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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

True Devotion to Jesus

Guest Author · October 29, 2014

EGARDLESS OF WHAT Catholics may disagree about, it is undisputed that we should be devoted to Jesus. In fact, we can even claim that devotion to Jesus should be our only concern. This isn’t to say that we can’t also be devoted to the Blessed Virgin, Bible reading, or the poor among us. However, asking for the prayers of people much holier than we are, learning more about Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the New Testament, or serving those less fortunate are not ends in themselves; they are various means of being devoted to Jesus.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, so any Catholic who engages in a moment of reflection would want to avoid any situation that would bring about irreverence to Him, and, on the positive side, go out of his way to be as dedicated to Jesus as possible. So, if you were told of a new way of dealing with Jesus that has inherent dangers, such as loss of reverence for Him or distortion of His very identity, you would immediately reject that way of dealing with him, right?

Well, in that case, we should all refuse to take Holy Communion in the hand. The Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is Jesus Himself, so the way we receive this Sacrament is the way we receive Jesus Himself. Further, Blessed Pope Paul VI stated in Memoriale Domini that the new practice of laypeople taking Jesus in their hands carries certain dangers, such as loss of reverence and adulteration of correct doctrine.

One of the major obstacles preventing many people from seeing this is that taking Communion in the hand has been presented to them as the norm. They’ve grown up at the mercy (or, more accurately, the mercilessness) of catechists whose cacophonous coaching has resulted in a general lack of respect for the Church and Her Founder, Jesus Christ. Where reverence once ruled, casualness holds sway. Everyone can now take Jesus in their un-anointed hands and give Him to themselves, perhaps dropping some particles of the Sacred Host to the floor along the way.

This is no exaggeration. In fact, it’s a mild rendering of what takes place. Communion in the hand is a practice that facilitates sacrilege like no other, because it places God Incarnate under the unrestricted whim of any person who wishes to present himself for the Most Holy Sacrament. Stealing hosts is very easy with Communion in the hand, a fact which should motivate any faithful Catholic to reject the practice—especially in light of the recent sacrilege stories at Harvard University and in Oklahoma City.

While Paul VI warned about the dangers of Communion in the hand, he also praised the practice of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue “not merely because it has many centuries of tradition behind it, but especially because it expresses the faithful’s reverence for the Eucharist.” He explained that receiving Holy Communion on the tongue “does not detract in any way from the personal dignity of those who approach this great sacrament: it is part of that preparation that is needed for the most fruitful reception of the Body of the Lord.”

For whatever reasons, most of us seem to find it easy to remember that “whatever we do to the least of these” (see Matthew 25) we also do to Jesus, but we overlook what should be obvious without any explicit declaration—namely, that whatever we do to Jesus, we do to Jesus. In other words, the way we receive Holy Communion is the way we deal with Jesus directly—the same Jesus who will be our judge after death. Will our judge have any legitimate complaints against us regarding the way we have received Him? If so, isn’t it time to repent and change our casual or outright irreverent ways so that we become truly devoted to Jesus?

We have two basic ways to receive Jesus sacramentally, one of which is praised by a beatified pope, the other warned against by him. One is promoted, the other merely allowed, and that allowance is valid only under certain conditions. (See the Memoriale Domini link above for the conditions.) Which of the two practices will be chosen by the person who wants to show the greatest reverence? In answering this question, be sure to remember Rule Number 1 of true devotion to Jesus: whatever we do to Jesus, we do to Jesus.


We hope you enjoyed this guest post by Trent Beattie.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: On the Manner of Distributing Holy Communion, Pope Paul VI Communion In The Hand Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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President’s Corner

