LOVE AND REVERENCE DUE TO OUR LORD: LET’S ALWAYS RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION ON THE TONGUE
An online conference “Love and reverence due to Our Lord: Let’s always receive Holy Communion on the tongue” will be held on Thursday, 16 July 2020 from 12:00pm EST until 2:30pm.
John Smeaton, Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
No registration is necessary. Please tune in Thursday, 16 July 2020 beginning at 12:00pm EST!
All presentations will be readily available to watch immediately afterwards if you cannot attend.
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About the theme of this conference
Voice of the Family in union with the pro-life movement worldwide advocates for the inviolability and value of human life and proudly so. Indeed, we consider it a privilege and honour to defend the most vulnerable human lives. Many in the pro-life movement are prepared to lay down their own lives for the lives of those they seek to protect. This is the strength of our commitment.
And yet there is something even more precious than the sanctity of human life, and this is the divine life truly present in the Holy Eucharist in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Our greatest treasure on earth is the Blessed Sacrament. There is no other nation so great, the Divine Office of Corpus Christi sings, “as to have its gods so near as our God is present to us”. The Eucharist is our dearest treasure and the thought of having it so near to us in our Catholic churches fills us with gratitude and awe.
We rejoice as churches around the world re-open. Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist can be received again. But whilst the life of a Catholic might be characterised as discerning how we can best offer the love and reverence due to Our Lord, Catholics in many places in the world are now faced with a new and terrible challenge of how are we allowed to worship Our Lord. New regulations, issued by some of the world’s bishops, recommend that the faithful receive Holy Communion in the hand and, in the most radical cases, including in Britain, bishops attempt to ban Holy Communion on the tongue. These recommendations contradict divine and Church law, they obscure the reality of the Real Presence, and they lead the faithful, albeit, please God, in most cases unintentionally, to engage in practices lacking in reverence towards the divine life.
What are we, the laity, to do in such a situation? How can we defend the Eucharist and offer Our Lord the love and reverence due to Him?
First, we must know that by insisting on receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, we are standing on solid ground, prepared by the Tradition of the Church and made fertile with the blood of her martyrs. Tradition demands the greatest possible reverence towards the Holy Eucharist. In fact, serious punishments used to be reserved for practices which are being recommended by some bishops today. The faithful are being misled into believing that the responsible option is to receive Our Lord in the hand despite the very real danger of losing and desecrating fragments of our Eucharistic Lord. And following the instructions issued in the current crisis, Catholics are being schooled to remember in future that this is the so-called “safer option” when similar problems arrive.
But generations of Catholics before us have kept their devotion to our Eucharistic Lord unchanged throughout wars, epidemics, and other disasters that have struck the world – not because they did not know the danger they were in, but because they knew Who is in the Eucharist they approached.
St. Thomas taught: “Out of reverence towards this Sacrament, nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest’s hands, for touching this Sacrament. Hence, it is not lawful for anyone else to touch it except from necessity, for instance, if it were to fall upon the ground, or else in some other case of urgency.” (16 ST, III, Q. 82, Art. 13)
The Real Presence does not change. It is not possible that what the Church has always taught about the Holy Eucharist does not apply following the coronavirus.
Secondly, receiving Holy Communion on the tongue remained the norm even after the practice of Communion in the hand was introduced in 1969 under certain conditions despite the opposition of the overwhelming majority of the bishops at the time. Thus, it is a practice that the Church in modern times, tragically, tolerates.
However, the universal law of the Church states that the faithful have the right to receive Communion on the tongue and that this right cannot be denied to them. This is the universal norm that no bishop or a bishops’ conference can overrule. As lay faithful, we must insist upon our right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue. But above all, we must insist that Our Lord has the right to be received in the most reverent manner possible. This is not a matter of our personal piety but justice due to Him.
The ultimate target of Satan’s attacks is the Holy Eucharist, in which Jesus Christ is really present. The devil will do everything in his power to obscure the sacred reality of the Eucharist in order to diminish reverence due to Him. Today his scheme aims to lead large groups of faithful to desecration of the Eucharistic Body of Christ on an unprecedented scale. He wants the Body of Christ to be trampled on by the feet of clergy and laity in Catholic churches around the world. For a vast number of Catholics in the past fifty years, the practice of receiving Communion in the hand has weakened faith in the Real Presence, in transubstantiation and in the divine character of the Sacrament. The devil would use anything to advance his wicked plots, even our longing to be united with Our Lord again in the Holy Eucharist after being deprived of assisting at Holy Mass for months.
We must join in making acts of reparation for sins committed against the Holy Eucharist in our churches. The Eucharistic fragments falling down and crushed by the feet of God’s own people has to be for us a tragedy that demands action.
