Priest Ignores Children Receiving First Communion

[HolySpirit08]

During his homily and throughout the mass this past weekend, the priest never addressed the children receiving their first Communion directly or spoke on the subject at all. He instead focused on the Ascension and, of all things…defended the Church’s handling of sexual abuse by priests over the years!!! I was flabergasted!!! I swear, if one of the children were mine, I would have literally stood up and asked him to speak to the children about this momentous event in their lives.

Am I being unreasonable?

 

[Evan]

Yes…

The mass, every mass, is about Jesus and the Pascal Mystery. There are no masses for children, or teens. There are masses that are directed to those present, and that may be children or teens. But the mass is always about the Pascal Mystery and Jesus.

On the Ascension we are called by the Church to remember Jesus’ promises to the apostles, his ascension, and the angles who called us to remember his return.

The priest may make mention of what is happening in the lives of the children, but if this was a Sunday mass, for the congregation, the message cannot be limited to the children. He could have used the children as a springboard to speak of the actions in Jesus in all of us and that being related to the Ascension, but this mass was the Ascension mass.

Next year, ask to have the mass on a different day like we did in our parish. We had first communions at the usual 6PM Thursday mass so as to not interfere with the proper adoration of God at the Sunday mass.

Even with special written material asking families to refrain from taking videos and still photos, there was still the usual insensitive ones who disregarded the sacrament and needed a photo op. Fr announced the photo op’s after mass, either as a group, as individuals, as families, but he still could not get the people to process prayerfully to communion. A poor example for the children.

Ascension is celebrated once a year, communion everyday. First communion is communion like every other communion. A sacrament of initiation that continues throughout your life. It should be as important for you today as it is for your child on that Feast of the Ascension.

Ask Fr to speak about the meaning of communion on the Feast of Corpus Christi. That is when we remember what communion means. We set a day aside for this. Even this mass should be focused on the Pascal Mystery (of which communion is part).

Last week, on Thursday evening, we had conformation, some weeks we have baptisms and once in a while weddings.

This is probably a little harsh, but I know some priests don’t know how to speak in such a way as to include children in a homily that is addressed to the greater Church.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

During his homily and throughout the mass this past weekend, the priest never addressed the children receiving their first Communion directly or spoke on the subject at all. He instead focused on the Ascension and, of all things…defended the Church’s handling of sexual abuse by priests over the years!!! I was flabergasted!!! I swear, if one of the children were mine, I would have literally stood up and asked him to speak to the children about this momentous event in their lives.

Am I being unreasonable?

Let me guess this was NOT a special First Communion Mass, but an ordinary Sunday parish Mass.

 

[Penance94]

During his homily and throughout the mass this past weekend, the priest never addressed the children receiving their first Communion directly or spoke on the subject at all. He instead focused on the Ascension and, of all things…defended the Church’s handling of sexual abuse by priests over the years!!! I was flabergasted!!! I swear, if one of the children were mine, I would have literally stood up and asked him to speak to the children about this momentous event in their lives.

Am I being unreasonable?

Yes.

 

[OraProNobisIHM]

During his homily and throughout the mass this past weekend, the priest never addressed the children receiving their first Communion directly or spoke on the subject at all. He instead focused on the Ascension and, of all things…defended the Church’s handling of sexual abuse by priests over the years!!! I was flabergasted!!! I swear, if one of the children were mine, I would have literally stood up and asked him to speak to the children about this momentous event in their lives.

Am I being unreasonable?

No, I don’t think so.

I think the priest should have made his homily that weekend “focus” on the First Communicants, and it should have addressed them, given them a nice homily on how they should strive ever more to be Catholic, etc, etc.

Our FSSP priest did that on Good Shepherd Sunday. It was very nice, and very moving (plus, I could understand it because it was in German addressed to kids! Woohoo!).

 

[aicirt]

During his homily and throughout the mass this past weekend, the priest never addressed the children receiving their first Communion directly or spoke on the subject at all. He instead focused on the Ascension and, of all things…defended the Church’s handling of sexual abuse by priests over the years!!! I was flabergasted!!! I swear, if one of the children were mine, I would have literally stood up and asked him to speak to the children about this momentous event in their lives.

Am I being unreasonable?

Totally out of line. Apparently, the priest doesn’t have a clue. There is no defense for keeping the pedophile priests and moving them to different unsuspecting parishes. I have no comprehension as to what was the state of mind of those who knew and did nothing to protect the children.

When my kid made his Communion, I remember some using it as a platform for a speech against abortion. I saw no reason to have this has the subject of a Communion service for children. Totally inappropriate.

 

[weepixie71]

i think the priest made his homily with all that was important. it would have been nice for the priest to ask the parishioners to keep the First Communicants in their prayers but i dont think it is nothing to get angry or upset about. after all, im sure it is in the church bulletin. that is what they are for.

 

[Cluny]

Are you upset over the priest not mentioning the first communicants, or talking about the pedophile scandal?

 

[WhollyRoamin]

It is the priest’s perogative to write the homily however he wishes.

This could be a good lesson to a first communicant: Holy Mass isn’t about us. Focus on the Lord instead of yourself.

