MERGED: Recieving a blessing during communion/Rationale & Origins

[codefro]

Correct me if I am wrong please;

Couldn’t someone use the reasoning that individual blessing potentially draw importance away from final blessing towards adding the blood of Christ to communion. If the body and blood of Christ are present in the bread, why then add the cup to the Mass communion for everyone? I would say the blood doesn’t take anything away any importance of the bread. Would you?

 

[englishredrose]

seems so wrong to deny individuals of a blessing when individuals receive communion.

By encouraging individuals to come up for a blessing is including them into the church family.

By informing them to stay in their pews is like saying - ‘well we don’t want you until you can take communion. they are not being included into the church family but excluded them from the church family’

 

[sw85]

Correct me if I am wrong please;

Couldn’t someone use the reasoning that individual blessing potentially draw importance away from final blessing towards adding the blood of Christ to communion. If the body and blood of Christ are present in the bread, why then add the cup to the Mass communion for everyone? I would say the blood doesn’t take anything away any importance of the bread. Would you?

Well, the reason it’s inappropriate to ask for a blessing in the communion line is that the Church has said its inappropriate. They have not said it’s inappropriate concerning consecrating more than just the bread (which, in my parish, at least, is done because at least some people cannot stomach gluten and need some other method for receiving the blessed host).

seems so wrong to deny individuals of a blessing when individuals receive communion.

By encouraging individuals to come up for a blessing is including them into the church family.

By informing them to stay in their pews is like saying - ‘well we don’t want you until you can take communion. they are not being included into the church family but excluded them from the church family’

It’s really more like saying “there is a time and place for blessings, and this isn’t it.” I don’t see what’s wrong with that. Religion is useless if it doesn’t draw boundaries for us with respect to ethical/acceptable and unethical/unacceptable behavior. The line has clearly been drawn as far as this is concerned. We ought to respect it.

 

[codefro]

Well, the reason it’s inappropriate to ask for a blessing in the communion line is that the Church has said its inappropriate.

I don’t think anybody has provided me a source for this yet. Do you have any?

 

[Canto]

Communion is for Communion not blessing. The blessing for all, not some, is a few minutes after Communion.

Going to receive a blessing is not in the rubrics. There is no document from the Congregation for Divine Worship, Rome or a Bishops Conference with recognitio from Rome permitting the practice.

Canon Law says you cannot add things to the approved liturgical books.
In the celebration of the Mass one must follow the approved books.

The Roman Missal in it’s general instruction does say that it is the Bishop who regulates the liturgy in his diocese but gives clear boundaries. Adding the blessing thing does not fall under these boundaries.

Code of Canon Law: Canon 846 §1 The liturgical books, approved by the competent authority, are to be faithfully followed in the celebration of the sacraments. Accordingly, no one may on a personal initiative add to or omit or alter anything in those books.

General Instruction of the Roman Missal: GIRM 387. The Diocesan Bishop, who is to be regarded as the High Priest of his flock, from whom the life in Christ of his faithful in some sense derives and upon whom it depends, must promote, regulate, and be vigilant over the liturgical life in his diocese. It is to him that in this Instruction is entrusted the regulating of the discipline of concelebration (cf. nos. 202, 374) and the establishing of norms regarding the function of serving the Priest at the altar (cf. no. 107), the distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds (cf. no. 283), and the construction and ordering of churches (cf. no. 291). It is above all for him, moreover, to nourish the spirit of the Sacred Liturgy in the Priests, Deacons, and faithful.

 

[ahs]

Surely, if both parents are there, one can stay behind to watch the kids and then join the communion line after the other’s return?

I think that since a married couple are truly one flesh that they should go up together, unless one of them cannot receive. And I think it makes since that, because their children are a physical manifestation of that “oneness”, they should go up as a family. (But if one of the couple is unable to receive and they have small children, that one should remain seated with the children that will not receive.)

Furhter, only a Priest has the authority to decide if he will interrupt the Communion by giving a blessing to the children in that case where children go up with their parents…an EMHC does not have that authority. I believe someone has already posted the link to the proper protocol on this (see Canto’s posts #10 and #24).

 

[seven7]

"1. The liturgical blessing of the Holy Mass is properly given to each and to all at the conclusion of the Mass, just a few moments subsequent to the distribution of Holy Communion.

"2. Lay people, within the context of Holy Mass, are unable to confer blessings. These blessings, rather, are the competence of the priest (cf. Ecclesia de Mysterio, Notitiae 34 (15 Aug. 1997), art. 6, § 2; Canon 1169, § 2; and Roman Ritual De Benedictionibus (1985), n. 18).

"3. Furthermore, the laying on of a hand or hands — which has its own sacramental significance, inappropriate here — by those distributing Holy Communion, in substitution for its reception, is to be explicitly discouraged.

"4. The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio n. 84, ‘forbids any pastor, for whatever reason or pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry’. To be feared is that any form of blessing in substitution for communion would give the impression that the divorced and remarried have been returned, in some sense, to the status of Catholics in good standing.

“5. In a similar way, for others who are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in accord with the norm of law, the Church’s discipline has already made clear that they should not approach Holy Communion nor receive a blessing. This would include non-Catholics and those envisaged in can. 915 (i.e., those under the penalty of excommunication or interdict, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin).”

from EWTN: ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur263.htm

 

[paperwight66]

And a television network should be listened to over and above what my Archbishop and all the Bishops in my country say because… ?