And this brings us to the role of the pro-life movement. We could take the view that this painful development troubles us as Catholics, but does not relate to our noble work of saving babies. However, this is not the case.
On the contrary, to be fully pro-life means being fully Catholic: offering everyone the gift of eternal life, which comes only through Jesus Christ and the saving truth He has confided to the Catholic Church. How can we say we care deeply about an unborn child, his mother, or anyone, and not offer them the possibility of eternal life, which only comes through the Catholic Church?
We in the pro-life movement defend the reality of hidden life. We are accustomed to defending human life hidden in the womb and now we are being called upon to defend the divine life hidden in the tabernacle, Who is being abused by many of those who should be the first to love Him. Catholics in the pro-life movement are uniquely well prepared to counter these offences.
Also, we may wonder, is it merely a co-incidence, that Communion in the hand that obscures the dignity of divine life was introduced about fifty years ago, just as abortion in many western countries that denies the dignity of human life was introduced about fifty years ago? Today we reap the bitter fruits: human life has lost its value in human society and the Body of Christ has become abused in His churches.
And just as it is impossible to calculate the countless desecrations of the Body of Christ in the sacrilegious treatment of the Holy Eucharist brought about by the practice of Communion in the hand, it is also impossible to number the unborn children – made in the image and likeness of God – killed worldwide not only under permissive abortion legislation, but also those killed as a result of abortifacient contraceptive drugs and devices, and through IVF procedures.
The truth about the sanctity of human life before birth cannot triumph without the recognition of the truth about Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
This is why we have organised this online conference, as Voice of the Family, uniting pro-life and pro-family groups from all around the world. With this conference we wish to mobilise our fellow lay Catholics to offer the love and reverence due to Our Lord truly present in the Holy Eucharist. We are very pleased to bring you some moving personal witnesses, as well as interviews and presentations by some of the outstanding Catholic thinkers and activists today.
It was wonderful to see so many of our parishioners last Sunday in Reading, Chesham Bois and Bedford and we are pleased that the new, hopefully temporary, arrangements for our Masses all went smoothly. Our sincere thanks to those who are involved in our booking procedures and stewarding. Our arrangements are liable to be tweaked, due to a steady stream of updated guidelines from both civil and ecclesiastical authorities and in order to enable things to work more efficiently. The first tweak we are making regards our booking system for Sunday Masses.
The booking system was established because, due to social distancing limitations, we have a lot less seats for Mass-goers, the need to accommodate different households within these limited capacities, while many people travel long distances to our Masses. While it is unnecessary for our weekday Masses, we are concerned that without it, Mass-goers could have long wasted journeys due to the higher numbers at Sunday Masses. The only personal information gathered in the booking system are the name of the lead family member making the booking, numbers of adults and children who will be attending Mass and a means of contact (i.e. email address or telephone number). To be clear, the booking system is the preferred option, although it is not an absolute requirement to book seats in order to come to Mass. However, those who do not book stand the very real risk of disappointment if the church building has reached its capacity, especially as priority should be given to those who have booked.
Test and Trace Following government guidelines, both the Dioceses of Portsmouth and Northampton request that we keep our Mass booking data for the specified 21 day period, for the purposes of facilitating NHS Test and Trace. Please note that the NHS will only contact us if it is found that a member of the congregation has tested positive for COVID-19. Upon further review, we have now modified our approach to ‘NHS Test and Trace’ reporting for the Sunday Mass booking system. The government’s webpage regarding the maintaining of records for the NHS Test and Trace service, for settings including places of worship, makes it is clear that the sharing of these details is “voluntary” and that “If a […] visitor informs you that they do not want their details shared for the purposes of NHS Test and Trace, they can choose to opt out, and if they do so you should not share their information used for booking purposes with NHS Test and Trace.” It also recommends “… that consent is sought in sensitive settings such as places of worship.” In light of this, if you choose to use our bookings system for Sunday Masses then please note:
If you are happy for us to share your booking information with the NHS Test and Trace service in the event that the service requests it should a case of COVID-19 be confirmed, then please state clearly in your bookings email or voice message “I consent to my name and contact information being shared with the NHS Test and Trace service.” Your name and contact information will then be held for a period of 21 days before being permanently erased.
If you do not want us to share your booking information with NHS Test and Trace in the event that the service requests it should a case of COVID-19 be confirmed, then please state clearly in your bookings email or voice message: “I opt out of having my name and contact information being shared with the NHS Test and Trace service.” Your record of attendance will then be permanently erased after the Mass that you attend.
If you made a booking for last Sunday and want us to withhold your name and contact details in the event that they are requested by NHS Test and Trace, then please let us know in your next bookings email/ voice message or by emailing/ calling that same email address/ telephone number separately.
