Tag Archives: confirmation

Receiving the Cross

I am now a sponsor in the combined St. Paul’s/Oratory RCIA class. On
Sunday, our class participated in the Combined Rite of Acceptance and
Welcoming. It is one of my favorite ceremonies. For those who are
unfamiliar with this rite, in particular my Protestant readers, I
reproduce some of it here.

Continue reading

Of Rice and Men

I’m starting to grow weary of the “girl’s communion revoked” story, but it’s just hit secular press, so it’ll be around for a while yet. Any story that reflects badly on the Church, or could be twisted to do so, is likely to hold media attention for some time.

Anyhow, here’s an article about a response from Australia’s National Liturgical Commission to the stoppage of wheat-free host production.

Also, the net’s coolest Anglican, Pontificator, has tossed in his two cents about the first communion controversy.

The Wrong Stuff

8-year-old’s first Holy Communion invalidated by Church
By JOHN CURRAN, The Associated Press

BRIELLE, N.J. – An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot consume wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained none, violating Catholic doctrine.

(Thanks, Fark)

Redemptionis Sacramentum, paragraph 48:

“[48.] The bread used in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharistic Sacrifice must be unleavened, purely of wheat, and recently made so that there is no danger of decomposition.123 It follows therefore that bread made from another substance, even if it is grain, or if it is mixed with another substance different from wheat to such an extent that it would not commonly be considered wheat bread, does not constitute valid matter for confecting the Sacrifice and the Eucharistic Sacrament.124 It is a grave abuse to introduce other substances, such as fruit or sugar or honey, into the bread for confecting the Eucharist. Hosts should obviously be made by those who are not only distinguished by their integrity, but also skilled in making them and furnished with suitable tools.125


123 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 924 S2; Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 320.
124 Cf. S. Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Dominus Salvator noster, 26 March 1929, n. 1: AAS 21 (1929) pp. 631-642, here p. 632.
125 Cf. ibidem, n. II: AAS 21 (1929) p. 635.

What do you folks think about this? Is the exclusive use of wheat dogmatic, doctrinal, of ordinary tradition (habit, as opposed to Sacred Tradition), or merely intended to preclude the use of unworthy materials?

Some Good News

Scandals abound, heterodoxy is rampant, and secularism looms menacingly, but there
is hope left in the Church. There are scores of people converting every year and
they’re not deterred by the bad press the Church often gets. Let’s pray the “immigration”
never stops.

New Catholics
not detracted by abuse crisis, say their faith is holding strong

“The Church has problems that it needs to address, but that didn’t detract me at all from joining…It was a sin committed on the part of a few priests, so we should blame the sinners but not the Church. The Church is a gift to keep us together. We need to look past this and see this as Jesus’ Church.”

[…]

“The Church isn’t the priest or the nuns, the Church is the people…It’s time to get rid of the evil and take control. It’s the people who make the Church, and there is no Church with out them.”

[…]

“Abandoning the Church is like abandoning Jesus, and He would never abandon us as much as we might sin.”

[…]

“Certainly it’s a serious issue and one that need be addressed, but you can get hung up on one issue…For me, the bigger picture is our faith and the Church itself.”