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My son receiving his First Holy Communion on Pentecost. At Old St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Oratory in Kansas City Missouri.
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I was given an special grace today to go to have my confession heard, witness to benediction of the blessed sacrament , get my throat blessed, and receive Holy Communion. If only more parishes around here were as Catholic as this hospital chapel.
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A First time for everything…
Well this evening the search for a parish to call home continued. I have posted about this before, and the disappointment we have when we see liturgical abuse, and other various deficiencies found in the most of the local parishes.
Tonight we decided to try St. Matthew’s Parish in Glendale Heights. Normally we attend the Extraordinary Form, but since my sister from Kansas City is probably coming over tomorrow for a quick visit around the time we would normally go to the Extraordinary Form I thought it would be a good opportunity to continue to search for a local parish to feed our souls when we’re not able to make it to the Extraordinary form.
I chose St. Matthew’s because on their website it states they are staffed by the Carmelites, “Great! I think to myself - this could give real promise, perhaps our search was over.” so I clear the half of a foot of snow off the driveway, get the four kids ready, clean off the snow on the car, and we arrive a little early.
My firs thing I questioned was where the Tabernacle was - as usual; can you find it in the photo above?? I’m not sure what it is with Illinois, but it sure seems that there must have been an order from the Bishops that all Churches must hide Jesus in the Tabernacle to some side / lost area of the Church as every local parish we have visited has not had a prominent tabernacle.
During the Mass the liturgy was prayed well - the priest seemed a bit annoyed at something - but he didn’t change any of the words and for the most I could tell he did the red and said the black, so far so good - perhaps this parish could be our go to parish for us when we can’t make it to the Extraordinary Form. There were no glass or clay chalices - there were altar girls but those are usually the least of my problems in a parish that allows them.
After the Agnus Dei - the throngs of Extraordinary Ministers engulfed the sanctuary and then Communion was given. For communion time my family and I waited a bit and walked around the back to go get in the line for the Priest instead of receiving from an non ordained person. It was at this moment I approached our Lord, and in great awe and reference for the gift of the Eucharist I knelt down to receive him on my tongue, a reverent gesture fit for the king of kings.
I see the priest hold up Jesus and prepare to feed my soul, but then as if the needle had been pulled from a great resounding record, as if I had gotten shot right in the back, the priest then puts Jesus back and says:
OH! NO! NO! - WE DON’T DO THAT HERE - THE BISHOPS HAVE FORBID THAT IN THE UNITED STATES
(Which I am fully aware that this is not True: Source 1 - #91 and Source 2-#160 )
Shame, embarrassment, and hurt flood my being. I stagger upward onto my feet and hear, “The body of Christ” - “Amen” I reply and in shock and awe as I then return to the pew. I was not the only one, as my 9 yr old son who as well has always received kneeling was told he could not either and was deeply confused as to what had just transpired.
As soon as I kneel back in the pew I pray for this priest, I pray that God opens his heart to the truth of the teachings of Holy Mother Church , I pray that he may become holy, become the priest God intends him to be. This is something that I have heard and read about but nothing I had ever experienced myself. I could do my best to keep praying and try to focus on being a walking tabernacle and the last bits of Mass.
After mass, there was great applause, and great socializing in the pews as we tried to give a proper thanksgiving after Mass. People would come up to us and comment on how beautiful our baby girl is. Others to comment on the size of our family - the winning comment comes from a woman who first looks and compliments the baby and then as she sees the rest of the kids in the pews asks,:
“….Are…. All… These [ as she glares up and down the pew]….Your family???”
What to go from here with my experience? My initial thought was to write the local Bishop / ordinary, explaining that we are new to the area looking for a parish to call home, and a possible Catholic school for my children, and write in the letter how I was denied our Lord on my knees, and how we were gawked at for having a “large” family. After further research online, perhaps I should write to Rom about what happened during communion? On the flip side if I am not going to be a member of the parish perhaps I should just let it go, keep praying for the priest and parish and not voice my concern, but what about the next communicant here that gets denied?
