Statements from Popes, Saints and Church Councils:
St. Sixtus 1 (circa 115): “The Sacred Vessels are not to be handled by others than those consecrated to the Lord.”
St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church (330-379): “The right to receive Holy Communion in the hand is permitted only in times of persecution.” St. Basil the Great considered Communion in the hand so irregular that he did not hesitate to consider it a grave fault.
The Council of Saragossa (380): Excommunicated anyone who dared continue receiving Holy Communion by hand. This was confirmed by the Synod of Toledo. Oh!
The Synod of Rouen (650): Condemned Communion in the hand to halt widespread abuses that occurred from this practice, and as a safeguard against sacrilege. Should be condemned again!
6th Ecumenical Council, at Constantinople (680-681): Forbade the faithful to take the Sacred Host in their hand,
threatening transgressors with excommunication. Very serious.
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274): “Out of reverence towards this Sacrament [the Holy Eucharist], nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest’s hands, for touching this Sacrament.” (Summa Theologica, Part III, Q. 82, Art. 3, Rep. Obj. 8.)
To not touch the Host is an act of reverence. Therefore, touching the Host is actually an act of irreverence according to St. Thomas.
The Council of Trent (1545-1565): “The fact that only the priest gives Holy Communion with his consecrated hands is an Apostolic Tradition.”
Pope Paul VI (1963-1978): “This method [on the tongue] must be retained.” (Memoriale Domini).
Pope John Paul II: “To touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own hands is a privilege of the ordained.” (Dominicae Cenae, 11).
The danger of Sacred Particles falling out of people’s hands and Our Lord being trodden underfoot by those following. “Have mercy on me, O God, for man has trodden me underfoot.” Psalm 55:2, drbo.org. The renowned Bishop Athanasius Schneider has spoken out against this and he considers it a grave danger, and he says, “Nobody shouts!” Nobody seems to care about what happens to the Sacred Particles in people’s hands. The people being ignorant and not instructed in these matters are like dumb sheep. They have no clue they’re supposed to look in their hands. Nobody told them! Neither do the clergy seem to know. Have they ever instructed anyone that they are supposed to look in their hands for Particles if they choose to receive that way? Can you see why the Councils in the past have condemned Communion in the hand?
So you might ask yourself, “Why are we doing it again? If you are an honest person and sincerely want to know the truth, you should read COMMUNION IN THE HAND AND SIMILAR FRAUDS by Michael Davies; Most Reverend Juan Rodolfo Laise, Bishop of San Luis, Argentina: COMMUNION IN THE HAND: DOCUMENTS AND HISTORY. Bishop Laise was accused of being a rebel, whereas he was merely upholding the mandate of Paul VI where he said, “The traditional manner of receiving (on the tongue) is to be retained.” Memorial of the Lord. Therefore , Bishop Laise responded: “For this reason I consulted with the Congregation for Divine Worship, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Commission for the Interpretation of the Laws of the Church, and they have not found anything reproachable in the attitude. Furthermore, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded saying: “You are informed by this Dicastery that an attentive study of the documents of the Holy See in this matter shows clearly that you, in deciding to maintain immutable the tradition of distributing Holy Communion in the mouth, have acted in conformity with the law and therefore have not broken with ecclesial communion. In truth, Your Excellency has done no more than fulfill the duty demanded of every bishop by the instruction De Modo Sanctam Communionem Ministrandi (cf. Enchiridion Vaticanum III, 1284) of exercising discernment with regard to the consequences that an alternative to the current Eucharistic practice may occasion in the sacramental life of the faithful.”
I would encourage all the clergy who want to know the truth and want to do the right thing, to read that book. Also, I would encourage the clergy and even the lay people to encourage their bishops to rescind Communion in the hand. It has not been helpful to the Church but severely detrimental, with countless sacrileges and profanations to Our Lord, a tremendous loss of faith and reverence; and a great falling away from the faith (apostasy), just as it was foretold in the 3rd Secret of Fatima.
