A Case For Chaos

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Winchester' post='1521615' date='May 7 2008, 04:29 PM']I've always wanted to tell them I just got done killing someone someone who was overly intrusive.[/quote]+J.M.J.+
i'd love to use that one, if only to see the look on their face.

[kujo]

[quote name='Winchester' post='1521615' date='May 7 2008, 07:29 PM']I've always wanted to tell them I just got done killing someone someone who was overly intrusive.[/quote]

Haha.

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1520423' date='May 6 2008, 04:47 PM']Its ridiculous not to have them. Communion should be an orderly dignified part of the Mass, so people going up willy-nilly seems out of the question.[/quote]

Not so ridiculous. The priest who brought my wife and I into the Church is Polish and the type of guy who from the pulpit says "I don't give a hot d*mn about 401's this non-profit that. You may not vote for John Kerry or any other politician that is pro-death and believes it is okay for a state to legalize abortion." He told us once that he was strongly considering eliminating the one-row-after-another because too many people come up as a robot and receive like a reverse pez-dispenser. There is no thought that has gone into coming up and he knows many of them haven't been going to Mass regularly or coming to confession about ever. So I like the idea - it won't be a mess because the number of people receiving will drop, dramatically. It will be much more prayerful, and people will be far more discerning if they should receive or not, and no one will feel pressured to go up. Pope Benedict called the unworthy reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus the worst suffering our Savior must endure. That should give us pause.

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='Brother Adam' post='1521814' date='May 7 2008, 09:53 PM']Not so ridiculous. The priest who brought my wife and I into the Church is Polish and the type of guy who from the pulpit says "I don't give a hot d*mn about 401's this non-profit that. You may not vote for John Kerry or any other politician that is pro-death and believes it is okay for a state to legalize abortion." He told us once that he was strongly considering eliminating the one-row-after-another because too many people come up as a robot and receive like a reverse pez-dispenser. There is no thought that has gone into coming up and he knows many of them haven't been going to Mass regularly or coming to confession about ever. So I like the idea - it won't be a mess because the number of people receiving will drop, dramatically. It will be much more prayerful, and people will be far more discerning if they should receive or not, and no one will feel pressured to go up. Pope Benedict called the unworthy reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus the worst suffering our Savior must endure. That should give us pause.[/quote]
Wow, that priest is good. Interesting that the Pope said that though. I can see the suffering is in people eating and drinking judgement on themselves, as St Paul notes. It's quite sad. Queues make me mad here too, at least everyone lining up so they can receive. I'd love to be able to ask everyone "why are you receiving?"

[edit] to clarify, it's not a question of judgement, but a question of "why do you think you're worthy to receive?" and further question whether they consider confession often.

Edited May 8, 2008 by Sacred Music Man

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Winchester' post='1521615' date='May 7 2008, 07:29 PM']I've always wanted to tell them I just got done killing someone someone who was overly intrusive.[/quote]

I'd tell 'em I didn't feel right receiving Communion with a bad hangover.

Hopefully it wouldn't actually be true because it's more fun to let people like that believe a lie. Gives 'em something to gossip about.

Edited May 9, 2008 by LouisvilleFan

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1519411' date='May 5 2008, 01:31 PM']+J.M.J.+
[url="http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2008/05/case-for-chaos.html"]h/t to Creative Minority Report[/url]
so, in this blog article, he talks about the fact that in the 'olden' days, everyone went up and received whenever -[/quote]

Just to throw this out there... I think more people abstained from Communion back then. I know at least from reading Lee Iacocca's autobiography that his family received Communion every other week on the same weekend they all went to Confession. No Confession = No Communion.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Brother Adam' post='1521814' date='May 7 2008, 10:53 PM']Not so ridiculous. The priest who brought my wife and I into the Church is Polish and the type of guy who from the pulpit says "I don't give a hot d*mn about 401's this non-profit that. You may not vote for John Kerry or any other politician that is pro-death and believes it is okay for a state to legalize abortion." He told us once that he was strongly considering eliminating the one-row-after-another because too many people come up as a robot and receive like a reverse pez-dispenser. There is no thought that has gone into coming up and he knows many of them haven't been going to Mass regularly or coming to confession about ever. So I like the idea - it won't be a mess because the number of people receiving will drop, dramatically. It will be much more prayerful, and people will be far more discerning if they should receive or not, and no one will feel pressured to go up. Pope Benedict called the unworthy reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus the worst suffering our Savior must endure. That should give us pause.[/quote]

