I am always enheartened when a find a parish where large percentages of the congregation receive Holy Communion on the tongue directly, and even more when kneeling.
In his entry, Fr. Heliman first presents a Youtube of Bp. Morlino preaching, I was alerted by a reader to an interesting post by Fr. Rick Heilman, a priest in the Diocese of Madison, on his blog Mary’s Anawim.
Fr. Heilman presented first a Youtube video of Bp. Morlino of Madison who preached in a parish inviting people to kneel to receive Communion. The bishop hedges what he is asking with all sorts of statements, but his message is excellent.
Then Fr. Heliman writes this:
This is my Bishop, I am proud to say. Two weeks after he gave this homily in his parish, I began to offer a kneeler to my people in my parish. It has made all the difference in the world! [Do I hear an "Amen!"?]
Prior to offering the option of kneeling and receiving on the tongue (which was offered with much teaching), I may have had a small handful of people who felt comfortable enough to receive on the tongue. Since offering the option, I now have 60-70% of my parishioners receiving this way. [OORAH!]
It is difficult to describe how much it has helped so many who were, as Bishop speaks about, ”desensitized” before making the choice to receive in this way. Now they approach in a much more discerning and serene way. I have even noticed such things as people choosing to get a bit more dressed up for Mass. Praise God!
A word of caution: For those parishes who choose to do this, I would say that the divine benefits far outweigh the earthly costs. In other words, I have come to understand, over 22 years of priesthood, that if we are going to choose to do the hard work of reversing the trend in our churches of a growing ‘cult of the casual’ and ‘privatization’ of our faith, we are going to be met with FIERCE opposition. [True.] Having encountered such disproportionate hostility toward any efforts to call us to a deeper reverence (while introducing each effort with much love and much teaching), has left me convinced [PAY ATTENTION:] that this is particular turf the devil does not want to give up without a fight. [OORAH!] Which tells us this is all the more reason why this is a fight in which we must engage.
[...]
Go and read the rest there.
Official WDTPRS kudos to this diligent priest.
Fr. Z on Bp Morlino encouraging reception kneeling
From Fr Z
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I have come to understand, over 22 years of priesthood, that if we are going to choose to do the hard work of reversing the trend in our churches of a growing ‘cult of the casual’ and ‘privatization’ of our faith, we are going to be met with FIERCE opposition. Having encountered such disproportionate hostility toward any efforts to call us to a deeper reverence (while introducing each effort with much love and much teaching), has left me convinced that this is particular turf the devil does not want to give up without a fight.
Let me tell you from personal experience that this priest knows exactly what he is talking about in that Diocese.
Receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, while kneeling is the best way to give proper reverence to our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament...although it is allowed to receive Him in the hand, while standing, the traditional way of reception gives a greater sign of reverence and belief in the Real Presence.
Our parish church has had kneelers for years as "communion stations". This makes it very simple to receive either way and certainly doesn't discourage reception kneeling and on the tongue. This is such a simple way for parishes to make both forms of reception possible.
Post a Comment