Also, AA – 1025, MEMOIRS OF AN ANTI-APOSTLE. This guy was one of the communist infiltrators sent in by them in the 1930’s. He was the 1,025 man sent in to infiltrate the seminaries and become corrupt priests. He was very clever and quickly worked up the ranks. He was in Rome in the 1960’s and killed in a car accident. A Catholic nurse found his notes, kept them and got them published with the title above. In his notes, he outlines many of his ideas he wanted to introduce into the Church. Bringing Communion in the hand back, Communion under both kinds; Communion standing; Extraordinary ministers and a whole lot of other stuff in the Novus Ordo Mass were his ideas. It was even his idea to remove the words “holy and venerable hands” from the words of consecration. If you will notice the next time you go to Mass, these words have been removed. Also, the Canon of the centuries should have been untouchable after Pope St. Pius V codified it with Quo Primum. However, the words, Mysterium Fidei, Mystery of Faith, which indicate Jesus’ Real Presence in the sacramental species after consecrating, these words I say, were removed and made an acclamation. Who would have the audacity to take the very words spoken by Jesus’ mouth in the consecration out of the consecration and make them an ejaculation? Moreover, the words Mysterium Fidei indicate Jesus’ real presence on the altar at that every moment,; it’s not about His “coming again.” Then, to give insult to injury, the traditional manner of Mass thought it fit for the priest, once Jesus appeared on the altar at the consecration, first to bend the knee before his God, then elevate the Host for adoration, then bend the knee again in adoration. But the fabricators of the new Mass wished to take away even this first genuflection and have Jesus shown to the people before the priest gave Him his due of adoration. What would be the first thing you would do if Jesus appeared before you? Would you not first go on your knees if you were able? Surely. Then, to top off all the insults they could give to Our Lord, I’m speaking of the communists and the freemasons, (they were in this together); they turned the priest’s back to Jesus in the tabernacle and have him facing the people. “They have turned their backs to Me, and not their face.” Jer. 2:27. The priest is talking to God on our behalf and offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for us. Shouldn’t he be facing the Lord and not the people?
Annibale Bugnini was the architect of the new Mass, and we now know he was a freemason.(1) Fr. Charles Murr has confirmed it, who lived and worked with Cardinal Gagnon for two years when he was investigating the clergy in Rome, commissioned by Paul VI. Fr. Isaac Relyea, Fr. Paul Kramer, Fr. Charles Schoenbaechler, and Fr. Bryan Houghton all have said the new Mass is illicit. Fr. Bryan Houghton actually wrote a small booklet many years ago titled, THE MUDDLE OF THE MASS, and in it he states that the document out of Rome in Latin did not give it the “force of law,” but the translators made it say, “Force of law.” No doubt when the good bishops and priests in various countries read that, they felt compelled to say the new Mass. But if it doesn’t have the “force of law,” how can it be licit? Did I forget to mention THE OTTAVIANI INTERVENTION? A three month study by the Head of the Holy Office and several theologians on the new Mass, go far beyond the criticisms that I have enumerated. They warned Pope VI it would be “an incalculable error” to bring in the new Mass with its many problems, but he went ahead anyway; the “suicide of the new liturgy” which Pope Pius XII said Our Lady of Fatima warned about, which brought about the apostasy of millions of souls.
All these things lessen respect for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and the communist infiltrator knew that, and it weakens our faith. As the Blessed Mother warned in her second warning at Garabandal in 1965, she said, “Less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist.” I saw this at my own home parish where they moved the organ on the altar and made the choir center stage with the priest while Jesus the King of kings and Lord of Lords was shunted off to the side with a rail built around the tabernacle putting him outside the sanctuary. Then the procession would come in and no longer genuflect to the Blessed Sacrament but only bow to the altar, as if the altar was more important than God himself. Thus ignoring Jesus on the side and doing a simple bow. Just another example of what the Blessed Mother warned about, “Less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist.” And She also warned about bad clergy on the road to perdition and leading many souls to hell with them. “Many cardinals, many bishops, and many priests, are on the road to perdition, and are taking many souls with them.”
