Chairman's Blog

Holy Communion at the LMS Oxford Pilgrimage, at the Oxford Blackfriars (Dominican Rite)

This weekend I have had a letter (the same one) published in The Catholic Herald, The Tablet, The Catholic Universe, and The Catholic Times.

I am very grateful to the Editors of our UK Catholic national weeklies for publishing it, and in this way making it possible for the Latin Mass Society to get our vi

ew out to the widest possible public.

As well as publishing our own 'statement' online and through social media, we have written on related matters to all our priest supporters, and to the Bishop Chairman of the Bishops' Conference Committee on Worship (Bishop Alan Hopes of East Anglia), who is our regular liaison with the Conference.

The current situation is a reminder of the utility of an organisation such as the Latin Mass Society which has the recognition and standing, and the resources and contacts, to do something like this when the need arises.

Here it is. (It has been edited slightly in different ways in the different papers; this is the ur-text.)

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Sir,

In light of the news of the continuing Corona virus epidemic and measures responding to that from bishops around the country, I would like to note the following.

At celebrations of the Extraordinary Form (the Traditional Mass) it is not permitted to distribute the Host in the hand. Should the suspension of distribution on the tongue be necessary for the safety of the public, there would be no Communion of the Faithful at celebrations of the Extraordinary Form.

This is not a matter of legalism. The Extraordinary Form places great emphasis to the reverence due to the Blessed Sacrament in all its ceremonies and texts, and reception in the hand in this context would be not just incongruous but a cause of distress to the Faithful. The overwhelming majority of Catholics attached to the ancient Mass would rather make an Act of Spiritual Communion.

There seems, however, to be no objective medical foundation for the claim that reception in the hand is safer than reception on the tongue. The office of Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, notes, following consultation with medical specialists, that in terms of the danger of passing on infection from one Communicant to another by the Minister inadvertently touching them in turn, ‘done properly the reception of Holy Communion on the tongue or in the hand pose a more or less equal risk.’

There is also the danger of each Communicant infecting his own Host from his own hands, which is entirely avoided by the method of receiving on the tongue.

Yours faithfully,

Joseph Shaw
Chairman, Latin Mass Society

This is a Google-translate (slightly improved) version of an article from Aciprensa. The medical experts consulted by Archbishop Eguren of Piura, Peru, agree with those consulted by Archbishop Sample of Portland, Oregon.

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Based on the advice of world experts in immunology, José Antonio Eguren, Archbishop of Piura (Peru), will allow Communion to be received in the mouth during the COVID-19 Coronavirus epidemic, and called not to close the churches or yield to the "virus of fear."

In a statement published on March 7, Mons. Eguren announced measures to "contribute to this evil not spreading among us."

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Piura said that “Holy Communion can continue to be received in the usual way at the choice of the faithful Christian, that is, either in the mouth or in the hand, since world experts in immunology point out that the risk of contagion, between to give communion in the mouth or in the hand is the same ”.

"Ordinary and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are asked to avoid the risk of touching the mouth or hands of communicants, and that the faithful be instructed on how to receive Communion properly in each of these cases," he said.

Bishop Eguren also asked “ordinary and extraordinary ministers of holy communion should wash their hands carefully before and after the distribution of it.”

“Washing should include the front and back of the hands and the area between the fingers. For this, it is advisable to use alcohol gel, which should be available in all the sacristies of the churches of Piura and Tumbes, ”he said.

The Peruvian Archbishop also indicated that at the time of giving peace during Mass “instead of shaking hands or giving a hug, another kind of greeting and fraternity gesture can be made, such as a nod, and this give it only to the person we have on each of our sides, avoiding displacements to exchange peace. ”

"The stoups of holy water of the churches should be kept empty," he said, but said that "this does not mean to stop blessing the water that the Faithful customarily bring to Mass for blessing."

Bishop Eguren then encouraged the faithful that "in our daily lives we follow the measures and instructions that are issued by the health authorities, and we invoke to keep calm and trust in God."

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Piura recalled that “churches are places of salvation and healing where we welcome who life itself is: Jesus Christ, our Lord,” and recalled that “throughout history when great plagues struck humanity, churches remained open and the Christians kept helping the sick. ”

Churches, he stressed, “are spaces where faith is strengthened, hope is renewed and grows, and charity is revived. They are also places of fraternal encounter where trust is strengthened and peace is revived.”

“That is why it is important to keep them always open, because along with this world virus, another as dangerous as the 'virus of fear' has emerged, and it is overcome above all in shared prayer, which reaches its maximum expression in the Sacred Liturgy, ”he said.

STATEMENT ON COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) AND THE RECEPTION OF HOLY COMMUNION AT CELEBRATIONS OF THE MASS ACCORDING TO THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM,

On Thursday 20th the first public Traditional Mass was sung in the chapel of Campion Hall, Oxford.

Campion Hall is the Jesuit house of studies, a Permanent Private Hall, in the University of Oxford. The building, including the fine chapel, was designed by Lutyens.

Mass was celebrated by Fr Joseph Hamilon, an American priest doing studies in Oxford and a regular celebrant of the Traditional Mass at the Oxford Oratory.

Fr Joseph Simmons SJ preached.

The Mass was organised by the Newman Society - Oxford's student Catholic society.

The Mass was accompanied with chant and polyphony by a group led by Dominic Bevan. It was a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit.