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StEdwardBulletin-10022011.pdf (8.99 MB)

You can download all of the past bulletins at http://stedward.com/news/bulletins.aspx.

The Holtz family, long-time parishioners at St. Edward the Confessor, sadly lost their son Tyler this week while serving our country in Afghanistan.  May Tyler rest in peace in the loving arms of our Lord. Please include Tyler and the Holtz family in your prayers and please pray for all our troops here and abroad. 

Sergeant Tyler Holtz's Memorial Services will be held at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma San Diego on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 11:00 a.m.  Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is located at Cabrillo Memorial Drive in San Diego, CA 92166.

Directions: From Interstate 5 South or Interstate-8 West: Exit at Rosecrans Street, turn right on Canon Street, turn left on Catalina Boulevard.

From Interstate 5 North: Exit and turn left on Hawthorne Street, turn right on N. Harbor Drive, turn left on Rosecrans Street, turn right on Canon Street, turn left on Catalina Boulevard. 

For more information, see the L.A.Times article.  

All married couples are invited to join us Thursday, October 6th for an evening of “Living Catholic Marriage”’ a series of topics to help husbands and wives communicate better and grow stronger in their faith.  We meet at 7:30 P.M. in the St. Edward School Parish Room. Come join us! For more information  call Bob and Mary Dausch at 481-1102.

The 4th Sorrowful Mystery, Carrying the Cross. Join us on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.

Jesus was not condemned by the power of wicked people. He was condemned because of the silence of good people. Silence always helps the oppressor, never the victim. Let us pray that we may never be silent about abortion, but rather will clearly speak up to save millions of pre-born babies from a cruel death.  Join us in peacefully praying the Rosary on the public sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood in Mission Viejo at the corner of La Paz and Chrisanta.

Our weekly parish bulletin ads are now included in the online version of the bulletin, which is always available on our website under Schedules and Events, and posted weekly on our Parish Blog.  

If you would like to promote your business, in print and online, contact J.S. Paluch at (800) 231-0805. If no spaces are currently available, you will be placed on a waiting list and your ad will appear as soon as space is available.

St. Edward the Confessor parish benefits greatly from the ads you see in the weekly bulletin. The revenue funds the printing of the bulletin, which is an important means of communication for the parish. Though we don’t endorse any specific business advertised, we sincerely thank the many local businesses, both parishioners and non-parishioners. When you visit a business that advertises in this bulletin, please let them know where you saw their ad. 

I want to take some time to explain how to receive Communion.  Your priests, deacons, and lay ministers serve several hundred people Holy Communion each weekend, and we’ve seen all kinds of odd things.  Back in the day, when Communion could only be received on the tongue, there were not a lot of problems with receiving the Eucharist.  Now with Communion in the hand many things can be done that are inappropriate.  This instruction is going to be very picky and sound negative: that’s because there’s only one right way to receive, and dozens of wrong ways.  I really don’t mean this to come across as a harangue, but many of your fellow parishioners have been begging for me to be very particular because many people don’t seem to know what to do. 

The normal way to receive Holy Communion is on the tongue.  This is the standard for Roman Catholics.  Receiving in the hand is allowed only by special permission granted by the Pope, which was granted to the United States in 1977.  If you have been receiving the Eucharist for many years, you may have unknowingly developed some bad habits, or been given some bad instruction, or maybe have never heard any instruction and just sort of figured it out for yourselves.  So let’s set the record straight.

 If you receive Communion on the tongue here’s what you need to do: open your mouth sufficiently and have your tongue far enough forward for the minister to place the Host on your tongue without touching any part of your mouth.  Simple.

To receive in the hand requires a lot more instruction.  While the person in front of you is receiving, you are to bow to the Eucharist you are about to receive.  This bow is required because receiving in the hand is not considered as reverential as receiving on the tongue, and so requires an extra act of reverence.  Most people do not bow at all, but you should.  Some bow only once they are standing in front of the minister, but this slows down the procession: please make your act of reverence while the person in front of you is receiving.  You are not bowing to someone else’s back: you are bowing to Christ.

