The Eucharist and Propriety

The Eucharist and Propriety

There are many discussions about whether or not admission to the Eucharist can be granted or denied for persons of high standing whose actions are incompatible with the teachings of our Church. I refer you to this excellent article on The Grave Danger of Receiving the Eucharist Unworthily. We earthlings are risk takers, and even when we know something is dangerous often we try it anyway – sometimes to the point where it becomes a habit. We can become complicit in exposing others to danger by cooperating with their incorrect decision by either formal cooperation or material cooperation.

For example, to persuading someone to receive communion when they are not in a state of Grace would be an instance of formal cooperation. To give a gift of a mountain-climbing rope as an act of kindness which the recipient straight away uses to hang himself is a case of material cooperation. In both cases, the actor is complicit in the outcomes for the participant. Deciding how to deal with questions like these involves the process of discernment. What we see happening around the world in this present darkness is the demise of discernment. That is because Truth is being exchanged for personal gratification.

The world view now seems to be that GOOD depends on a consensus view of right and wrong. There is a definite demand for "tolerance," "compromise," "inclusion," and "equalization." The very mechanism that drives our complicity in “social sins” is the distorted notion of “tolerance” which has become the reactionary order of the public opinion. We’re told we’re not only to be “tolerant” of social sins, but that we must accept and approve of them. We are told that we are wrong, and even if we insist that "we" are right and "they" are wrong, we know "right" when we see it. That is fallaciousness at its purest form. If everybody is wrong, then nobody is right because there cannot be right or wrong unless there is complete consensus about it. The whole concept of absolute Good and absolute Evil gets buried in a pile of trophies, sprinkles, and balloons. There is some information in the content of Canon Law which must be considered: CL§ 915-916 – Canon Law §915 Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion. Canon Law § 916 A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.

We’re in a tough position right now as Catholics. The world claims that “social sin” is the cause of personal sin, and we must assert that it’s just the opposite. The world has inverted the order of morality: Sins such as abortion, sodomy, euthanasia, and many other offenses against God and nature are now called “good”; and it’s a “sin”, according to the world, to oppose them. That is the problem with depending on a consensus view of right and wrong. If the foundation of the evaluation is fallacious, then the outcome is also erroneous. Worse still, if we fail to insist on what we know is absolutely True, then we become complicit in the outcomes of the participants. See more on Complicity information here.

As Catholics, if we don’t take a stand against these sins, our complicity in the larger social sins which are eclipsing the moral good becomes personal sins. It takes faith and courage in this day to stand up for the moral truths expressed by Holy Mother Church, but this is our call to witness. Here is some information from The Catechism of The Catholic Church

2520 Baptism confers on its recipient the grace of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God's grace he will prevail

- by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity lets us love with upright and undivided heart;

- by purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized person seeks to find and to fulfill God's will in everything;

- by purity of vision, external and internal; by discipline of feelings and imagination; by refusing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God's commandments: "Appearance arouses yearning in fools";

- by prayer:

Many believe that prudence arises from our own flawed nature; but discernment shows us otherwise. Prudence is a gift from God, and if we reject the gift we also reject the Giver. God will surely give us this gift, and all else we need, if we but humbly ask him to grant it. Having received, we must utilize the gift as its nature requires. Here, then, is a review of God's instructions on the propriety of the Eucharist.

