Monday, 2 June 2014

I was edified yesterday by the visit of two young Frenchmen to our Sunday Mass. As the church is undergoing redecoration, I said Mass in the hall, as I have had to be doing for the past month. They  were on holiday here, walking and camping, but called the day before to check when Sunday Mass would be and then were waiting outside in plenty of time. When it came to Holy Communion, both knelt and reverently received the Sacred Host on their tongues. They were the only ones out of the congregation of about two hundred who received thus, and a shining example to everyone.
At the second Mass I celebrated a visiting German received the Host in his hand and walked off with it so that I had to intercept him as he headed towards an extraordinary minister with the chalice and ask him to consume it. His response was to ask if "the wine" were forbidden. My German is not up to explaining on the hoof the difference between wine and the Precious Blood, let alone the reasons for not allowing intinction, so I simply said, that, yes, it is forbidden! [meaning, in these circumstances with you walking off with the Sacred Host]. There is, of course, no judgement implied on the nationalities of the people referred to here, merely about the understanding of whom we are receiving in Holy Communion.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider gave an inspiring talk recently to members of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy at St Patrick's, Soho, London: much of what he said relates to the acknowledgement of the Real Presence through the manner in which we receive Holy Communion. These two incidents particularly highlighted his comments. I heartily recommend his latest book: Corpus Christi, published in English by Lumen Fidei Press, ISBN 978-1-78280-201-3.