How you stand in front of the minister really makes a difference: we’re looking for visual cues on what to do for you: do you want Communion on the tongue, in the hand, or do you want a blessing?  We don’t know what to do if you don’t give us a clear sign.  Crossing your arms in front of you has come to signal that you are not receiving Communion (this is not in the rubrics for Mass at all—it’s something that got made up so that people who cannot receive can still process forward).  Sometimes people who cross their arms also open their mouths, which can be confusing.  I’ve had people put out their hands and open their mouths at the same time: I don’t know what to do with that!  If the minister gets the impression you don’t know what you’re doing, we may assume you’re not Catholic and will ask you if you are.  Some Catholics are insulted by this, but if you give us uncertain signs, we’ll let you know!  I’m sure I’ve given Communion to many non-Catholics because they did the right thing in front of me.  But keep in mind that the Eucharist is only for Catholics of the Roman rite and other eastern rites—the Orthodox, Protestants, and anyone else not in Communion with the Pope, and those who are not married in the Church, should not receive Communion.  Also if you are aware of mortal sin in your life, you need to confess it before you come to Communion.  If you bring family or friends to Mass who cannot receive the Eucharist, please help them to know to cross their arms in front of them.

When you step up to the minister, present your hands one over the other, not side by side: the minister has to guess into which hand to place the Host.  This is the most common problem with Communion in the hand.  If I place the Host in the same hand you eat with, how do you get that Host into your mouth?  I see people flipping it into the other hand then grasp and eat it, I’ve seen people raise their hand to their mouth and pop it in like taking a pill, I’ve seen people manipulate their hand until the Host can be taken by the fingers of the same hand to put it in their mouth.  Here’s a simple rule for how to present your hands: the hand with which you hold your fork goes on the bottom.  Receive the Host into your other hand so that it is a natural action to then pick up that Host with your eating hand and place it in your mouth.  It’s that simple, and yet too many people do this wrong.  (You may not be aware that you do this: receiving Communion may have become such a habit that you don’t think what I am saying applies to you, but it might!  Receiving our Lord in Holy Communion must be done with as much conscious thought as everything else we do or say at Mass!  If we’re just going through the motions we’re bound to do it wrong.)  Some people contort their hands into odd positions, some close their hand on the Host (and sometimes on the fingers of the minister), some press their other hand over the Host, some hold the Host down with a finger—none of these should be done.  Some people pick up the Host and make the sign of the cross with it: this absolutely should not be done: you do not bless yourself with the Host—the blessing comes from Christ Who you are waving around rather than consuming!  You should receive with both hands, which is a problem for people holding a cane or who have use of only one hand: my advice to you is to receive on the tongue.  A few people who have the use of both hands hold up only one hand to receive, or worse present their fingers as if to pull it out of the minister’s hand: please present both hands, one under the other.  If you are holding a child and trying to present both hands for Communion, I also suggest you receive on the tongue.  No one’s going to force this, but as long as we’re dealing with the minutiae of Communion in the hand, I think it bears stating.

The minister will say, “The Body of Christ.”  You respond “Amen.”  There are people who do not say Amen.  There are a few who make some other response, but Amen is the proper and only response.  The minister should hear you say Amen: it is your personal assent to faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. 

Once the minister places the Host in your hand, take a step to the side and stop, pick up the Host and place it in your mouth.  Then you may proceed to the Cup or back to your seat.  There are a lot of people who, when the Host is placed in their hands, turn and start walking away.  I find this very disconcerting: I have no idea what happened to that Host.  Did you eat it, are you walking away with it?  Are you taking it somewhere?  Did you put it in your pocket?  Will it be desecrated?  The Blessed Sacrament cannot be taken out of this church: it is given to you to eat, not for you to take back to your pew or out to someone waiting in a car, or to take to the sick, or to break into pieces in your own private ritual.  Please just take a step to the side, where the minister can see out of the corner of his eye, stop, place the Host in your mouth, then walk.  You need to take the step to the side so that you do not slow down the procession: some people stay right in front of the minister to consume the Host, but it breaks the flow of the procession.  Communion in the hand is not so much a right as it is a privilege: if we’re going to do it, let’s do it right!

