The discussion regarding the Pope has taken a new turn for me & I'm literally trying my best not to explode right now..... I was recently speaking with someone from my own parish who converted about 15 yrs ago. The person in question received horrible instruction, to say the least, but struggles on, much to their credit. This person asked me the other day if the priest can consecrate Hosts ahead of time. Not knowing where the question was coming from, I went on about there being no Mass on Good Friday, so the priest would consecrate more Hosts for that particular day, and I mentioned that sometimes, if there are more Hosts than communicants, the Hosts are reserved in the Tabernacle. The person then asked, "what if there aren't enough for Communion time though?". So I said the priests were pretty adept at judging that, yadada. The person comes back with, "but once I saw them put some more in from the package, because they were running out. Can the priest just bless them?".......... My head is still close to exploding off my shoulders......This happened many years ago & much has changed since then, however, my question is this: Should this be mentioned to our current PP? Some of the same people still assist as EMHC's. And really, I'm wondering now if this was something accepted in the diocese? Did the priest just not know any better? We had a Bishop here in the '80's who literally had people arrested for kneeling to receive Holy Communion. I'm totally at a loss (Full disclosure: I too once acted as an EMHC, something I regret terribly) The one thing that's kept me sane has been the good Popes we've had....... Corrected to EMHC
Hi Lois. You are right to be concerned. There are many Catholics that do not know and do not care to know anything about Eucharistic Integrity. They have the attitude that "God doesn't let those little details get in the way of grace," or something like that. Of course, you and I know that the Church teaches otherwise. You should talk to your Priest to see what he says about it. If he sounds anything but perfectly orthodox and ready to police any and all violations, you should avoid him and that Church. Another example of lack of Eucharistic Integrity is the use of "low-gluten" hosts (I am not referring to "gluten-free" hosts). These are invalid matter because they do not contain a sufficient amount of gluten to make what is normally called "bread." Those "low-gluten" hosts approved by the USCCB contain 0.002% (20 parts per million) of gluten. Those hosts are basically pure "wheat starch." The confection of "bread" requires at least 8% gluten. In 2003, a Vatican document, written by Cardinal Ratzinger, specified the following: Low-gluten hosts (partially gluten-free) are valid matter, provided they contain a sufficient amount of gluten to obtain the confection of bread without the addition of foreign materials and without the use of procedures that would alter the nature of bread. So any matter used for a Eucharistic host that cannot be made into what is commonly known as "bread" is invalid matter. Wheat starch is not "bread." It is the carbohydrate part of the wheat berry. White bread flour, for example, requires both wheat starch (carbohydrate) and gluten (protein) in sufficient amounts. Any "bread" recipe will explain this. And this means, any "low-gluten" host (99.998% wheat starch) is invalid matter according to Cardinal Ratzinger's criteria. See what we are up against?
Thank you PNF, for the reply....I will mention it then. I don't think this will make his day....not at all...