 

[HolySpirit08]

Are you upset over the priest not mentioning the first communicants, or talking about the pedophile scandal?

See what the title of this thread is??? That should answer your question.

Far be it from me to be upset with a priest for defending the church for mishandling of his fellow priests for sexually abusing children. And what better time to do this than when children are there sitting front and center all dressed up in their innocent white shirts, dresses and Communion veils. I shudder to think that they got the message that he was trying to get across to them and the entire congregation. Children are so unimportant, devalued. They can’t contribute financially so they just sort of get in the way, don’t they?

And they’re receiving the body of Christ for the first time so what’s the big deal??? Communion is received on a daily basis one of you said. Incredible, just incredible.

I didn’t suggest in my original post that the priest should have ignored the feast day. What? Could he not cover three subjects in his homily…the Ascension, defending the Church’s abuse of children and the importance of receiving Communion for the first time and how important it is that now at the age of reason the children are required and their parents are required to live a Catholic life which includes regularly attending mass, etc.???

 

[HolySpirit08]

It is the priest’s perogative to write the homily however he wishes.

This could be a good lesson to a first communicant: Holy Mass isn’t about us. Focus on the Lord instead of yourself.

You totally missed my point. The children need guidance and many of them are not receiving this guidance from their parents. How much trouble would it have been for the priest to provide them with five minutes of his time in his homily???

 

[GodIsGracious]

It is the priest’s perogative to write the homily however he wishes.

This could be a good lesson to a first communicant: Holy Mass isn’t about us. Focus on the Lord instead of yourself.

 

[WhollyRoamin]

You totally missed my point. The children need guidance and many of them are not receiving this guidance from their parents. How much trouble would it have been for the priest to provide them with five minutes of his time in his homily???

Respectfully, I think you’ve missed the point.

 

[Mattapoisett64]

I’m speechless at how wrong this priest was. It would have been the easiest thing in the world to combine the themes of Ascension and First Communion - for one example, how Jesus left the gift of Eucharist behind for us – something at the level the children could understand. Those defending the priest’s inexcusable actions claim they’re saying the “Mass isn’t about us.” To my way of thinking, their message really is: The Mass is about what* I ***want it to be - and I don’t want those kids in my way.

First Communion is a special teachable moment - and the message ISN’T “tough nuggies kids, you don’t matter.” And the whole topic of sexual abuse has no, none, nada place at a First Communion Mass. “Mommy, what’s a pedophile?” isn’t the conversation a family should have to deal with at the typical family First Communion party. Hard to think of a remedy suitable for that priest, but a year in a monastery cell alone would be a good start.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

And people wonder why there is a vocation “crisis” going on.

Just look at the criticism this priest is receiving for doing nothing wrong.

The Mass is not about us, it is about the Lord.

 

[Godfollower]

I don’t have a problem with a priest talking about Communion when someone is making his/her first Communion at a Mass; I think it’s a good thing if he does. But it’s not required.

And, if someone in the congregation had stood up and started lambasting the priest about it in the middle of Mass, I would have been terribly offended at that person’s interruption.

:twocents:

 

[sharmin]

It is the priest’s perogative to write the homily however he wishes.

This could be a good lesson to a first communicant: Holy Mass isn’t about us. Focus on the Lord instead of yourself.

Actually, it doesn’t sound like it was about the Lord either, but rather, about pedophile priests.

 

[GodIsGracious]

Actually, it doesn’t sound like it was about the Lord either, but rather, about pedophile priests.

Well, the OP did say that the Homily did discuss the Ascension. So it does appear that the Mass was about the Lord.

 

[Mommyoftwo]

First Communion is a special teachable moment - and the message ISN’T “tough nuggies kids, you don’t matter.” And the whole topic of sexual abuse has no, none, nada place at a First Communion Mass. “Mommy, what’s a pedophile?” isn’t the conversation a family should have to deal with at the typical family First Communion party. Hard to think of a remedy suitable for that priest, but a year in a monastery cell alone would be a good start.

Agreed! I’m picturing these children who have spent an entire year preparing to receive Our Lord…They come to church anticipating the big day…They can’t wait to hear was father is going to say about…the sexual abuse scandal…huh?

The priest needed to talk about Ascension (though-I think it would have been better to have scheduled the 1st communions on a different Sunday) but to not say anything about the the First Eucharists seems…well… not very Catholic

 

[dixieagle]

Let me ask, how many children were there? Is it customary for a few children at a time to receive First Communion, or was it a large group?

If there was a large group, and this is one of just a few special Masses at which First Communion is celebrated, I find it odd in the extreme that it wasn’t mentioned. Of course, the Feast of the Ascension must be addressed, but certainly it would make sense to direct a few words to the children. Even if there were just a few children, it would be appropriate for the priest to briefly point out how special a day this is, that they are now able to receive Jesus.

In my humble opinion, it is high time for clergy to quit trying to defend the Church’s actions in the abuse scandal, particularly during a homily.

Of course the Mass is not about us, but these are children celebrating a very special Sacrament of Initiation, for Pete’s sake!