 

[Canto]

And a television network should be listened to over and above what my Archbishop and all the Bishops in my country say because… ?

The TV network quotes an ‘unofficial’ release from the Congregation for Divine Worship.

And the English-Welsh Bishops received approval from Rome when?

 

[thomas_jd]

I know Jimmy Akin did a video for Catholic Answers giving some history and answers to this question and as it stands now: Jimmy finishes the video by saying that it is allowed and it is up to the individual to decide if they want to go up to recieve a blessing if they cannot recieve the Eucharist.

Two questions:

1. Why do so many forum posters seem to have a problem with people going up to recieve a blessing during communion?
2. Are Eucharistic Ministers allowed to pray a blessing for people who walk up to them with their arms folded? They cannot bless them, but can they say a prayer from their standpoint?

Priests are called to Bless, everyone else is called to Pray!
Until the day arrives that the Vatican Prohibits a priest from blessing during mass I would not worry about this trivial issue! The Church can handle this.

 

[Canto]

Priests are called to Bless, everyone else is called to Pray!
Until the day arrives that the Vatican Prohibits a priest from blessing during mass I would not worry about this trivial issue! The Church can handle this.

The Vatican perimitts a blessing for all at the end of Mass but elsewhere during the sacrifice the Vatican States in Code of Canon Law (Canon 846 §1) that “The liturgical books, approved by the competent authority, are to be faithfully followed in the celebration of the sacraments. Accordingly, no one may on a personal initiative add to or omit or alter **anything **in those books.”

 

[thomas_jd]

The Vatican perimitts a blessing for all at the end of Mass but elsewhere during the sacrifice the Vatican States in Code of Canon Law (Canon 846 §1) that “The liturgical books, approved by the competent authority, are to be faithfully followed in the celebration of the sacraments. Accordingly, no one may on a personal initiative add to or omit or alter **anything **in those books.”

That Canon does not prohibit a priest from giving a blessing no matter how many times one copies and pastes it!
Be very careful when citing Canon Law. One can often be wrong as is obviously the issue at hand!

 

[Canto]

That Canon does not prohibit a priest from giving a blessing no matter how many times one copies and pastes it!
Be very careful when citing Canon Law. One can often be wrong as is obviously the issue at hand!

Isn’t he not adding to an approved liturgical book even if he doesn’t physically get out his pen and write it in the missal?

 

[paperwight66]

The TV network quotes an ‘unofficial’ release from the Congregation for Divine Worship.

And the English-Welsh Bishops received approval from Rome when?

I don’t know, and I wouldn’t be so impertinent as to ask them. But I trust the Archbishops’ Office when it assured another poster that Rome knew about the practice and hadn’t raised any objection.

So again, why should a tv station quoting an ‘unofficial’ (your word) release from the CDW take precedence?

 

[Canto]

I don’t know, and I wouldn’t be so impertinent as to ask them. But I trust the Archbishops’ Office when it assured another poster that Rome knew about the practice and hadn’t raised any objection.

So again, why should a tv station quoting an ‘unofficial’ (your word) release from the CDW take precedence?

Rome knows about a lot of things but does not take action, that doesn’t mean the things are okay - maybe just not a top priority for Rome. E.g. hand holding during the Our Father, women getting their feet washed on Holy Thursday, certain types of Music, etc.

Conferences of Bishops are allowed to request adaptions to the Mass for their area. These adaptions are contained in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) for each area. In the new 2011 English-Welsh Version of the GIRM, Blessings at Communion are not contained in the adaptions. The Bishops did not request this adaption, and if they did, the request was rejected.

 

[Rainaldo]

The giving of blessings to non-communicants in the communion line is a fairly widespread and well-known liturgical abuse. How did it get started, and what is the rationale behind it? Does it stem, for example, from the idea that everyone should “get” something, like a party favor or an attendance prize at a children’s birthday party?

 

[Aeden]

Pardon me for my question, but what is a non-communicant? Do you mean one in mortal sin and thus out of touch with God? Or do you mean somebody who denies the authority of the Church?

 

[suzie_krumm]

A non communicant is someone who is not Catholic or in full communion with the Church…someone who has need of Confession.
I think this practice stems from the desire to make all feel welcome in the Church and, hopefully feel a yearning for the Eucharist. I’m aware it is not an approved practice, but it is very popular everywhere. Our pastor has asked us not to make a sign of the cross on or over them, not to touch them except possibly with the back of the hand on their shoulder…but rather to just say “God bless you”…

 

[IneedGod]

Hello,
I am new and seriously considering convtering to the Catholic church.
To get a blessing or not has become quite confusing now.
I will say that where I attend our Priest is a Monsignor.
He does bless me when I go up. I do try to be respectful and go up with arms crossed so as not to cause any confusion.
I plan to inquire about it with him when we get to have a meeting (busy time for him now)

I do wish you would understand that I dont go up because I want a “party favor”. That is very hurtful.

I am seeking God, guidance and strength to do his will. It is NOT a joke, I am not there to have fun!

I hope that was not worded to strongly. I do not mean to offend, just please offer guidance instead. Thanks

 

[Aeden]

My priest is also a Monsignor and he has now shown any objection to giving me a blessing during mass instead of communion when I can’t receive. Nor for that matter has any other priest. Why wouldn’t it be allowed, Rainaldo?