    PDF Comparison Chart • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”
    EARS BEFORE truly revolutionary changes were introduced by the post-conciliar reformers, Evelyn Waugh wrote (on 16 August 1964) to John Cardinal Heenan: “I think that a vociferous minority has imposed itself on the hierarchy and made them believe that a popular demand existed where there was in fact not even a preference.” We ask the kind reader— indeed, we beg you—to realize that those of us born in the 1940s and 1950s had no cognizance of Roman activities during the 1960s and 1970s. We were concerned with making sure we had the day’s bus fare, graduating from high school, taking care of our siblings, learning a trade, getting a job, courting a spouse. We questioned neither the nuns nor the Church.1 Do not believe for one instant any of us were following the liturgical machinations of Cardinal Lercaro or Father Bugnini in real time. Setting The Stage • To never question or resist Church authorities is praiseworthy. On the other hand, when a scandalous situation persists for decades, it must be brought into focus. Our series will do precisely that as we discuss the Lectionary Scandal from a variety of angles. We don’t do this to attack the Catholic Church. Our goal is bringing to light what’s been going on, so it can be fixed once and for all. Our subject is extremely knotty and difficult to navigate. Its complexity helps explain why the situation has persisted for such a long time.2 But if we immediately get “into the weeds” we’ll lose our audience. Therefore, it seems better to jump right in. So today, we’ll explore the legality of selling these texts. A Word On Copyright • Suppose Susie modifies a paragraph by Edgar Allan Poe. That doesn’t mean ipso facto she can assert copyright on it. If Susie takes a picture of a Corvette and uses Photoshop to color the tires blue, that doesn’t mean she henceforth “owns” all Corvettes in America. But when it comes to Responsorial Psalm translations, certain parties have been asserting copyright over them, selling them for a profit, and bullying publishers vis-à-vis hymnals and missals. Increasingly, Catholics are asking whether these translations are truly under copyright—because they are identical (or substantially identical) to other translations.3 Example After Example • Our series will provide copious examples supporting our claims. Sometimes we’ll rely on the readership for assistance, because—as we’ve stressed—our subject’s history couldn’t be more convoluted. There are countless manuscripts (in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin) we don’t have access to, so it would be foolish for us to claim that our observations are somehow the ‘final word’ on anything. Nevertheless, we demand accountability. Catholics in the pews are the ones who paid for all this. We demand to know who specifically made these decisions (which impact every English-speaking Catholic) and why specifically certain decisions were made. The Responsorial Psalms used in America are—broadly speaking—stolen from the hard work of others. In particular, they borrowed heavily from Father Cuthbert Lattey’s 1939 PSALTER TRANSLATION:
    *  PDF Download • COMPARISON CHART —We thank the CCW staff for technical assistance with this graph.
    Analysis • Although certain parties have been selling (!!!) that translation for decades, the chart demonstrates it’s not a candidate for copyright since it “borrows” or “steals” or “rearranges” so much material from other translations, especially the 1939 translation by Father Cuthbert Lattey. What this means in layman’s terms is that individuals have been selling a translation under false pretenses, a translation they don’t own (although they claim to). To make RESTITUTION, all that money will have to be returned. A few years ago, the head of ICEL gave a public speech in which he said they give some of “their” profits to the poor. While almsgiving is a good thing, it cannot justify theft. Our Constant Theme • Our series will be held together by one thread, which will be repeated constantly: “Who was responsible?” Since 1970, the conduct of those who made a profit by selling these sacred texts has been repugnant. Favoritism was shown toward certain entities—and we will document that with written proof. It is absolutely essential going forward that the faithful be told who is making these decisions. Moreover, vague justifications can no longer be accepted. If we’re told they are “making the translations better,” we must demand to know what specifically they’re doing and what specific criteria they’re following. Stay Tuned • If you’re wondering whether we’ll address the forthcoming (allegedly) Lectionary and the so-called ABBEY PSALMS AND CANTICLES, have no fear. We’ll have much to say about both. Please stay tuned. We believe this will end up being the longest series of articles ever submitted to Corpus Christi Watershed. To be continued. ROBERT O’NEILL Former associate of Monsignor Francis “Frank” P. Schmitt at Boys Town in Nebraska JAMES ARNOLD Formerly associated w/ King’s College, Cambridge A convert to the Catholic Church, and distant relative of J. H. Arnold MARIA B. Currently serves as a musician in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. Those aware of the situation in her diocese won’t be surprised she chose to withhold her last name.
    1 Even if we’d been able to obtain Roman journals such as NOTITIAE, none of them contained English translations. But such an idea would never have occurred to a high school student or a college student growing up in the 1960s. 2 A number of shell corporations claim to own the various biblical translations mandated for Roman Catholics. They’ve made millions of dollars selling (!) these indulgenced texts. If time permits, we hope to enumerate these various shell corporations and explain: which texts they claim to own; how much they bring in each year; who runs them; and so forth. It would also be good to explore the morality of selling these indulgenced texts for a profit. Furthermore, for the last fifty years these organizations have employed several tactics to manipulate and bully others. If time permits, we will expose those tactics (including written examples). Some of us—who have been working on this problem for three decades—have amassed written documentation we’ll be sharing that demonstrates behavior at best “shady” and at worst criminal. 3 Again, we are not yet examining the morality of selling (!) indulgenced texts to Catholics mandated to use those same translations.
    —Guest Author
    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“The only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments: namely, the _saints_ the Church has produced and the _art_ which has grown in her womb.”

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (Interview, 1985)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Comparison Chart • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”
  • “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Flor Peeters In A Weird Mood?
  • Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
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