
Best we trust in the Holy Spirits guardianship of the Magisterium then
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I agree. There’s a movement now to attribute authority only to past popes and bishops, and maybe only a selection of them. My name for this movement is Solo Traditio. It ignores the authority of the current pope and bishops.
 
In that case, @Bill_B_NY will go through channels.

Talk to Father in private and seek redress. If that doesn’t work; we go to the Bishop.

If I had my way, I’d have Father teach correctly.

I’m only a layman, so I have to go through channels and pray.
 
Michael16 said:
I’m only a layman, so I have to go through channels and pray.
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I’ll suggest that unless you have other help, support, education and guidance, it’s best to go through channels and pray. Yes. I’m talking about a different problem, but I understand where you’re coming from.
 
@Bill_B_NY,

I’ve been reading this thread and I’m still not sure what the problem you’re addressing is. Please help me out.
 
The last paragraph I posted is specifically about Catholics dialoging with other Catholics. Personally I prefer to base myself on official teaching rather than apocryphal comments. (you do not want to know what I think the “smoke of Satan” refers to…)

A good example is the priest who encouraged non-Catholics to come to communion. Rather than jump to calling it an error because it is different from what we “know”, there needs to be some deeper listening.

For context, the Ecumenical Directory called on bishops conferences to set guidelines for sharing communion. The bishops of the British Isles did this in the 1990s, adopting a more open attitude that still adhered to the traditional exclusions. In Germany last year they tried to set more open guidelines for members of the Evangelical Church (Lutherans), especially those married to Catholics. The Vatican kept those from being implemented, but it shows how different ly bishops can approach this issue.

In the USA, the bishops conference chose to leave it up to individual bishops to set guidelines. This resulted in a wide range of policies from one diocese to another. I do not know if there are national policies in Oz, NZ or India.
 
Michael16 said:
I’ve been reading this thread and I’m still not sure what the problem you’re addressing is. Please help me out.
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Well, to assist first - Michael, how long have you been a Catholic? That will help me. Thanks.
 
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