A Light in the Darkness

My life, over the past few months has, to put it mildly, been quite unpleasant. Just over four months ago my mother passed away somewhat unexpectedly and then, two months later we were told that our company would have to close down at the end of November. I now do not have any family remaining in South Africa, but I do, thank God, have the love and kindness of good friends, both old and new, whose friendship and generosity have made the world of difference in these past months.

I also continue, on a daily basis, to thank God for the presence and grace of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, in our lives. It has been a very dark period with regard to my Faith, but also a time of great Light. This has been due, in a large part, to the gentle wisdom and guidance of our Holy Father. His words are always a true guide and inspiration in these times of continual upheaval, both personally and globally.

Some weeks ago I read the following from the Holy Father’s book, God is Near Us. I had come across this passage quite by coincidence, as I was flicking through the pages, but they would become even more relevant later, as I will explain:

“Even when Abraham was still on his way, and as yet knew nothing of the mystery of the ram, he was able to say to Isaac, with trust in his heart: Deus providebit – God will take care of us. Because he knew this God, therefore, even in the dark night of his incomprehension he knew that he is a loving God, therefore, even then, when he found he could understand nothing, he could put his trust in him and could know that the very one that seemed to be oppressing him truly loved him even then. Only in thus going onward, so that his heart was opened up, so that he entered the abyss of trust and, in the dark night of the uncomprehended God, dared keep company with him, did he thereby become capable of accepting the ram, of understanding the God who gives to us that we may give. This Abraham, in any case, has something to say to all of us. If we are only looking on from outside, if we only let God’s action wash over us from without and only insofar as it is directed toward us, then we will soon come to see God as a tyrant who plays about with the world. But the more we keep him company, the more we trust in him in the dark night of the uncomprehended God, the more we will become aware that the very God who seems to be tormenting us is the one who truly loves us, the one we can trust without reserve. The deeper we go down into the dark night of the uncomprehended God and trust in him, the more we will discover him and will find the love and the freedom that will carry us through any and every night. God gives that we may give. This is the essence of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; from the earliest times, the Roman Canon has expressed it thus: “De tuis donis ac datis offerimus tibi” – from your gifts and offerings we offer you.” (p.46-47)

One evening, during the following week, I had a rather unpleasant experience. An experience which I have had only once before. A feeling of being, internally, in total darkness. My previous experience had been nightmarish but, at that moment, I recalled what I had read the previous week and I felt a deep sense of comfort. A deep sense that that moment was a gift. It was only in that darkness that I could see the Light, that I could truly sense something of my own smallness but that I was nevertheless being held by an strong and incomprehensible Love, one that we can simply not match with our own efforts.

“It is easier to love someone that you know, than to love someone you don’t know.” These particular words from Father Thomas’s Christmas Mass homily, with reference to our love of Christ, the need to make an effort to come to know Him and love Him more intimately, continue to resonate in my mind. It led me to reflect on my own lack of love for Our Lord. On how much easier it is to allow the distractions of the material world to overwhelm us and trick us into thinking that it alone can sustain us. I find that one sure source of coming to know Christ more intimately, is the through the words of the Holy Father. I found his meditation on the Liturgy of Hours during the opening of the 12th General Synod of Bishops to be particularly moving. The meditation as a whole, touched me deeply, as so many of his words of the Holy Father often do. However, during a rereading of this meditation this afternoon, these words moved me:

“Therefore, exegesis, the true reading of Holy Scripture, is not only a literary phenomenon, not only reading a text. It is the movement of my existence. It ismoving towards the Word of God in the human words. Only by conforming ourselves to the Mystery of God, to the Lord who is the Word, can we enter within the Word, can we truly find the Word of God in human words. Let us pray to the Lord that he may help us search the word, not only with our intellect but also with our entire existence.”

I see in his own words, that movement towards God in human words. Strangely, these ‘words’ connect with something else that Father Thomas said regarding Scripture during his Christmas homily. He recounted how he often people tell him how wonderful a certain movie is. How, for example, they have seen it ten times. His response to this was to say how marvelous it would be if we were to devote this amount of enthusiasm to reading the Gospels. To read a passage from the Gospel ten times. How right he is! I myself am overtly fond of rewatching particular scenes from certain movies. It is only through that sort of immersion in Scripture that I will indeed be able to search the Word, with my entire existence.