Now for the Precious Blood.  Please understand that you do not need to receive from the Cup in order to receive the whole Christ.  Jesus is present body, blood, soul, and Divinity whether you receive only the consecrated Host or just from the Cup.  Even just a piece of the Host is the whole Christ, just as a small sip from the Cup is the whole Christ (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1390; and General Instruction to the Roman Missal, #281-282).  So please be careful with crumbs or particles of the Host left on your hand: you should not brush the Body of Christ onto the floor but pick any crumbs large enough to grasp and consume them.  You have the option to receive from the Cup, unless you are unwell or believe you may have some germ or virus—then it’s prudent not to sip from a common cup for the sake of everyone else.  If you do present yourself to a minister with a Cup, the minister will say, “The Blood of Christ,” and you respond “Amen.”  Take the Cup firmly with both hands, take a small sip from the Cup, then return it with both hands carefully to the minister.  There are a few people who do not seem to realize that intinction is not allowed: meaning, you cannot take the Host you just received, walk over to a minister with the Cup, and dip the Host into the Precious Blood then consume the Host.  This is simply not allowed.  Intinction, or dipping the Host, is only allowed if the minister is doing it and placing it on your tongue.  It is not allowed for any person to dip the Host himself.  Those who help distribute Communion are instructed to not let this happen.  Some people take the Cup with only one hand: this is just not prudent, nor does it look reverential: use both hands and be careful not to spill or slosh the Blood of Christ.  Some people seem to be in such a hurry that they start to walk away while still handing the Cup back to the minister!  Take your time: it’s the Body and Blood of Christ we’re handling: we must be careful not to cause any mishandling because of inattention or familiarity.  We should be so careful, as St. Cyril taught, that we treat the Eucharist like it’s gold dust: we wouldn’t want to drop or spill even the tiniest amount.  He also taught “be careful not to lose any small particle; for whatever you lose is as much a loss to you as if it were one of your own limbs” (Cardinal Donald Wuerl, The Mass, p. 193-194).  And please only take a small sip: a few people take a whole mouthful, which leaves less for others behind you.  The sip should be enough to feel and swallow, about a tablespoon full.

The priest must receive Communion first.  If there is a Deacon assisting, he receives next.  Then those who have been commissioned by the Bishop to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass come forward to receive Communion and to be given the Sacred Vessels.  The ordinary minister of Holy Communion is the bishop and priest.  The ordinary minister of the Cup is the Deacon.  When there are not enough clergy to distribute Communion, lay people are allowed to assist as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.  They are not, nor should they be called “Eucharistic Ministers,” because, in fact, the Eucharistic Ministers are the clergy; the laity are auxiliary to the ordinary ministers, which makes them extra-ordinary.  The only people who are allowed to take the Eucharist out of the church are those commissioned to take Communion to the sick and shut-ins in our parish: they come forward after Communion to receive a blessing because they are leaving immediately and won’t be here for the final blessing of the Mass, so we bless them a little early.

Once you receive Communion, please return to your seat.  I mean to say specifically, do not leave church yet: Mass is not over until the priest or deacon says “the Mass is ended.”  You need to time pray, to thank God for the gift of His Son.  I realize that rarely there may be a need to leave, but you should see how many people leave during Communion!  I doubt they all have legitimate excuses, and I recognize the same people leaving every week: this is a bad habit and it needs to be corrected—please keep in mind that at the Last Supper Judas left early too!

There is much more to explain about the Communion Rite, which I will do next time.  If you have any questions or problems with my instruction on how to receive Holy Communion, please let me know.

Further reading:

A letter from Rome to US Bishops on Communion in the hand:

http://www.adoremus.org/1101Communionhand.html

Instruction on several actions and participation in Mass:

http://www.adoremus.org/Folsom-Signs-598.html

It is that time of year to begin thinking about your flu shot. Once again this year St. Edward will offer Flu Shots on Monday, October 10th from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.

Our St. Edward Parish Cub Scout Pack is selling varied types of delicious popcorn before and after all Masses this weekend, September 24/25, raising money to support scouting activities and also to send popcorn to our servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq, Afghanistan, and military bases throughout the world.  Please stop by the Cub Scout popcorn table outside and lend your support.The Cub Scouts truly appreciate your help!