receiving a blessing at communion

[ajecphotos]

Well, our parish priest is a canon lawyer and he is more than happy for it to be done as is every priest in my diocese!

It gives great comfort to everyone who has the blessing. Do you think Jesus would argue with that? I dont think so.

Also, the Bishop does it too as does the Arch Bishop!

 

[Saints_Alive]

Well, our parish priest is a canon lawyer and he is more than happy for it to be done as is every priest in my diocese!

It gives great comfort to everyone who has the blessing. Do you think Jesus would argue with that? I dont think so.

It doesn’t matter what I think Jesus would say. What matters here is that clergy who are not commissioned by the Holy See to make changes to the liturgy are taking the liberty to do so.

And, here, we are specifically talking about what could be argued to be the most critical part of the Mass that should demand the utmost reverence.

We have a hierarchy for a reason. What those of us at the bottom rung of the ladder think would be a great idea, myself included, doesn’t trump the authority of Liturgists in the Curia.

 

[Saints_Alive]

thats fine to some body who knows about how to go about things…

what about those who dont and are thirsty for healing through touch?there is no grater love.

What about trusting the Holy See to make that call ?

 

[ajecphotos]

southernorderspage.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/people-receiving-blessing-during-holy.html

 

[doormouse73]

Yes, please read it.

What is happening here is a novelty that someone thought “would be nice” is introduced into the liturgy. Soon, we have a monkey see-monkey do reaction. Others start doing it. “Fr says it’s ok, so it must be”

Changes to the Liturgy, are not introduced in this manner. It simply doesn’t work that way. There are men in Rome who have given their life to the service of Holy Mother Church, who have studied long and hard, and who are entrusted to safeguard the Liturgy, and make changes as they see fit after much discretion.

What we think as laity and parish priests doesn’t matter. Look at it this way. The moment of Holy Communion is one of the most important acts we make as Roman Catholics. This excuse of " what will people think if I don’t go up to receive ? " is silly. Actually, by going up for a blessing, one is placing him/herself front and center for the entire congregation to see ! The number of people noticing one isn’t receiving is increased.

What do I think when I happen to notice someone isn’t going up for Communion ? I think I’m seeing a display of piety and respect for the Blessed Sacrament that will please God the Father.

jmo

well you answer me a simple yes or no to the post you have gave me.not a paragraph of i dont know,leaning is not a yes or no is it…

would you please show me in there were it says no.

thank you for your replies…

like i said earlier in a post

its about a personal relationship with Jesus… some time more often than not,the Catholic faith is caught not just taught.to start of with…

read this from the gospel of Mark

Mark 5:21-34

 

[ajecphotos]

If the priest does the blessing and so does our Bishop etc then who are we to argue with them? If it brings people closer to God and the church, makes them feel part of the Eucharist then that is all for the better.

Too many people are wrapped up in the dots and the Ts when what matters is gods love for everyone and the spreading of that love.

 

[Saints_Alive]

You folks carry on. When Rome approves of the practice as an option, I’ll accept it and stop referring to it as a novelty.

God Bless

 

[ajecphotos]

I only follow what my local priest and Bishop do. Who am i to argue with them.

Jesus is there for ‘everyone’. Not just those that go up for holy communion. He is there for anyone who wants to know him and if that means having a blessing from the clergy then i am sure he would approve of that. For our bishop and local priests to do it means they want people to be a part of the Eucharist even if thay cannot receive the holy body or blood of our lord.

 

[Phemie]

this is in the sticky at the top of the page…

ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur263.htm

so really no one has the right to condemn any body for this…

its about a personal relationship with Jesus… some time more often than not,the Catholic faith is caught not just taught.to start of with…

Did you bother to read the 5 points they make about why this is not to be done based on existing laws & documents of the Church? In summary:

1. It happens for everyone a few minutes later so not necessary for only a few people;
2. lay people are not allowed to bless anyone during Mass so EMHCs are not to do so;
3. priests may bless but the laying on of hands is inappropriate at this time (there goes your ‘healing touch’ thing)
4. people who are not allowed to receive Communion should not be joining the Communion line and that includes non-Catholics, those in persistent manifest sin and those who have divorced and remarried without annulments.

 

[ajecphotos]

Did you bother to read the 5 points they make about why this is not to be done based on existing laws & documents of the Church? In summary:

1. It happens for everyone a few minutes later so not necessary for only a few people;
2. lay people are not allowed to bless anyone during Mass so EMHCs are not to do so;
3. priests may bless but the laying on of hands is inappropriate at this time (there goes your ‘healing touch’ thing)
4. people who are not allowed to receive Communion should not be joining the Communion line and that includes non-Catholics, those in persistent manifest sin and those who have divorced and remarried without annulments.

Isnt it dated 2009?

As i stated before, my local priest is a Canon lawyer for the church and never does anything that states shouldnt be done!

 

[doormouse73]

Isnt it dated 2009?

As i stated before, my local priest is a Canon lawyer for the church and never does anything that states shouldnt be done!

i never noticed the date on it.

thanks for pointing this out, ajecphotos

.the priest in my parish is very well known in the U K. im sure if what he was doing was wrong it would make the news on T V.

