"He instinctively can find the shining greatness of our American culture and does a good job of highlighting it (although he also does have those rare lapses when he writes about hockey, but that is something caused by impurities in the Eastern waters or something)." Erik Keilholtz
Under the patronage of St. Tammany
Mark C. N. Sullivan is an editor at a Massachusetts university. He is married and the father of three children. Email
Mother Teresa's Secret:"Not very long ago I said Mass and preached for…Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and after breakfast we spent quite a long time talking in a little room. Suddenly, I found myself asking her -- don't know why -- 'Mother, what do you think is the worst problem in the world today?' She more than anyone could name any number of candidates: famine, plague, disease, the breakdown of the family, rebellion against God, the corruption of the media, world debt, nuclear threat, and so on. Without pausing a second she said, 'Wherever I go in the whole world, the thing that makes me the saddest is watching people receive Communion in the hand.'" Fr. George Rutler, 1989
Mother Teresa would not have enjoyed the Neocatechumenal liturgy as described by a former NC seminarian:
One of the more peculiar elements of the NC Liturgy is that the community remains seated to receive Communion on the hand only. On one occasion I saw a member of a young community who, kneeling to receive Communion on the tongue, was told to be seated and to place his hands out in front of him if he wished to Communicate! After receiving the Body of Christ on the hand, all Communicants refrain from eating until the priest returns to his place.
Ecce Egnes Dei. The priest returns to his seat and says 'This is the Lamb of God .... called to his supper. May the Body of Christ bring us to everlasting life. 'At this point all Communicants begin to eat their portions.
Domine, non sum dignus ... et sanabitur anima mea. This response has also been omitted from the celebration. I can not comment on why this omission has taken place but the attitude of the catechists seems to be that, no matter how sinful we are, if we have been invite to a meal we should eat. Hence, Spiritual Communion is not encouraged.
The priest is given the chalice (either by an acolyte or the responsible) and says 'May the Blood of Christ bring us to everlasting life.' He then distributes the Precious Blood, starting with any concelebrating priests and acolytes and then to the cantor, who begins the next Communion song as the priest moves around the assembly once again.
There are two points of interest here. The first of these is that all of the bread that is consecrated must be consumed during the celebration. This is easily done if the community is large because there are sufficient numbers to consume any excess. However, I know of an instance in which less than a dozen people gathered for the Eucharist and were forced to consume quite large portions because someone had cooked enough bread to feed thirty or more people. Because of the 'slab' in front of each individual, the mainly young gathering giggled and laughed as they ate! The second point of interest is the relatively high chance of spilling the Precious Blood in this method of distributing Communion. Under normal circumstances (i.e. at the community level), the priest has the task of simply navigating his way down stairs and between rows of chairs in order to distribute Communion. But, in a Mass celebrated in the Cathedral of Perth, Australia, on the feast of the Assumption, 1996, I witnessed something beyond ridiculous. The catechists insisted that Communion be given under both species in the normal NC manner, meaning that the priests and acolytes had to distribute, not only the Body of Christ, but the Precious Blood to people in their pews!…
CONCLUDING RITE The concluding rite is identical to that of the Novus Ordo. When the priest gives the dismissal, a cantor moves to the lectern and begins the final song. The priest reverences the altar on his way in the normal manner. On special occasions the community will begin to dance around the altar once the priest has made his exit… #
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