May the Lord protect and sustain our Holy Father so that he might continue to be a light and guide for all of us within the encroaching darkness.

Receiving Communion

Futher to my previous post regarding the kneelers that have been introduced, here is a letter from our Parish priest explaining the reintroduction. There has certainly been an increase in the number of people kneeling to receive communion, particularly at last Sunday's Mass after Father Thomas reminded everyone, once again, of the need for reverence when receiving the Host. All emphases, in bold, are Father Thomas's. I would also ask that you keep him in your prayers, as he requests at the end of this letter.



30 November 2008

Dear parishioners:

As I was saying last Sunday, and many of you probably knew, since the Feast of Corpus Christi this year, Pope Benedict XVI has only distributed communion on the tongue to communicants that are kneeling. At
first some thought that this was only a "once off', but the Holy Father has continued with this practice. Why is he doing this and what is the practical teaching that he wants to give us?

After Pope Benedict XVI started distributing the Holy Communion this way, Msgr. Guido Marini, the Master of Papal Liturgical Ceremonies, in an interview that appeared in L'Osservatore Romano (25/6/2008)
was asked if this practice is destined to become habitual in papal celebrations.

This was his answer:

"I really believe so. In this regard it must not be forgotten that the
distribution of Communion in the hand still remains, from the juridical
standpoint, an exception to the universal law, conceded by the Holy See to those
bishops' conferences that have asked for it. The form adopted by Benedict XVI is
meant to underscore the force of the norm valid for the entire Church.
Furthermore, one might also note a preference for the use of this method of
distribution which, without taking anything from the other,
better highlights the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, fosters the
devotion of the faithful and more readily introduces them to the sense of
mystery."

To understand why Msgr. Marini says that Communion in the hand still remains, from the juridical
standpoint, an exception to the universal law, you have to know a bit of the history of this change in the practice of the Church.

It will come as a surprise especially to younger Catholics that the modern practice of receiving communion in the hand dates back only about forty years. In the years following the Second Vatican council a few countries began experimenting with "communion in the hand", This was done without asking the permission from the Holy See. To legalize this irregular situation a few bishops and bishops conferences asked for permission to distribute communion in the hand.

Pope Paul VI then asked the bishops of the world for their opinion. The vast majority voted against the distribution of communion in the hand. 1,233 said No and 597 Yes.

In line with the views of the bishops in 1969 the Congregation for Divine Worship issued a document "Memoriale Domini" (approved by Pope Paul VI after suggesting several changes in the text. This document can be read at http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWMEMOR.HTM). It strongly supported and
encouraged the reception of communion on the tongue to a kneeling communicant.

In this document the Holy See makes it clear that "This method of distributing holy communion [on the tongue and kneeling] must be retained, taking the present situation of the Church in the entire world into account."
Below are some of the reasons that the Holy See gives:

Reverence for the Eucharist.

This traditional method of receiving is preferable not just because "it has many centuries of tradition behind it, but especially because it expresses the faithful's reverence for the Eucharist."

Part of the preparation to receive communion

Some have argued that having to kneel to receive communion and to be fed the Host is belittling. The Holy See responds to this by emphasising that "the custom does not detract in any way from the personal dignity of those who approach this great sacrament: it is part of that preparation that is needed for the most fruitful reception of the Body ofthe Lord." By kneeling we prepare ourselves for communion showing that we approach this great sacrament in a spirit humility and awe.

By receiving the Host in this reverent manner, so different from the way we would receive normal food, we show 'that it is not a sharing in "ordinary bread and wine" that is involved, but in the Body and Blood ofthe Lord'.

Removes the danger of profanation

This traditional practice "ensures, more effectively, that holy communion is distributed with the proper respect, decorum and dignity. It removes the danger of profanation of the sacred species, in which "in a unique way, Christ, God and man, is present whole and entire, substantially and continually."

