Puzzled by Sermon

[Rafaela]

Hi!
I went to a Catholic Mass. It was by a local OFM -Father. I got really disturbed when in Divine Mercy Sunday’s mass he finished the Sermon. First it was all about forgiveness, then forgiving others until he proceeded to say that not only do we have to accept those in irregular relationships, but the church has to Bless them to Sacramental marriage, and if it doesn’t he does not want to have anything to do with such an institution.

I went to communion but I felt so scandalized I was wondering whether it was a right thing to do, given that I am not sure Fr. did not excommunicate himself with such words.

Sorry to say that such things happens in our current parish, I wish I was trolling, but sadly it is not the case.

Would you have gone to communion at such a case? What should I do, avoiding the Fr. and the church does not seem like viable option, since we cannot every time take a local train and go 30mins to another city with three small kids, either. I would be greatful of any (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[Joan_M]

Hi!
I went to a Catholic Mass. It was by a local OFM -Father. I got really disturbed when in Divine Mercy Sunday’s mass he finished the Sermon. First it was all about forgiveness, then forgiving others until he proceeded to say that not only do we have to accept those in irregular relationships, but the church has to Bless them to Sacramental marriage, and if it doesn’t he does not want to have anything to do with such an institution.

I went to communion but I felt so scandalized I was wondering whether it was a right thing to do, given that I am not sure Fr. did not excommunicate himself with such words.

Sorry to say that such things happens in our current parish, I wish I was trolling, but sadly it is not the case.

Would you have gone to communion at such a case? What should I do, avoiding the Fr. and the church does not seem like viable option, since we cannot every time take a local train and go 30mins to another city with three small kids, either. I would be greatful of any (name removed by moderator)ut.

Perhaps you did not fully understand what he was saying - perhaps he was not referring to divorced and re-married without decree of nullity. Those living in irregular relationships can, of course, be properly married, if they were simply cohabiting or one or both Catholic married outside the Church. This would be fine.

That being said, there was nothing wrong with receiving Communion. What Father said, even if it was as you surmised, would not have invalidated the Mass. I have heard many strange or weird things said by priests during the Mass, whether in their preaching or in them changing the words that are printed in the Missal, but not one of them ever changed the words of Consecration to make them invalid. Never. So, although I may have been upset at things Father did or said, I never found any valid reason to not receive Communion because of that.

However, I have changed parishes because a parish priest continually did or said things that were just plain wrong and I was stressed out by them, having been advised by my confessor that it might be better to find somewhere else to go to Mass.

 

[St_Francis]

You may receive Communion.

I see you are in Germany. A very sad situation there.

I had a similar situation for a while and would always be sure to explain the priest’s errors to my children. Unfortunately, I was negative in my presentation (OK, incredibly annoyed and upset!!!), and this made a bad impression on my children.

Instead, teach your children to offer up their suffering and to *pray for your priests and bishops. *

 

[G_S]

Perhaps the priest was saying that irregular unions ought to be validated not that they should simply be recognized as is. Throughout the years, I have been amazed to find out about regular Mass-goers in the parish who are in irregular unions who either don’t know their marriage is irregular or don’t realize that it can be easily validated. We had a neighbor who told her daughter that she couldn’t get married in the Church because her parents had been divorced. After a funeral a few days ago, one of the family members told me that her daughter would be getting married in a few days but that she couldn’t be married in the Church because she was never confirmed. Her soon to be sister-in-law – whose wedding I officiated at – piped up to say that she wasn’t confirmed at the time of her wedding and was married in the Church. Now she is confirmed and her formerly inactive husband and she are devout Catholics and sending their children to Catholic schools. The mother went on to say, “Well, Rev R___ will be doing the wedding and he’s nice.” Although your example shows the delicacy of trying to communicate about such issues, I think that every pastor needs to encourage parishioners to regularize their marital situations whenever possible.

 

[Blessedwithfive]

I thought the person posting was referring to gay marriages, not divorced and remarried people. Does that make a difference?

 

[G_S]

I thought the person posting was referring to gay marriages, not divorced and remarried people. Does that make a difference?

The question really is what the priest was referring to. There is a difference. A divorced and remarried person might be able to obtain an annulment and have their putative marriage validated. A gay marriage is an impossibility.

 

[Rafaela]

The priest was talking about ‘‘irregular relationships’’ which ofcourse could be fine to validate sacramentally if the necessary steps were taken as per church teaching. However, unfortunately He clearly stated that we should appreciate love in all forms, and that if a couple who happened to be of same-sex asked for sacramental marriage they should have a right for it.

Unfortunately this country seems to be taking into battle lines between Kasperians and Müllerians i.e. those who support positions of Cardinal Walter Kasper and those with Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller.

 

[mamlukman]

There was a heresy in the Middle Ages: taking communion from a sinful priest was invalid. (I can’t remember the name of the heresy or the group who believed it.) The Church ruled that a priest is a priest; unless his powers are taken away by the Church, he still has his full powers, sin or no sin.

As for what priests say at Mass, if you don’t like it, ignore it. That’s why we have a Pope and Church Councils. Priests say all sorts of things–that doesn’t mean they’re right.

 

[G_S]

The priest was talking about ‘‘irregular relationships’’ which ofcourse could be fine to validate sacramentally if the necessary steps were taken as per church teaching. However, unfortunately He clearly stated that we should appreciate love in all forms, and that if a couple who happened to be of same-sex asked for sacramental marriage they should have a right for it.

Unfortunately this country seems to be taking into battle lines between Kasperians and Müllerians i.e. those who support positions of Cardinal Walter Kasper and those with Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller.

His direct advocacy from the pulpit of sacramental marriage for same-sex couples is a very serious matter. It is not only asking for a change in discipline but in the Church’s faith and morals. He should be reported to the bishop and, if he persists in error, should be subjected to a canonical penalty. Saying we should appreciate love in all forms (try to define “appreciate,” “love,” and “forms.”) is flaky but does not rise to the level of formal heresy.