If you wish to share your details for the purposes of NHS Test and Trace at Reading’s weekday Masses, then a box is available for this purpose at the entrance porch of St William of York Church. You should include your name, a contact telephone number and the day you visited the church. Your information will be held confidentially, will not be further processed and will be destroyed after 21 days. However, within the 21 day time-frame, it could be handed over to the NHS Test and Trace service at their request, in the event that a case of COVID-19 is confirmed.
A reminder of the times of Sunday Masses (which are all Low Masses)
Reading: 11am and 6pm [N.B. Regarding the 11am Mass, please can we ask those who live locally to give priority to our families with young children and those who have to travel a distance].
Chesham Bois: 8.00am and 4.30pm.
Bedford: 8.30am and 1pm.
Information required for making a booking for seats at Mass
To book your place, you must email one of the addresses below with the following information:
(1) your name
(2) the number of adults and children from your household attending
(3) which Sunday Mass you wish to attend. If you don’t have a preference, then please state that.
(4) whether or not you consent to your information being forwarded to the NHS Test and Trace service in the event that a member of the congregation is confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.
We are pleased to announce that the FSSP will be saying two Sunday Masses at Christ the King from Sunday 5 July at 8.30 am and 1 pm. Due to the need for social distancing, the seating capacity will be much lower than usual. You will need to book for these Masses by e-mailing bedfordlatinmass@gmail.com, stating which Mass you would prefer to attend, and will need to give your contact details for Test and Trace in line with Government guidelines.
Fr Patrick Hutton says in this week’s newsletter: Without booking, if there are no seats left free on the day, sadly you would have to be turned away.
Act promptly and spread the word to ensure that you can be present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the first time since 15 March!
From 2pm-6pm at Christ the King Church. This is our first opportunity for adoration since the middle of March.
Naturally we need to observe all the necessary conditions regarding hygiene and social distancing. If anyone can volunteer to be a steward for part of this time, this help would be gratefully received. Please contact Rita on margueritacarroll@gmail.com or telephone her on 07984 867837.
Great news! Father O’Donohue will be coming to Christ the King on Saturday 27th June to offer Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 2 pm – 6 pm. This is our first opportunity for adoration since the middle of March and we hope that many people will take the opportunity of spending time with Our Lord.
Naturally we need to observe all the necessary conditions regarding hygiene and social distancing. If anyone can volunteer to be a steward for part of this time, this help would be gratefully received. Please contact Rita Carroll on margueritacarroll@gmail.com or telephone her on 07984 867837. You will need a short session of training; if you see this article before 1 pm on Saturday 20th June and can get to Christ the King for a training session at that time, please do so. Otherwise separate arrangements can be made.
This is a major step towards public Masses being celebrated again – Deo Gratias! – and many thanks to Fr O’Donohue for coming over to be with us.
I regret to inform you that the FSSP England summer camps scheduled for this coming August in the Peak District have had to be cancelled. This is due to the restrictions imposed by the government, which made it unrealistic for Savio House to host us this time.
Here’s hoping and praying that the 2021 camps will be even better to compensate!
[More Masses are offered daily using the intentions booked on your behalf. Ask Fr Whisenant for further information if needded.]
Sun 7
Feast of the Most Holy Trinity Vespers & Benediction
11:00am
5:00pm
Ethan and Riley Jones
Mon 8
St William of York
12:10pm
FSSP Confraternity
Tue 9
Votive Mass for a
Happy Death
12:10pm
Dorothy Newell RIP
Wed 10
St Margaret Men’s Group Talk & Sung Compline
12:10pm
8:00pm
Holy Souls
Thu 11
Corpus
Christi
12:10pm
Lucy & Adrian Porter
Fri 12
St John of San Facondo
12:10pm
Anna Theresa Joyce RIP
Sat 13
St Anthony of Padua
12:10pm
Our Lady of Mercy Group
Sun 14
II Sunday after PentecostVespers & Benediction
11:00am
5:00pm
Bernadette Devlin
Mon 15
Votive Mass Against
Pestilence
12:10pm
Theresa Reynard
Tue 16
Votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament
12:10pm
Our Lady’s Holy Souls
Wed 17
St Gregory Barbarigo Men’s Group Talk & Sung Compline
12.10pm
8:00pm
Lucy & Adrian Porter
Thu 18
St Ephrem the Syrian
12:10pm
Tony Murphy
Fri 19
Most
Sacred Heart of Jesus
12:10pm
FSSP
Sat 20
Most Pure Heart of Mary Baronius missals p. 1755 (canonical title of St Mary’s Presbytery)
12:10pm
Our Lady’s Holy Souls
Sun 21
III Sunday after Pentecost Vespers & Benediction
11:00am
5:00pm
Winnie Davies
Updating Mass times
While during lockdown LiveMass allows us to reach out to many souls far away from Warrington, the following enquiry is meant for those actually present in the pews under normal circumstances.
