I have heard a statistic that all together blows me a way, saddens me and embarrasses me. That statistic is that of all Catholics something like 60%+ do not believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Of all the aspects of the Catholic faith that people struggle with; purgatory, birth control, the need for confession, belief in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity is the one that shocks me the most.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324 quotes "Lumen Gentium" when it states, "The Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life.' 'The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself'". If that is true, and we believe it is true then we have a real problem in our Church if 60% of us do not believe in the True Presence. Without Christ is in Eucharist our faith and the Mass is reduced to the level of a protestant prayers service.
So if the Eucharist is the source from which the rest of our Catholic faith flows we need to find a way to teach the true presence in a more profound maner. First by examining the things we do in Mass that teach against the true presence. Lex Orandi Lex Credendi, The Law of Prayer, is the Law of Belief. In other words, actions speak louder than words! If we want to teach the true presence we should be prepared to act like Christ is present.
With that in mind I list 7 simple things that a church can do to better reflect the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. These are not rocket science and those churches that "get it" already use these tactics, but I will list them anyway. The first three of these for sure can be implemented with no, or minimal uprising of the Vatican II populists but can send a loud message to the families in the pews before, after and during Mass.
1. Genuflect - The General Introduction of the Roman Missal states :
If, however, the tabernacle with the Most Blessed Sacrament is situated in the sanctuary, the Priest, the Deacon, and the other ministers genuflect when they approach the altar and when they depart from it, but not during the celebration of Mass itself.
Otherwise, all who pass before the Most Blessed Sacrament genuflect, unless they are moving in procession.
This seems pretty straight forward, if Christ is Truly present in the tabernacle, EVERY time we pass in front of it we genuflect. If the people in the pews are to be instructed in the true presence then every person who is entrusted with service to the Mass; readers, lectors, altar servers, extraordinary ministers, deacons and priests, need to be instructed in proper genuflection before our Lord. If we fail to show proper reverence when we are carrying our our basic duties in front of the faithful in the pews, then we are teaching them against the True Presence, because monkey see monkey do. If those serving at the altar fail to show proper reverence, others will fail to show proper reverence. A bow is never sufficient for those physically able to genuflect outside of Mass.
2. Server Pattens - I estimate in the last 5 years I have personally witnessed a dropped host as many times. They can be sticky, People fumble them. If we truly believe in the True Presence then we will show that by doing everything we possibly can to protect the Eucharist. There is no reason that servers could not employ pattens during the distribution of Holy Communion. Just to be clear here, I am referring to a patten a server will hold, not the communion plate that is often also called a patten. There are churches that do this and it is admirable. A server with a patten protects against dropped hosts, it also encourages communicants to consume the host, as they should, directly in front of the minister. The server patten affords the double protection of dropped hosts and preventing someone from stealing the body of Christ. The patten teaches the true presence.
3. Ushers - While it is appreciated that an usher can help you find a seat in a crowded church. The use of ushers to help guide people during the reception of Holy Communion should be eliminated. It teaches against the true presence and the need for sacramental confession by creating a situation where all are encouraged to leave their pew in procession and to receive. It also makes feel uncomfortable anyone who for whatever reason refrains from receiving that day. Additionally there are those that will feel more inclined to receive Holy Communion from an ordinary minister of Holy Communion. Eliminating ushers allows people to approach the altar when they feel properly disposed to do so, and to choose the line they wish to be in. People are perfectly capable of standing in a line without an ushers to tell them when and how.
Ok, the first three are easy, they can be implemented with out most people even noticing except for we have now created a greater atmosphere of respect for the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The next four will require progressively more catechesis and backbone from our Holy Priests.
4. Extraordinary Ministers - The over, and habitual use of
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy communion catechize the lay faithful against the true presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist by creating a casualness in the distribution of Holy Communion, if Johnny Laity can get up front and distribute with a half day training then surly it really isn't worth protecting. If the Eucharist isn't worth protecting then Christ isn't present.
It isn't like the Church doesn't know this though, in fact, seeing Extraordinary Ministers being over used and incorrectly used the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament saw fit to issue specific guidance in this exact area. Section 158 states:
[158.] Indeed, the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion may administer Communion only when the Priest and Deacon are lacking, when the Priest is prevented by weakness or advanced age or some other genuine reason, or when the number of faithful coming to Communion is so great that the very celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged.[259]This, however, is to be understood in such a way that a brief prolongation, considering the circumstances and culture of the place, is not at all a sufficient reason.
Redempionis Sacramentum is very clear on this. In those cases where Extraordinary Ministers are still used in for example, daily Mass situations with 50 people, or other Masses where there are deacons present, it is a case of the priests, and in some cases bishops, ignoring the rules set forth in favor of comforting a person's feelings. When we put personal feelings ahead of protecting and reserving the Eucharist then we teach against the true presence with our actions.
5. Sacred Music - We need to return to the use of sacred music immediately. Chapter VI of "Sacrosanctum Concilium", talks about the importance of Sacred Music to the Liturgy and outlines the types of music that should be given pride of place. It states;
112. The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy.
and
116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.
When was the last time most of us heard chanting in church, unless we happen to attend a Traditional Latin Mass? Sadly sacred Music, like so many other things, has been reduced to guitars and bongo drums beating out beats determined to trick people into a feeling of euphoria. Hardly pride of place, chant and polyphony have been reduced to early mornings and once a month if they show at all. This reduces the Mass to a concert and preaches against the true presence by catering to pop culture in a performance directed at the people instead of at God. We turn in on each other with this style of music.
Chant, polyphony, the pipe organ elevate by directing the music at God and making it a part of the Mass, instead of the Mass being stuck into the middle of a pop concert. I realize many people like contemporary pop concerts, I enjoy them myself, but they tend to honor the band, or the people in the crowd and serve as a distraction for anything else.
