I’ve had a few weeks now to simmer down about the fact that while the Pope was here a number of Pro-Abortion self pronounced “catholic’s” received Holy Communion. Robert Novak wrote a piece on it in the Washington Post and much discussion has taken place in the Catholic blogosphere ever since. Eye witness accounts have it that Nancy Pelosi, Chris Dodd, Rudy Giuliani, John Kerry all received the Eucharist at the Papal Masses. On a positive note Ted Kennedy did the right thing by staying seated during communion.
Confused Sheep
In reading many of the comments from the Novak article it is obvious that your average Joe on the street does not understand the teaching of the Catholic Church on this issue or understand that the Eucharist is not some wafer of bread but the actual Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. How do I know this because God tells me so multiple times in the Holy Bible John 6:22-71, Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19 and the Church from the very beginning says this is true and is to be taken literally. In addition one can know it’s true by what St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:27 “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” Defending abortion is considered to be sinful and grave matter and causes one to be unworthy of the reception of the Eucharist.
It also appears that many Catholics are confused on this issue as well. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (which is their correct name) chime in by saying they are told not to deny communion to anyone because they don’t know that person’s true heart. This is understandable and they are following instructions but at some point public support of abortion by the faithful cannot be tolerated within the Catholic Church. Pro-Abortion politicians must understand that their faith life and their public life do mix as they are only one person. Saying the two situations are separate issues is like a traveling salesman telling his wife its okay for him to be unfaithful to her on the road but at home he is faithful.
Our Bishops need to sack up and speak out in one accord on this issue, and put an end to the confusion, but every time they speak as a group they seem to cloud the situation. Cardinal Egan of New York has publically rebuked Giuliani about his reception of the Eucharist. Archbishop Burke has been quite clear about the teaching in his Diocese of St. Louis that Pro-Abortion politicians are to be denyed Holy Communion. But then you have someone like Cardinal McCarrick going soft on the situation. Denying the Eucharist isn’t about casting judgment that someone is unworthy to receive, it is about protecting the soul of the one coming forward for the Body & Blood of Christ which is in the care of the Bishop. For whom much is given much is expected.
Poor Analogy Time
As a teenager I wanted to drink alcohol and I thought “who is the government to tell me that I have to be 21 in order to drink. What does age have to do with whether or not I can drink?” Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Sadly I let my pride lead the way in my decision to drink as a teenager verses trying to understand why the law was in place and why it was better to wait. I think pride leads the way when we choose to go forward for communion when we shouldn’t. Interestingly enought our pride doesn’t cause us to think we can run our gasoline car on a tank of 2% milk, which could be considered akin to receiving the Eucharist in an unworthy manner and maybe worse. But our pride does cloud our judgment in areas of our lives that we don’t fully grasp and the devil is there whispering in our ear that "its okay, you know best".
Not In Judgment
I do not stand in judgment of these politicians as it is not my job, and I too have received the Eucharist in an unworthy manner during my life. No one was there taking my picture and pointing it out publicly, but in hindsight I wish they had. So what can we do? There is one thing we can always do, and that is pray.
Let Us Pray
Lord Jesus open our eyes to your teachings. Send the Holy Spirit upon us to gain understanding and to remove our pride. Amen
{moscomment}
Recent Comments