It will have been over three months without our congregation in the pews when Holy Masses resume, please God next month. Now is a good time to assess the needs and expectations of those among you who normally attend our Holy Masses.
While we kept the pre-existing 12:10pm weekday Mass since we took over St Mary’s in November 2015, we must recognise that this midday slot failed to attract those working in the town centre, who could have attended during their lunch break. On the other hand, nearly all of those who attend regularly could come at a more convenient time. Changing long-established Mass times must only occur if real improvement is expected. Thus, please email us your preferred Mass times, if applicable:
Monday-Saturday: 8am, or 9am, or 10am, or 11am.
Sundays: 8am and 11am; or (current schedule) 11am and 6pm.
Would you attend Sunday Vespers & Benediction at 5pm if continued after lockdown?
Any other suggestions regarding our regular activities?
Thank you for your support to St Mary’s Shrine during this lockdonw and after. You can send your donation here, mentioning ‘Warrington’ is relevant: https://fssp.co.uk/donate/
Priory Campaign:
Dear
friends, supporters and benefactors, thank you wholeheartedly for your
continued interest for our Priory Campaign. While we already own
Units Two & Three (bought last October for £480k, i.e. £240k each),
we need to raise the remaining £125,000.00 (out
of £240k) before 16th October 2020
to complete the purchase of Unit One, currently leased to us.
As
you are aware, our aspiration is to buy the remaining part of Priory Court
(Unit 1) as part of the Campaign, but should we not have sufficient funds to
convert and reconfigure the whole Priory Court building to better suit the
needs of St Mary’s Shrine, then Unit One will be handed back to its owner in
October 2020 and Campaign funds would then be used for the purposes of
conversion and reconfiguration of the parts of Priory Court that we do own
(namely, Units 2 and 3).
Each unit is 2,561 Sq ft on three floors. We will thus own
5,122 Sq ft, plus 18 parking spaces.
Please
get in touch with us if you would like further clarification or wish to discuss
a donation that you have made. Kindly email any inquiries to malleray@fssp.org.
God
bless you.
Despite
the lockdown, we haven’t been idle:
Like
the entire country, our Priory Campaign has suffered from the Covid-19
lockdown. Work, social activities and fundraising were de facto
suspended. But we were able to transfer all the music archives on new shelves
into Unit One where our new Music Room is now located. This allowed us to move
our liturgical items into the original church Sacristy, until then used as
Music Room. With frequent solemn high Masses, Lauds, Vespers and Compline
prayed daily, and many altar servers, the need for a dedicated sacristy was
becoming critical. Playing musical chairs – no pun intended – our lay servers
moved into the former Sacristy, originally the Servers’ Vesting Room. This in
turn freed up the side Confessional they were using to hang their cassocks and
cottas, now available again as a Confessional when the church re-opens. The last
stage will be to move the free-standing confessional out of the Memorial Chapel
where confessions have been heard for five years, and to have the chapel used
for smaller groups, devotions etc. In addition, our only Meeting Room so far
was in the Presbytery. Moving it out into Unit 1 allowed us to turn that room
into a much needed sitting-room for our resident clergy and occasional guests
(until then we only had the dining-room and kitchen as common rooms at the
Presbytery). Last but not least, assessment has taken place to move all our
administration into Unit Three. We need to create offices for the four priests,
since so far all but one have only their bedroom for work. Our Secretariat,
Archives and storage will also move there.
None
of this would have been possible without the purchase of Units Two and Three
last October. If God grants us to complete the purchase of Unit One, it will
allow us to plan more activities beyond the immediate needs of Warrington, with
your support.
Special
intercessoress: the Servant of God Elizabeth Prout (1820-1864) founded the
female branch of the Passionists with Bl. Dominic Barberi. Her congregation
served deserving families in the North West. The Sisters of the Cross and
Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ arrived in Warrington on 3 January 1899.
Their convent, 80 Buttermarket Street, was beside St Mary’s Benedictine Priory.
They came to teach, to visit sick and needy parishioners, to instruct
converts and to help the poor. The Sisters taught in St Mary’s girls’ and
infants’ schools from 9 January 1899 to 1967. Her congregation now ask to
be informed of any favour granted specifically through her intercession. This
could lead to her beatification. With the 200th anniversary of her
birth occurring this September, less than a month before the fundraising
deadline for our Campaign, I now request you confidently to make daily
if you can the following prayer: “Servant of God Elizabeth Prout, to further
your work of Catholic education and assistance to Catholic families in our country
so much in need of it, please obtain from God’s Providence the successful
completion of the Priory Campaign in Warrington, on the very location
where your Sisters served for decades.”