1. Genesis 6:5 – ⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.
2. 1 John 1:8-10 – ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
3. Mark 1:14-15 – ¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
4. Pope Francis' remarkable quote that the Eucharist “is not the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners.” We need to look at this more closely. Is this the Propriety God desires?
5. "Go, and sin no more." There are two instances in the Gospel of John about this very important command of Jesus: The cure of the frail man near the pool at Bethesda (See John 5:1-15), and the deliverance of the adulterous woman recounted in John 8:3-11.
6. Do not excuse, overlook, tolerate, or encourage sin publically
   • Hophni's and Phinehas' sins were both personal and public – the improper sacrifices, and whoring when such relationships were forbidden by God.
   • Eli, who had the responsibility to intervene because of his Priesthood, knew this but failed to act and was therefore complicit in their sin and in the sin of the community who participated in the sinful activity with the two so-called Priests.
   • The people, Eli, and his sons were warned by a man of God but did not act. The result was death for all of them. They shamefully shared the sacrifice that belonged to God. They were unworthy recipients.
7. I Corinthians 11:27-30 – ²⁷ Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. ³⁰ For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
8. Public promotion of personal needs or appetites in the name of tolerance, "inclusivity," and compromise leads many to the sin of receiving unworthily for "personal reasons." When a Priest knowingly permits such a sin, we must consider the impact of this on his soul as well.
9. The Law is misconstrued as something that is internal and situational rather that external and invariant. Truth is always the Truth regardless of how we try to reinterpret it by making it into a lie thereby becoming liars like the Pharisees who refused to hear Jesus' teaching. He told them, ⁴⁴ You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (See John chapter 8, especially verse 44)
10. Jesus holds us accountable if we lead others to stumble, to sin: Matthew 18:6 – ⁶ … whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
11. Pope Francis' remarkable quote that the Eucharist “is not the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners.” The conclusion is that complicity in failing to keep these rules as handed down through Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, and the Magisterium is being overlooked in direct violation of Matthew 18:6. (↔ Click Link)
12. There is something missing in the alleged argument against "politicizing the Eucharist." It is the word repentant. The Eucharist is not the reward of saints, but the bread of REPENTANT sinners.
13. Romans 6:23 – ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
14. If we enable sin, we give the sinner the ability, the means, the power, and perhaps even the competence to sin; we authorize it by making it possible and easy.
15. When others see our sin publically, our repentance is incomplete until it is public.
    • Abe favored the death penalty for premeditated murders.
    • Went to the State Capitol 90 miles away to demonstrate on Saturday morning
    • Was interviewed live on the local news at 3:15 p.m.
    • A reporter asked him, "What about abortion? Aren't those premeditated murders?" Abe responded, "Abortion is not a punishment. It is a woman's right to assert control over her own body."
    • Drove back to his home town and arrived just as the 5:30 anticipated Mass was starting.
    • Tom had seen him on the news. He recalled Pope Francis stating on May 11, 2018 stating, "Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that 'the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person', and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide."
    • Fr. Tom knows that Abe has not been to confession. Should he give Abe the Eucharist knowing with unquestionable certainty that Abe would be receiving unworthily? What if Fr. Tom whispered to Abe, "Come see me after Mass before I allow you to receive."?
    • Other Parishioners had also seen Abe on TV. What would your reaction be if you saw Tom receive communion? What would your reaction be if you saw Fr. Tom deny Abe communion?
16. "What we do shows who we are. Actions speak louder than words." If Abe goes to another rally favoring capital punishment, and if he again joins in demonstrating in favor of it, what might be the outcome for his Parish, for Fr. Tom, and for Abe's own soul? Is there any evidence of private or public repentance, of conversion, of submission to the Authority of the Church?

The Law given to Moses has been the foundation of Truth for millennia. TRUTH is always TRUE. Reinterpreting The Law does not, cannot, and will not alter The Truth. Amy attempt to compromise The Law (which includes all Apostolic Teaching) does not, cannot, and will not alter The Truth. The Truth in this case is that any specious argument that can be used to allegedly justify denying Truth must be based in fallacious reasoning, and therefore is utterly incompatible with Truth. Those who think otherwise, those who use the chicanery of self-centered conceit, those who try to call evil good might want to check that there are no millstones nearby, because …

Let those who have ears hear and those who have lips speak. God is not mocked, (← Check it out!) The warning is clear. That warning is what we started off with this year, and it is important that we do not ignore it. In the Aloha Friday Post (Click Link↔) 2101AFC010121 – Head for the Light we referred to believers who are endorsing what God has condemned. Take a look: Satan is darkness and in him is no Light at all. And yet, we have many people – thousands upon thousands – swearing that light is darkness and evil is good (See Isaiah 5:18-23, especially v. 20 which reads in part ²⁰ Ah, you who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light). There is 1 light and there is 1 darkness in the Spiritual War we act against, but that darkness is not merely the absence of Light, it is also the presence of evil and every bit as real as the Light we follow and eventually become. They are headed away from the Light. WE are headed for the Light, which is to say we are moving toward Heaven for and because of the Love of God. Love of prestige is moving in the wrong direction.

This is definitely not the time (and there is no doubt of that) to be complicit in any form of sin, especially open sacrilege. Such things as defiance of Scripture, Apostolic Teaching, and the Magisterium are dangerous. It is most definitely a time for personal and National Repentance. (↔ Click Link)

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