Respect for the smallest part of the Host

"Lastly, it ensures that diligent carefulness about the fragments of consecrated bread which the Church has always recommended: It What you haveallowed to drop, think of it as though you had lost one of your own
members."

At the end of Memoriale Domini the Holy See set out the following procedure which is to be observed:

" Where a contrary usage, that of placing holy communion on the hand, prevails,( ... ) In such cases, Episcopal conferences should examine matters carefully and should make whatever decisions, by a secret vote and with two-thirds majority, are needed to regulate matters. Their decisions should be sent to Rome to receive the necessary confirmation, accompanied with a detailed account of the reasons which led them to take those decisions." This explains why Msgr Marini says that communion on the hand is an exception to the general rule and why the Pope is pushing the traditional form.

(All Quotes are from Memoriale Domini)

Over the years the new practice of communion in the hand grew but without many of the faithful realising what they were leaving behind.

So after forty years what are the norms that regulate this issue? You will find the norms for South Africa, set by the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC), in the Pastoral Introduction to the Order
of the Mass (approved by the SACBC) pp. 81-82 . Norms that obviously are in agreement with the general norms given by the Holy See:


1. "In the Conference area under the jurisdiction of the SACBC, Holy Communion may be received in the hand as well as on the tongue; the choice is the prerogative of the communicant". (This means that the priest or minister has to respect the choice of the communicant, no one has the right to oblige doing it in a certain way).

2. "The norm for the posture of reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the SACBC territory is standing. However, communicants who wish to kneel are welcome to do so".

3. "When receiving Holy Communion standing, the communicant may bow the head before the sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receive the Body of the Lord from the minister. The communicant may also use the gesture of "ukuphaphatha" were the hands are gently clapped together in acknowledgement of the gift about to be received. Other signs which are apt are the sign of the cross or genuflection".

As you can see, we are not facing a dogmatic issue. It is something that, as things are now, depends on our choice or preference. There can be no doubt that Pope Benedict XVI, by his courageous liturgical initiative, is sending a strong message to his brother bishops, priests and laity as to the manner in which he would like to see Holy Communion distributed and received at all Masses.

Personally, as you can guess, I am in complete agreement with Pope Benedict XVI in his preference for this traditional way of receiving Holy Communion. I think it's my duty as Parish Priest to share with you this knowledge so you are in a better position to choose. There is a tremendous ignorance regarding this and other liturgical issues, even among us priests. Not long ago a young priest said to me that Communion in the hand was a norm established by the Vatican Council (sic).

As Jesus said: "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8,32).

As I already announced last Sunday, we are going to leave a kneeler in the central corridor when distributing Holy Communion for those communicants who, in use of the right they have, prefer to receive it in the mouth and kneeling. And of course the choice of those who prefer to receive the Communion in the hand will be respected as we have always done.

Please do not hesitate to raise any doubts or issues. In the last weeks I have already received several questions about liturgy: why do we do this, why don't we do that which is common practice in other parishes? I am available and very happy to answer as far as I can any questions you might have.

May God bless you and your families. Please remember me in your prayers.

Yours sincerely

Father Thomas

First Tridentine Mass celebrated at Johannesburg Cathedral

I returned, about an hour ago, from the first Tridentine Mass to be held at Christ the King Cathedral in Johannesburg. The Mass was held in the Blessed Virgin side chapel and there were, I would say, about 100 people present. It was a Low Mass, celebrated by Rev. Father Shaun Mary von Lillienfeld who, after the Mass had ended, gave a short but deeply moving speech in which he described his gratitude for being able to celebrate the Tridentine Mass once again.

As you can see from the photo below, these are very small beginnings but this was a hugely historic occasion. I apologise for the smallness of the image, but the photo came out rather blurry. Fortunately it does not look quite so fuzzy when made a little smaller. There was an official photographer there as well so I will, hopefully, be able to post much better photographs at a later date, although I am sure they will appear elsewhere first.

Father von Lillienfeld celebrates the first official Tridentine Mass in Johannesburg