 

[Phemie]

Isnt it dated 2009?

As i stated before, my local priest is a Canon lawyer for the church and never does anything that states shouldnt be done!

It’s dated 2008 but what’s your point?

My pastor is a Canon lawyer but he still allows a baby to have two godmothers, in direct contradiction of Canon 873. In fact, he told me there was no such canon. It’s going to cause us problems later. Sometimes wanting to be ‘pastoral’ causes more problems than just following the rules.

 

[ajecphotos]

Every catholic church i have ever gone to in the uk the priest / clergy always have people coming up at communion with their arms folded for a blessing. The priest / clergy always give them a blessing!! Good on them i say. Pass the love of our lord and the benefits of the eucharist to those who cannot recieve it.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

What makes things doubly confusing is that many Hispanics go forward to receive Holy Communion with their arms crossed. I don’t know what the symbolism is, but it is NOT a signal that they only want a blessing.

 

[Tigg]

now the Church(Rome,Vatican)does not say it disagrees or agrees with this,it is still in council…

this is in the sticky at the top of the page…

ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur263.htm

so really no one has the right to condemn any body for this…

its about a personal relationship with Jesus… some time more often than not,the Catholic faith is caught not just taught.to start of with…

From your link:

A: We have addressed this topic on a couple of occasions (May 10 and 24, 2005) in which we expressed **misgivings **regarding this practice. At the same time, we pointed out that the legal situation of the usage is murky with bishops making statements falling on both sides of the argument.

HEREIN lies the problem…our priests do not agree and our bishops do not agree. Our pastor allows the blessing, (which is why I no longer choose to be an EMHC) and from everything I have read, (including Ecclesia de Mysterio and heard from a theologian who taught one of my classes) it is not valid for lay ministers (at the very least) to do it.

these people have been touched by the Holy spirit i believe in the actions of the blessing of the priest,the acceptant of the family(Church congregation).and most of all witnessing that Jesus is present in the Eucharist and wine. a lot of other contributions aswell i should imagine…but the blessing has played its part…

Please read Item #4 of Phemie’s previous post #29. Here is the problem…a man or woman who are in a second marriage without benefit of an annulment cannot worthily receive a blessing…much less Communion. They are considered, by the Church, to be in a state of serious sin. So how do you condone a blessing???

 

[smndtupidisaftr]

Wanting comfort if fine. Using a blessing as a replacement is not fine. You may receive grace with spiritual Communion, and it seems to be commonly forgotten. Just stay in the pew at the awe that our Lord would give himself to us so freely.

 

[ajecphotos]

Thing is, the catholic does change it’s ‘laws’ now and again as has happened down the ages. It is not a command from god. I guess different clergy interpret things differently.

I am all for people having a blessing.

What about parents who take a baby up with them when they go for holy communion? Our priest blesses the baby. It is all for the good of the people and of spreading gods love.

 

[Phemie]

Thing is, the catholic does change it’s ‘laws’ now and again as has happened down the ages. It is not a command from god. I guess different clergy interpret things differently.

I am all for people having a blessing.

What about parents who take a baby up with them when they go for holy communion? Our priest blesses the baby. It is all for the good of the people and of spreading gods love.

One of our former pastors didn’t do that at all, not even for infants. One mother got practically apoplectic because she had to ask and even then he did it reluctantly because he didn’t want to cause a scene.

The one we have now has asked the parents not to rush the children away because he wants to bless them. He could just as easily do that when he’s at the back of the church as they’re leaving. He’s good about some rules but couldn’t care less about others which is why we still don’t kneel at the consecration, GIRM notwithstanding, (he said he doesn’t care about that) and kids can have multiple godmothers.

 

[JLM28]

Folks can explain and defend “going up for a blessing” all they care to, but it is in fact a novelty that was NOT introduced by Rome.

The traditional Catholic practice is to do a Spiritual Communion if one can’t receive for whatever reason.

Again, the priest blesses everyone at the end of Mass. Why would one feel the need to be blessed twice ?

Where are you getting your facts for these quotes:

but it is in fact a novelty that was NOT introduced by Rome.

The traditional Catholic practice is to do a Spiritual Communion if one can’t receive for whatever reason.

 

[Phemie]

Where are you getting your facts for these quotes:

Since Rome is ‘studying the question’, it’s obvious that they weren’t the ones who started it.

Spiritual Communion has been a teaching for centuries. John Paul II, in his encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia, **ON THE EUCHARIST IN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHURCH” **says this:

1. (…)The Eucharist thus appears as the culmination of all the sacraments in perfecting our communion with God the Father by identification with his only-begotten Son through the working of the Holy Spirit. With discerning faith a distinguished writer of the Byzantine tradition voiced this truth: in the Eucharist “unlike any other sacrament, the mystery [of communion] is so perfect that it brings us to the heights of every good thing: here is the ultimate goal of every human desire, because here we attain God and God joins himself to us in the most perfect union”.69 Precisely for this reason it is good to cultivate in our hearts a constant desire for the sacrament of the Eucharist.

This was the origin of the practice of “spiritual communion”, which has happily been established in the Church for centuries and recommended by saints who were masters of the spiritual life. Saint Teresa of Jesus wrote: “When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you”.70