Even Pope Francis recently stated, "“Certainly, the encounter with modernity and the introduction of [vernacular] tongues into the Liturgy stirred up many problems: of musical languages, forms and genres.... Sometimes a certain mediocrity, superficiality and banality have prevailed, to the detriment of the beauty and intensity of liturgical celebrations.”
I agree with him, although I would have to change "sometimes" to "nearly always".
Sacred music leads to an elevated sense of reverence. If your instinct is to clap and dance in the pews during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, then the music isn't sacred.
6. Latin - Latin is the sacred language of the Catholic church. Today Latin is reserved almost exclusively for use in the Church. The use of Latin creates the sense of reservedness and sacredness when used in the Mass. Latin has always been important on the Church and was one of the languages used to declare on the Cross, "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews".
Sacrosanctum Concilium speaks of Latin and its importance in the Church.
36. 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.
54. In Masses which are celebrated with the people, a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue. ... Nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.
Sometimes I wonder why the Church puts out these documents? It seems that most are completely ignored, but priests, bishops and whole bishops conferences. How many I wonder can make all the responses of the Church in Latin?
It is said by exorcists that "the devil hates Latin" and this is surely true because he has put a lot of successful effort into exorcising Latin from the Church. Even most priests cannot make all the Latin responses. Pope John XXIII perhaps saw this coming and tried to prevent it. In fact in 1962 seeing the writing on the wall he issued the Apostolic Constitution "Veterum Sapientia" It is so good an strongly worded that it would be tempting to just copy and paste it in its entirety here, but here are a couple of quotes;
Of its very nature Latin is most suitable for promoting every form of culture among peoples. It gives rise to no jealousies. It does not favor any one nation, but presents itself with equal impartiality to all and is equally acceptable to all.
For these reasons the Apostolic See has always been at pains to preserve Latin, .. "as the splendid vesture of her heavenly doctrine and sacred laws."
the Latin language "can be called truly catholic.".. and must be esteemed "a treasure … of incomparable worth."
1. Bishops and superiors-general of religious orders shall take pains to ensure that in their seminaries and in their schools where adolescents are trained for the priesthood, all shall studiously observe the Apostolic See’s decision in this matter and obey these Our prescriptions most carefully.
2. In the exercise of their paternal care they shall be on their guard lest anyone under their jurisdiction, eager for revolutionary changes, writes against the use of Latin in the teaching of the higher sacred studies or in the Liturgy, or through prejudice makes light of the Holy See’s will in this regard or interprets it falsely.
Hence professors of these sciences in universities or seminaries are required to speak Latin and to make use of textbooks written in Latin. If ignorance of Latin makes it difficult for some to obey these instructions, they shall gradually be replaced by professors who are suited to this task.
So, Latin should be held in high esteem, is truly Catholic, is required to be taught in our Catholic Schools and seminaries, teachers must be proficient in Latin, and if they are not and refuse to become proficient they should be replaced. Again at times I wonder why the Vatican bothers to issue these statements at all.
Using exclusively the vernacular teaches against the True Presence by destroying the unity of the Catholic faith. It is something of an irony that the moment the Church tossed aside its universal language in favor of vernacular, and even in the liturgy decided to emphasize region, that the world since then has become more connected than every before. Travel between regions is easier and more frequent than every before in human history. Communication around the world has become instant and hand held. In a time when the world is more united than ever, the "Universal" Catholic church is more fractured than ever. How nice would it be on my trip to Europe to be able to attend the exact same Mass in the same language that I attend it here at home? If I pull up a video stream of Mass in Spain, how great it would be to be able to understand it.
7. Turn the Altar - Really all of the other things in the list boil down to this, The need for us to turn away from ourselves and turn toward the Lord. Everything I have listed are ways that in some way make the Mass more about ourselves and less about God. "He must increase, but I must decrease" John 3:30. In the last 50 years, we have sought to increase ourselves so much so that we no longer ask the Priest to face the Lord during the consecration, but instead ask that he look at us. It is time for use to decrease again so that he can increase.
Last year Robert Cardinal Sarah called for priests to start ad orientem worship as advent, saying: “It is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction – eastwards or at least towards the apse – to the Lord who comes”. The cardinal continued: “I ask you to implement this practice wherever possible"
In "Spirit of the Liturgy Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, emphasized the importance of facing together toward the Lord when he wrote, “it is a fundamental expression of the Christian synthesis of cosmos and history, of being rooted in the once-for-all events of salvation history while going out to meet the Lord who is to come again."
Unfortunately, mostly, but encouragingly not exclusively, these comments and requests have fallen on deaf, or covered, ears. I have read, and heard said many times and by several priests that "of all the things done in the 'spirit' of Vatican II that the turning of the altar was the most damaging." If that is true, and I believe it is, then it is the loss of souls that are at stake and we must act accordingly.
Facing the people preaches against the True Presence by turning people in on themselves and removing the mystery from the sacrifice of the Mass.
All of these 7 items, might seem rather benign, however, they all ask us to increase the external aspect of our internal worship. If we believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, then it should show in a way that NO ONE, who were to witness us at worship would doubt for one second our belief, and for those to those that witness us, we become witnesses to Christ.
By doing these 7 things we can manifest what St. Paul talked about when he said "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me."
8. BONUS - RECEIVE ON THE TONGUE, RETURN THE ALTAR RAILS!!! - This one is a bonus and sort of goes up with genuflecting, but how can we say we believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist if we are not even willing to kneel before the Lord? If we approach the Lord so casually does it show our belief? Does it teach that belief to people who observe us? Standing while we receive and receiving in our hand teaches against the true presence because how can we not kneel in awe before our Lord? How can we not receive him with the utmost carefulness and attention?
