Communion - straight in the mouth please

Francisco de Goya, The Last Communion of Saint Jose de Calasanz, 1819

Fr Tim Finigan writes an excellent essay on the two ways of administering communion: contrary to what even many conservative Catholics believe, the 'ordinary' way of administering Holy Communion is still 'on the tongue'; 'in the hand' is by special permission, or indult.

The occasion for these comments is an interview with Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Archbishop Ranjith seems to have taken up the role of straight talking on liturgical matters that the Pope had held when still just a cardinal:

I mention for example, a change not proposed by the Council Fathers or by the Sacrosanctum Concilium, Holy Communion received in the hand. This has contributed to some extent to a weakening of faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This, and the removal of altar rails and kneelers in church and the introduction of practices which oblige the faithful to sit or stand at the elevation of the Sacred Host, weakens the genuine significance of the Eucharist and the Church's profound sense of adoration for the Lord, the Only Son of God. Moreover in many places, the church the 'house of God', is used for meetings, concerts or interreligious celebrations. In some churches the Blessed Sacrament is almost hidden away in a little chapel, hardly seen and little decorated. All this obscures a belief so central in the Church, belief in the real presence of Christ. The church, for Catholics, is the 'home' of the Eternal One.

'This day is fulfilled this scripture in your ears'

Raphael's Transfiguration (in the above section), flanked by Moses and the Prophet Elijah

I am just planning a lesson on the prophets. So I turn to the usually OK - but nothing special - CTS series, The Way, The Truth, and the Life.

I want to explain how Jesus fulfils the prophets. This is what I find

• Hosea reminded the people of God's love, goodness and faithfulness. So did Jesus.
• Amos and Micah urged them to show kindness to the poor, to be compassionate, honest and generous. So did Jesus.
• Jeremiah warned that if the people did not turn back to God, they would be punished. So did Jesus.
• Isaiah proclaimed the coming of the Messiah and of his kingdom. That Messiah was Jesus ...

Only at the end is any mention of the fact that the prophets spoke of Jesus (among other things). This is one of the ways that we know that Jesus was not bad or mad, but God. We know we can trust him, because the Jews were expecting him. Here are some of the prophecies the CTS authors could have made use of:

Genesis 3: 15 – the Protogospel

And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. 15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

Genesis 49: 10 – The Prophecy of the Dying Jacob

The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.

Isaiah 7: 14 – The Virgin shall Conceive

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

Isaiah 9: 6-7 – A Child is Born

For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 53 – The Suffering Servant

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him: 3 Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed ... ...

Micah 5: 1-3

Now shalt thou be laid waste, O daughter of the robber: they have laid siege against us, with a rod shall they strike the cheek of the judge of Israel. 2 AND THOU, BETHLEHEM Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity. 3 Therefore will he give them up even till the time wherein she that travaileth shall bring forth: and the remnant of his brethren shall be converted to the children of Israel.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King (34th Sunday)

The famous Pantocrator icon, with Christ's face one side gentle, one side stern

The last Sunday before Advent. Here is an excerpt from the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman.

The Royal Pardon from the Throne of the Cross

Consider the deep and serene compassion which led Him to pray for those who crucified Him; His solicitous care of His Mother; and His pardoning words addressed to the robber who suffered with Him. And so, when He said, "It is finished," He showed that He was still contemplating, with a clear intellect, "the travail of His soul, and was satisfied;" and in the solemn surrender of Himself into His Father's hand, He showed where His mind rested in the midst of its darkness. Even when He seemed to be thinking of Himself, and said, "I thirst," He really was regarding the words of prophecy, and was bent on vindicating, to the very letter, the divine announcements concerning Him. Thus, upon the Cross itself, we discern in Him the mercy of a Messenger from heaven, the love and grace of a Saviour, the dutifulness of a Son, the faith of a created nature, and the zeal of a servant of God...

...Who, on the other hand, does not at least perceive that all the glare and gaudiness of this world, its excitements, its keenly-pursued goods, its successes and its transports, its pomps and its luxuries, are not in character with that pale and solemn scene which faith must ever have in its eye? What Christian will not own that to "reign as kings," and to be "full," is not his calling; so as to derive comfort in the hour of sickness, or bereavement, or other affliction, from the thought that he is now in his own place, if he be Christ's, in his true home, the sepulchre in which his Lord was laid? So deeply have His Saints felt this, that when times were peaceful, and the Church was in safety, they could not rest in the lap of ease, and have secured to themselves hardnesses, lest the world should corrupt them.

Bodily Suffering, PPS III p149, 151. Given 3 My, 1835

November 23 - Feast of St Clement, Pope, Martyr

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Pope Saint Clement Adoring the Trinity (1737-38)

Here is a snippet from Pope Benedict's audience on St Clement, given earlier this year:

St. Clement, Bishop of Rome in the last years of the first century, was the third Successor of Peter, after Linus and Anacletus. The most important testimony concerning his life comes from St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons until 202. He attests that Clement "had seen the blessed Apostles", "had been conversant with them", and "might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing [in his ears], and their traditions before his eyes" (Adversus Haer. 3, 3, 3).

We have, of course, Pope Clement's extant Letter to the Corinthians (c. 96AD), remarkable as the first instance of papal intervention in the affairs of another Church (he was asked by the elders of the church in Corinth to restore order and hierarchy after some upstarts had removed them.) In the early Church this letter had an 'almost canonical character'. I find it especially interesting that the Corinthians sought Clement's intervention even though the Apostle John was still living, and far more local to them than Clement was, all the way over in Rome.

According to my Missal, the epistle for today (Philippians 4) confuses Clement, bishop of Rome, with another Clement. Whoops.

Why do we baptize infants; and why is abortion so wrong?

It's interesting to take a look at the GCSE mark schemes for various questions. Take the question, 'Why do Catholics believe in infant baptism?' Answers to be credited include:

• Baptism brings someone into the Church
• It takes away original sin
• It brings the family and community together
• It shows the faith of the parents

At no stage is it ever mentioned that baptism is necessary for salvation. This is the reason why Catholic mothers get nervous with unbaptized babies; not because they feel that they haven't had the opportunity to display their faith or bring the baby into the parish community, but because unbaptized babies may not be able to enjoy the Beatific Vision.

A friend of mine recently argued that the real issue with abortion isn't the humanitarian one - the vulnerability of the innocent lives so cruelly taken - but the theological one, the impossibility of salvation for the souls of those babies who have been denied baptism and therefore go to Limbo. If we believe in Limbo...

An Encyclical on Hope; and a New Document on Education

Hope, Kazimierz Wojniakowski (d. 1812)

The Congregation for Catholic Education has published a new document, Educating Together in Catholic Schools. A Shared Mission between Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful. Although reports of the press conference say that the document is published in English, I can only find it in Italian, on the congregation's page.

Other great news is that the Pope will sign his second Encyclical, on Christian hope, on November 30 (I don't think we know when it will be published). One just relishes everything that comes from our Holy Father's pontifical pen. The title, Spe Salvi, is from St Paul:

For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen, is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not, we wait for it with patience. Rom 8.24-5

Recess for a few days

I'm getting a very early train to London tomorrow morning, so no posts until Friday.