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Bishop Athanasius Schneider--"Communion in the hand must go!"

My old Grade 10 German is surely not sufficient and thanks to Google Translator; here is the latest from Bishop Athanasius Schneider from Kreuz and the Eponymous Flower. Communion in the hand was an error that must be corrected. You can start correcting it the next time you attend Mass--one person at a time and it begins with you.

 

Bishop Schneider: Hand Communion Must Go

It is a legend that hand communion goes back to the first century.  It comes much more from the devilish schismatic of Geneva, John Calvin. -kreuz.net

(kreuz.net) The current form of hand communion stems from the Calvinists.

This is what Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider (50) of Astana in Kazakhstan said at the end of October for the videosite 'gloria.tv'.

"That was an abuse"

Calvinist self-communion was introduced in the 1960s by decadent Catholic Communities in the Netherlands.

This step happened in disobedience to ecclesiastical rules -- Msgr Schneider stressed:  "That was an abuse and the Holy See forbid it in the 1960s."

Finally Paul VI († 1978) addressed hand communion in the Document 'Memoriale Domini' in May 1969 with a "heavy heart":

"In this document the Church said that this form is an exception and that kneeling Communion would remain the rule."

At hand communion the people would take the Host with their fingers and put it in their mouths themselves:  "this particular gesture has never taken place in the history of the Church, never."

It was a kind of self communion.

The Lutherans adapted themselves to the Catholics

Msgr Schneider recalled the Episcopal Synod of October 2005 on the Eucharist.

During a recess Msgr Schneider asked an attending Norwegian Lutheran "Bishop" how his community gave  the Lord's Supper.

The Lutheran answered that the Norwegian State Church had, up until about ten years ago, been giving supper only kneeling and on the tongue. Yet the influence of decadent Roman Catholics has caused hand communion to be introduced.

Liturgical Minimalism

The Auxiliary Bishop asks that hand communion be prayed and worked against:

"We must deeply desire that this form of current hand communion, which has never been practiced in the Church, be abolished"  -- he said with feeling.


Handcommunion is a minimal form of  reverence.  On the contrary, the Church ought never to be satisfied with minimalism.

Particles of Host on the floor

Msgr Schneider warned that giving hand communion will cause many particles to be lost.

The Hosts are often flaky.

The particles could also adhere to the fingers or remain on the
 palm.  They would fall on the ground and be trampled.

In Kazakhstan, according to the Auxiliary Bishop, Communion is only given kneeling and on the tongue.

"It so often happens to me and also to other priests, that there are a few particles on the paten."

Without Communion patens, these particles would fall on the floor or in the clothing of the people.

Msgr Schneider also warned that hand communion simplifies the theft of Hosts as well.

The Epiphany of the LORD

Whether it was Friday (as it was for me in the EF) or Saturday night (as it was for me where I sang the Vigil Mass) or today if you worship in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, may you have a blessed Epiphany. For me, it is Holy Family today and let us pray that some day, Epiphany in Canada will be transferred back to January 6 and that we will also have a unified calendar between the OF and EF.

Now that should prompt an interesting discussion, so let us have it.

If there was a new calendar for the OF and EF, what should it look like? Now, let us assume that it is not going to be one or the other but a blending of the best with a hermeneutic of continuity.

So, I shall start with this.

Return the Octave of Epiphany to both (it was done away with in 1962).
Restore the Octave of Pentecost to the OF.
Restore the Gesima Sundays to the OF as a "pre-Lent."

But enjoy this first.

 Here is the trio in English

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Another great Churchman from Quebec

Today, January 7 the Church in Canada celebrates the Memorial of St. André Bessette of Montreal with a full Mass Proper. In the United States it was celebrated yesterday, January 6 which was the anniversary of his death as an "Optional Memorial." I am not sure why the Canadian bishops chose to seek Rome's approval for the approval of this Memorial on January 7, but I do agree with it. Often, feasts and memorials are on a significant day in the life of the particular saint and usually on the day of the death, the birthday into eternal life; but this is not always possible so dates close are sometimes chosen. The U.S. bishops chose January 6 but I believe this was wrong. While I can't say for sure that the Canadian Bishops felt that January 6 is truly Epiphany and that some day we might use this proper date again, I'd like to think so.



St. André Bessette of Montreal



Sitting at breakfast at the usual Aris' Place, with a seminarian friend after Mass this morning, the subject of the state of the Church once again arose. He reminded me about long ago investigations into goings on in the Curia by Don Luigi Villa of the Diocese of Brescia. I mentioned to him about something similar conducted by another great Quebec Churchman, the late Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, P.S.S., whom Msgr. Vincent Foy considered to be one of Canada's "most illustrious churchmen...a holy, learned and courageous teacher and defender of Life and the Faith."  



Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, P.S.S.



Perusing once again the tribute by Msgr. Foy in Catholic Insight, I could not help but wonder how much the late Cardinal took to his grave and how he suffered for the Church. Cardinal Gagnon believed many Canadian bishops to be in schism due to the Winnipeg Statement. He fought to keep Archbishop Lefebvre and the SSPX from breaking from the Church and he suffered for what he knew and what Pope Paul VI would not heed. While he was not totally ignored by Pope John Paul II and was eventually appointed to head a Pontifical Council, his findings were never revealed and we will never know, at least not on this side of eternity, whether any of his advice on the modernist corruption at the Lateran or the scandals in the Curia were acted upon.

Let us pray that St. André Bessette will seek the grace and mercy of God upon Quebec and Canada.

Let us also pray that through God's grace and St. André's intercession, Canada's newest Cardinal will seek to emulate the clarity, faith and holiness of the late éminence grise as we see upon us a new year which will be of great challenge and continued upheaval in our culture.

Responsorial Psalm Comparison

In an earlier post, I linked to some wise words by Jeff Ostrowski of the Corpus Christi Watershed. Here is a video comparing some fairly well-worn Responsorial Psalms and a chant version from CCW.

What do you think?

Which do you think would foster greater participation amongst the faithful?

Thomas Christopher Cardinal Collins

May the LORD on this Epiphany pour out his abundant graces on our new Cardinal Archbishop.

 

“I am deeply honoured that the Holy Father has called me to be a member of the College of Cardinals. I am grateful for the trust he has placed in me, and recognize this honour as a sign of his esteem for the role of Canada and of the Archdiocese of Toronto in the universal Church. I ask the people of the Archdiocese, whom I am privileged to serve as bishop, and all people in the community, to pray for me and for all who serve Our Lord through ministry in the Church."

Epiphany Missa Cantata in Toronto

Epiphany of the LORD

Friday, January 6, 2012

7:30 P.M.

Missa Cantata in the Extraordianry Form of the Roman Rite

St. Lawrence the Martyr Catholic Church

Scarborough