Distribution of the Eucharist

[DellaJMJ]

During my high school education, girls were and are still given the opportunity to be Eucharistic Ministers...Many of these girls don't have the slightest of ideas as to the true meaning of the Eucharist and the importance of the act of distributing. Many of the girls choose to be ministers mainly because it looks appealing on their CV's and uni applications.

The high school is an all girls school and have mass celebrated on Fridays. When meeting with the principal about this and asking her 'why' she said '...This is our ministry and the girls are able to have a personal relationship with our Lord...' Now i have heard that if a priest is not available to distribute communion a nun is able to. Is this correct?

During Mass the priest sits back whilst the ministers distribute the Eucharist and girls are able to 'dip' the Eucharist into the chalice.
Now this is something I can not fathom...why does the priest just sit there?
If this is wrong what can be done to stop this????? If what I heard is wrong, can you tell me what is the correct way????

Also is the Nicene Creed meant to be said at mass????? because it isn't at this mass

Thanks in advance

[DavidObeid]

Hi DellaJMJ,

Your principal and the celebrating priest are either unaware of or in direct disobedience to the Vatican document Redemptionis Sacramentum (http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html)

There are allowances in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite in some circumstances for laity (even female laity) to act as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, but what you describe doesn't come close to fitting the bill.

Self intinction (dipping the Sacred Host in the Precious Blood) is forbidden for all but concelebrating priests.

The Creed can be omitted in weekday Masses in the Roman Rite.

[DellaJMJ]

Thanks David, that was helpful.

I had a meeting with her in regards to a few things occurring in the school. By the way this is a Catholic school guided by the sister's of Saint Joseph and the principal is a nun. They were/are teaching Adam and eve is a myth, St Johns gospel could have been written by a 'Joanna' due to St John's close and personal gospel. She also told me that Hell is non-existent...now I would know these to be true apart from the Joanna theory and can ignore such wild proclamations, but those who have no idea are being taught falsely. Now that I have left is there anything that can still be done?

[DavidObeid]

The first thing I'd do is not send my children there, and if you have siblings, relatives or friends still there do what you can do to get them out of the school and out of harm's way. The young aren't there to be fodder in the battle against those who hate Our Lord and His truth.

The second thing I'd do is study. Work hard to learn what the Church teaches and why. Devote a period of time to intensive reading of the Catechism (cover to cover) and the Bible (New Testament, Old Testament, then New Testament again). Then spend some time reading some apologetics manuals. Lumen Verum's "Defend the Faith" (and the other volumes in the "Christ the Teacher Series" it comes out of) are an excellent start. So it Fr. Peter Joseph's (2nd edition) of Archbishop Sheehan's "Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine". If you're still hungry for more after that, start reading the documents of Vatican II and St. Thomas Aquinas (Mons. Glynn's "Tour of the Summa" is an excellent summary).

The third thing I'd do is to bury myself in both the doctrinal and the devotional writings of the Saints. St. Alphonsus di Liguori, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Louis de Montfort are unbeatable starts.

With that done you will put yourself in an unbeatable position to respond to crackpot nuns.

Other than that, you might want to write to the Bishop (the teaching of Catholic doctrine in the diocese is ultimately his responsibility, so is the disciplining of dissident teachers).

Pray always. We got into this position because Catholics got lazy in their prayer lives, which lead to them dropping the ball on education.

[DellaJMJ]

That'll show them, thanks along extremely helpful. I shall try my best but doubt can get my relatives out - once in there is no way parents will have the energy to get them out...especially Lebanese parents. I will just have to counterattack what they are being taught.

[DavidObeid]

I find it odd that parents wouldn't want to protect their own children, but are happy to have them given an antidote.

Perhaps you should work on forming the faith of the parents when you try to salvage the souls of their children. I'm sorry this responsibility falls on you. It is a sad state when you, a lay woman, needs to fix the damage that people on the Church's pay roll are inflicting through their negligence or malice.

[leannemaree]

This maybe a little of track, but I am not at all surprised by what you describe della,
Last year i started a Christian formation course, run by the St Joseph nuns, and was horrified at there 'modern' approach to Church, Bible and Doctrine. I had to wade through such and filter what I knew was right. I had a wierd feeling the whole time I was attending and reading the material.
I took offense to there teaching On Our Lady and I decided to bring this up with a spiritual director. I was, and i kbew what he would say, adviced to discontinue with the course.
BUT they are still teaching the same material to the 'hungry', at this course.

As far as distribution of the Eucharist by teens, I totally disagree- especially placing this onto CV's. How awful.
sorry if I have come in on the end of this thread, And If I have offended.

Leanne

[DavidObeid]

No offence Leanne.

At a school Mass at a school I work as I once walked up to one of the students acting as an extra-ordinary minister and had to tell him to remove his cap and get rid of his chewing gum.

It goes without saying that there is plenty of mess to be cleaned up!

[DellaJMJ]

No Leanne - it was great what you said and I totally agree with you...The sisters of St Joseph have become very modernised and have unfortunately disregarded the teachings of the church. The modernist approach has not really made an impact on teens anyway, so i see no point in having to modernise themselves - if we were to justify what it is they're doing - NOT THAT IT CAN BE JUSTIFIED - but for arguments sake.
In regard to mess being cleaned up...there is a priest whom i know of and whom plenty of girls have told me about. These girls do not go to mass regularly, but when they do go to their local parish (St Luke's) - I have to name names because this is disgraceful and must be stopped. They go to this church because the priest is 'hip and cool'. He has come down the altar on a scooter and has also made milkshakes whilst saying the homily, the same priest once said in his homily to the entire school of 1000 girls that Mary, the mother of God had 12 children after Jesus Christ - which is absolutely LUDICROUS!!!!
This is how I experienced high school. :(

[DavidObeid]

Is the priest still there and could you pm me his name please?