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Holy Communion
Q. In many parishes throughout the United States, holy Communion is given not only under the form of bread, but also from the chalice. Did the Second Vatican Council approve this practice? Some people seem to drink from the chalice very casually, and I am afraid this could be an abuse. Please comment.
— R. M., city withheld, Texas
A. Here’s a reply from OSV columnist Msgr. M. Francis Mannion:
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) from Vatican II states: “The dogmatic principles which were laid down by the Council of Trent remaining intact, Communion under both kinds may be granted when the bishops think fit, not only to clerics and religious, but also to the laity, in cases to be determined by the Apostolic See” (No. 55). While the council envisaged only a limited use of participation in Communion from the cup, subsequent documents approved a wider usage, so that in the United States Communion from the cup is now possible at many weekday and Sunday Masses.
The 2003 Vatican General Instruction of the Roman Missal states the rationale for giving Communion from the cup when it says: “Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when it is distributed under both kinds. For in this form the sign of the Eucharistic banquet is more clearly evident and clear expression is given to the divine will by which the new and eternal Covenant is ratified in the Blood of the Lord, as also the relationship between the Eucharistic banquet and the eschatological [heavenly] banquet in the Father’s Kingdom” (No. 281).
In stipulating the use of the chalice, the Church has always been careful to ensure the understanding that Christ is received fully and completely either under the form of bread or under the form of wine. Those who do not receive from the chalice are not lacking in the full reception of the eucharistic Christ. Nevertheless, the Church encourages drinking from the cup in order to bring out the full meaning of the Eucharist. Clearly, then, the reception of Communion from the chalice is not an abuse; far from it: It is a positive and noble sign.
You say that “some people seem to drink from the chalice very casually.” I have to say that this is not my experience. In all the parishes and institutions in which I have served, the chalice has been given to the people at every Mass (except school Masses, in which the children do not handle the chalice very well). Not everyone in the congregation receives from the chalice, but I find that those who do receive from the chalice approach the matter with notable devotion and seriousness.
Is Advent a Penitential Season?
Q. I heard someone refer to Advent as a penitential season. Shouldn’t we be happy about Christ’s coming?
A. Here’s a reply from Father Reginald Martin:
The violet-colored vestments worn during Advent may give an impression that thedays before Christmas, like those of Lent, are a time of penance. In fact, they are a time of anticipation and preparation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “the liturgy of Advent each year … makes present this ancient expectation of the Messiah” (No. 524), and the subdued colors of the season symbolize the darkness we must endure as we await the light and warmth that Jesus’s birth will bring into the world.
During Advent we do not use the Gloria at Mass, and this, too, may seem penitential. However, the Gloria is the hymn the angels sang to announce the birth of Jesus, so we simply lay it aside until we celebrate Christ’s birth at Christmas. In the meantime, however, we continue to sing the Alleluia.
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) mentions that Advent should be marked by a moderation suited to the character of the season without expressing prematurely the full joy of the Nativity of the Lord. This is an excellent summary of our belief: the happiness and joy of Christmas are not fully realized, so we observe the days of Advent with moderation and sobriety.
Why Ask for Intercession?
Q. If God’s mind cannot be changed, what is the purpose of the intercession of Mary and the saints? Why bother to ask Mary’s intercession, for example, to alleviate someone’s pain and suffering, if what will be, will be?
D.M., via email
A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D
This question has probably engaged the minds of many people in their thinking about intercession. Thank you for sending it.
The purpose of intercession is not an attempt to change the mind of God, which, as you say, is impossible. The purpose rather is to open further channels through which God’s perfect will can be worked out.
Here’s a true story about a human mother’s intercession. In the very early morning a woman who had several children was rushing into a hospital to deliver another baby. Impulsively, she looked up to the sky and said fervently, “Mother, pray for me!” (Her mother was then in another country, thousands of miles away.) After her child was born, the young mother said the delivery was by far her best and easiest.
Three days later she received a letter from her mother. The mother wrote that she had been awakened suddenly from a sound sleep at a certain time on a certain day. (The exact time at which the woman had called on her mother for prayer.) The mother said she knew immediately she must pray for her daughter, and she prayed earnestly for a half-hour before going back to bed. Now, she said, tell me what happened?
This is what happened. God used that mother’s intercessory prayers through which to help her daughter have a good delivery.
We treasure and seek the intercession of our Blessed Mother and the saints because they are uniquely open to the working of God’s Holy Spirit. What do they ask of God? That He will use their love and prayers as means for working out His perfect will in the lives of persons who call on them.
It is true that what God wills, will be. We invoke the prayers of the saints and of our friends for the purpose of helping God’s will to be worked out in given situations.
Repentance for Sterilization?
Q. Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”) teaches that each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life. If a man has a vasectomy, or a woman tubal ligation, and later repents and confesses his or her sin, may they continue to have marital relations and be in accord with the teaching of the Church?
N.W., via e-mail
A. Here is a reply from Father Francis Hoffman, J.C.D.:
Only God can judge our souls, and only God really knows our hearts. Yours is a common question that, sadly, deals with a common situation today. The root cause of sterilizations is fear of the future and a lack of trust in God. Often, such a state of mind is the result of a deficient relationship with God, or because of various psychological wounds caused during the developmental period of a person’s life. (If the woman or man could not trust their own father growing up, they will find it difficult to trust God.)
In this case, what we need to avoid is the cynical approach that “it’s easier to beg forgiveness than to get permission.” Such a calculating posture is no way to deal with God.
However, I have known many cases of good people who were simply given bad advice and chose to be sterilized. Coming to their senses they have regretted their decisions, repented in the Sacrament of Penance and sought the mercy of God. Having truly repented, there is nothing to prevent them from embracing marital relations as before. However, it won’t be the same; it can’t be the same; and deep in their hearts, they will ache of remorse for their previous decisions, because actions have consequences.
The best they can do — and I have given this advice to couples who are in this situation — is to limit their marital relations to the times when the woman would not have been fertile; and in this way, by acting in accord with the cycles of natural family planning, they show a respect for God’s plan and his timing, and in some way seek to image in their lives God’s rhythm for life.
Mary’s Transportation
Q. It doesn’t say in the Gospels that Mary rode a donkey. How do we “know” she did?
Nazareth is about 70 miles from Bethlehem, quite a journey for a pregnant woman to undertake on foot; but we have no evidence that Mary made the journey on a donkey. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we may conclude this is but one of the “many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity [that] do not figure in the Gospels” (No. 514).
However, if we assume that Mary did not hike to Bethlehem, a donkey would have been the logical means of transportation.
The following ideas are merely speculative, of course, but they suggest good reasons to imagine Mary may have ridden a donkey to Bethlehem. The census that motivated Joseph’s and Mary’s journey was ordered by the Emperor Augustus, famed for bringing peace to the Roman Empire. The donkey is the animal of peace — unlike the horse, which is suited for battle. (When Jesus entered Jerusalem before his passion, he rode on a donkey [see Jn 12:15]).
Bethlehem is the city of Jesus’ ancestor, King David, and Jesus is the “Prince of Peace.” By coming to his royal ancestor’s home on a donkey Jesus may be said to lay a peaceful claim — even before his birth — to his ancestral heritage.
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