I can't imagine it. The little old lady contingent would be howling about getting stepped on, having to move when they are praying etc.

[Brother Adam]

It would be no different than those who choose not to receive at all - they would have to respectfully sit down until those who were going to receive passed. I've seen it done once at a parish I visited. No one got upset, much more time was given for prayer, and only about 50 or so went up to receive. It was so reverent. You actually believed people believed that was truly Jesus up there.

[Mercy me]

When I have not gone forward to receive. I have never been questioned. It never occurred to me that people would feel self conscious about not receiving. I guess I really am oblivious to things that go on around me at mass.

But I have to really come to appreciate the stampede to Jesus approach to communion. It really reminds me how we need to feel at all times - wild horses can't hold me back from Jesus.

[Norseman82]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' post='1520285' date='May 6 2008, 09:24 AM']For all they know, you ate right before Mass. Makes for a convenient excuse, anyway, should anyone have the nerve to ask.[/quote]

Unfortunately, there will also be the contingent that will start to lecture you on how to change your eating schedule.

[puellapaschalis]

I don't see the Dutch ever going up for Communion in anything other than a queue. Not to say that they'll respect how a queuing system works (every tried to catch a bus here?) - that's something the British do (Sorry, Archeology Cat, some things are tough for me to let go of). But for Communion here they'll behave.
When I've not gone to Communion I've just shifted a bit so that people can climb (!) past me. No bother - no-one's ever mentioned it to me, and quite frankly, there are more likely people going up who shouldn't, so if I'm in a state of sin, apart from anything else, I'll sit there as an example or something.

A few years ago I was at Mass in Lisbon. I was blown away - people converged on the priests from all directions. And then promptly dropped to their knees to receive. It was like Our Lord being mugged in the most gentle way possible!

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='puellapaschalis' post='1523996' date='May 10 2008, 05:00 PM']I don't see the Dutch ever going up for Communion in anything other than a queue. Not to say that they'll respect how a queuing system works (every tried to catch a bus here?) - that's something the British do (Sorry, Archeology Cat, some things are tough for me to let go of).[/quote]
Yeah, people do queue for everything here, it seems. Even without ushers people seem to queue (there aren't ushers at daily Mass, obviously, and some of the parishes don't have ushers for communion, and people still queue), but usually not quite as rigidly as with ushers.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Norseman82' post='1523953' date='May 10 2008, 11:29 AM']Unfortunately, there will also be the contingent that will start to lecture you on how to change your eating schedule.[/quote]

And meeting that contingent would almost make up for having to abstain from Communion.

We'd have us a fun little "come to Jesus" meetin'.

[puellapaschalis]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1524077' date='May 10 2008, 09:12 PM']Yeah, people do queue for everything here, it seems. Even without ushers people seem to queue (there aren't ushers at daily Mass, obviously, and some of the parishes don't have ushers for communion, and people still queue), but usually not quite as rigidly as with ushers. [/quote]

The first time I was at a Mass where there were ushers for Communion, I was indignant. By this time I had been at a Catholic primary school for eight years - you wouldn't believe the prayer and queuing culture "What's he doing telling me when I can get up for Communion? Does he think I don't know how to stand quietly in a queue? Where does he think he is, kindergarten?!"

[Deb]

I think we have ushers but, not sure. I sit up front and I pay no attention to anyone behind me. I wouldn't know if anyone went up or not, nor would I care.
I haven't missed a communion since I came back to the church and I hope I never have to. I can't imagine it.