Are you following one of those bad priests who thinks anything goes? One of those priests who allow any kind of immodesty in the churches, the House of God? Dishing out sacrilegious Communions(2) to these immodest women like giving out candy? One of those priests who allow all kinds of talking in the House of God, before and after Mass, disrespecting Our Lord in the tabernacle and disturbing and distracting those who are trying to pray? Making the House of prayer into a noisy social hall like the protestants? “But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” Habacuc, chapter 2:20. Drbo.org. “Our Lady does not want us to talk in church.” – St. Jacinta of Fatima. One lady after Mass one day said, “They are making so much noise I can’t even pray.” These and many other reasons are why I go to a traditional Mass. If Catholics are following these kind of priests with complacency, never complaining to the pastor, still supporting the church financially, then they are also part of the problem, because silence and support implies consent. And if it is true that most Catholic couples are contracepting, then no wonder the Church appears to be going to hell in a handbasket. It was recorded in the Record some months ago six couples had 50 year anniversaries. That’s a total of 300 years between them. Guess how many children they all had together? 12! That’s all. 12! What’s wrong with that picture? Fr. Robert Brown, of venerable memory once said to a man, “Most Catholic couples are contracepting.” The man asked him, “Why do you say that Father?” and he answered, “No children.” He also informed the gentleman over 35 years ago that Inaestimabile Donum written by Pope John Paul “was written to correct abuses in the liturgy.” In all these years there has not been one Catholic priest heard to quote from that encyclical! And immodesty is at an all time high, from the most unsightly and ungodly fashions even to the altar rail in many Novus Ordo churches. Warned about by Our Lady of Good Success 400 years ago; warned about again at Fatima through little Jacinta; warned about again to Enzo Alocci, stigmatist, about 60 years ago, wherein she told him to go tell the clergy to not allow such indecency in the churches in the presence of the Divine Majesty, (WARNING FROM HEAVEN – https://motherofgodlibrary.org/2024/07/05/). She is echoing Pope Pius XI’s DECREE ON MODESTY IN 1930 where it states certain women are to be debarred from Holy Communion and some are to be removed from the church if their immodest dress requires it. MotherofGodlibrary.org/2021/08.
Traditional Catholics have not lost their sense of modesty nor respect for Our Lord in the church. Kneeling for Communion, on the tongue, like we are supposed to, ladies with their heads covered, (No, Pope John Paul did not change that -3), no unnecessary Extraordinary ministers, and Sacred silence. Let us continue to work and pray, and obey Our Lady of Fatima’s requests to amend our lives, pray and sacrifice for sinners, recite the rosary every day. Do the first Saturdays in a spirit of reparation until God puts an end to this madness. Fr. Nicholas Gruner, may he rest in peace, said if we do not heed Our Lady of Fatima, even God himself will not help us, because she told us at Fatima. “Only I can help you.” Fr. Gruner oftentimes quoted St. Augustine who said, “There are certain graces God wants to give us but we are not worthy. The only way He will give them to us is through the Blessed Mother.”
”We go to Jesus through Mary because that is the way He came to us, and He said, ‘As I have given you an example, so do you also.” – St. Louis de Montfort.
“Whoever wishes to find the fruit must find the tree. Whoever wishes to find Jesus must find Mary. ‘And entering in, they found the child with Mary His mother.” – St. Alphonsus de Liguori. When the people in Bethlehem were turning away Mary, they were turning away Jesus. A lesson for us.
“He who wishes to have the fruit of life, which is Jesus Christ, must have the tree of life, which is Mary. He who wishes to have the operation of the Holy Ghost, must have the divine Mary, who makes him fertile and fruit bearing…The more the Holy Ghost finds Mary in a soul, the more powerful and active He is in producing Jesus Christ in that soul, and that soul in Jesus Christ…Just as the Holy Ghost used Mary to form Christ the head of the Church, He also uses her in a spiritual manner to form His body and its members.” – St. Louis de Montfort. “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her, and he that shall retain her is blessed.” Proverbs 3:18. Drbo.org.
- OUR BLESSED LORD WARNS ABOUT THE NEW LITURGY – THE NOVUS ORDO MASS
- OUR LADY WARNS ABOUT SACRILEGIOUS COMMUNIONS TO FR. STEPHANO GOBBI https://motherofgodlibrary.org/2023/03/20/
- MODESTY, PROPER DRESS, AND COVERING THE HEAD IN PRAYER IN CHURCH; WHAT THE FATHER’S OF THE CHURCH TAUGHT https://motherofgodlibrary.org/2020/04/08/