Pouring the Precious Blood

It pains me to say that some of our priests (and bishops) here seem to have forgotten what a great privilege and responsibility they have to protect the Eucharist. It seems to be a common practice in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to consecrate the Precious Blood in a glass cruet and pour the Precious Blood into chalices for distribution. This is in direct violation of the following:

[106.] However, the pouring of the Blood of Christ after the consecration from one vessel to another is completely to be avoided, lest anything should happen that would be to the detriment of so great a mystery. Never to be used for containing the Blood of the Lord are flagons, bowls, or other vessels that are not fully in accord with the established norms. (See Redemptions Sacramentum paragraph 106)

Complaints about this practice to the Archbishop has resulted in a promise that the Vicar of Clergy would speak to our new Pastor about doing this. The result is that now instead of pouring the Precious Blood into two chalices for distribution that he now pours the Precious Blood into four chalices for distribution. One wonders how large of a pat on the back he got from the Vicar for bringing this practice into our parish. Contact with the Office of Prayer and Worship at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee seems to indicate that the Archbishop has not made a public statement against this practice yet. One wonders what the Archbishop is waiting for…..

Of course by having so much of the Precious Blood available one wonders what happens to the Precious Blood that is left over in the cruet that never makes it into the chalices for distribution. It would be nice to know that people are not pouring the Precious Blood into the Sacrarium considering the penalties for such an act as outlined below:

[107.] In accordance with what is laid down by the canons, “one who throws away the consecrated species or takes them away or keeps them for a sacrilegious purpose, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; a cleric, moreover, may be punished by another penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state”. To be regarded as pertaining to this case is any action that is voluntarily and gravely disrespectful of the sacred species. Anyone, therefore, who acts contrary to these norms, for example casting the sacred species into the sacrarium or in an unworthy place or on the ground, incurs the penalties laid down. (See Redemptionis Sacramentum paragraph 107)

Even the Office of Prayer and Worship in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has told us that the Precious Blood is to be consumed at the place of distribution and is never to be poured into the sacrarium. But they never told us the severe penalties associated with pouring the Precious Blood into the sacrarium as outlined above. It makes one wonder just what is going on after the Masses in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee……….It might not be a bad idea to ask about this as I have discovered some who do not realize just how serious this is……

Looking for Liturgical “Fatherhood”

In our county here in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee it appears as though the last bastion of liturgy that is consistently celebrated in a way that is faithful to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) and Redemptionis Sacramentum is going the way of the dinosaur. With new “pastoral leadership” comes new liturgical practices that include:

a. Changing the Eucharistic Prayers so as not to call God “Father”.

b. Consecrating the Precious Blood in the glass cruet.

c. Pouring the Precious Blood into the Chalices for Distribution.

Discussions with our new “pastor” about the new liturgical practices that violate Redemptionis Sacramentum include such “pastoral” comments as:

“I will not celebrate the Liturgy in a way that makes ME uncomfortable.” (This is in reference to calling God “Father” and praying the Eucharistic Prayers as written.)

“Your previous Pastors (who celebrated the Mass according to the GIRM and Redemptionis Sacramentum) did the parish no favors and poorly formed the parish when it comes to Liturgical practice.”

“The Archbishop has not fully implemented the GIRM and Redemptionis Sacramentum in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.”

“I am not sticking my neck out here as there are parishes in other parts of the Archdiocese that celebrate the Mass in a more liberal way than I do and are not required to change.”

When telling “Father” that his actions are dividing the parish his comment is: “Maybe that needs to happen.” So much for being concerned about the church community.

And my person favorite: “If I have a choice between listening to you (Fatherless Catholic) and listening to Bishop Sklba, I will listen to Bishop Sklba.”

Hmmmmmm. I guess Archbishop Dolan does not matter in this.

Contact with the Archdiocese has not been very helpful. Our emails and letters to the Archbishop are forwarded to the Vicar of Clergy whom, we are assured, will speak with our new “pastor” about these matters. The result has been no change in “Father’s” liturgical practices.

Contact with the Archdiocesan Office of Prayer and Worship has indicated that the practice of changing the Eucharistic prayers is wrong and that even the Pope cannot change the words to those prayers. However our “pastor” continues to celebrate the Liturgy in HIS way.

Unfortunately, we were informed by the Archdiocesan Office of Prayer and Worship that the practice of consecrating the precious blood in the glass cruet and pouring the precious blood into the Chalices for distribution has not been specifically commented upon or forbidden by the Archbishop. The impression that I get is that since the Archbishop has not specifically said that these practices should cease so this allows the priest to do as he please in these areas. I guess the fact that the Holy See has said that these practices should stop is not enough for certain priests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

While we are waiting for our “Spiritual Fathers” in the Milwaukee Episcopate to give us some Liturgical Clarity, it is being reported that people are leaving our parish. (Should we call this a Mass Exodus?) It should be noted that this parish had the highest reported Sunday Mass attendance as a percentage of registered members (61%) in 2005 and during this time we were celebrating the Mass according to the GIRM and Redemptionis Sacramentum.

However our new “pastor” keeps telling us that he was sent in to make our parish more like the neighboring parishes in the county. Ironically, the Archdiocese has asked all parishes to increase our Sunday Mass attendance by 20% and yet they have sent a new “pastor” to a parish with the highest Mass attendance in the county and have essentially told us we have been praying wrong for the past few decades and they want us to be more like our neighboring parishes who struggle to get 30-40% Mass attendance. One wonders just how serious the Archdiocese really is about increasing Sunday Mass attendance……

Will the Mass Exodus for parish continue?

Stay tuned.