Q: When a Communion service is celebrated
instead of a Mass, who is
allowed to preach? Deacons? Extraordinary
ministers of the Eucharist? Others? Do
the regulations vary from country to country?
Diocese to diocese?
A: In the Holy See’s 1994 instruction
Sunday Celebrations in the
Absence of a Priest, the section entitled
“Morning Prayer With Holy Communion”
explains: “When the leader is a
layperson who has not been delegated
to preach, the pastor may prepare a
homily to be read during the celebration.
In other cases, when a layperson
has been delegated to preach
by the bishop, he or she may give those
present a brief explanation of the biblical
text, so that they may understand
through faith the meaning of the celebration”
(#64).
The same direction is given in that
document’s sections “Evening Prayer
With Holy Communion” (#99) and
“Liturgy of the Word With Holy Communion”
(#134).
I consulted Karen Kane, director of
the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s worship
office, about this question. She
responded: “In the lay presiding course,
one of the liturgical formation programs
of our Worship Office, we instruct
participants taking the course
(male and female) that they should not
preach unless they have an advanced
degree in theology and authorization
by the pastor—or they may read a text
written by the pastor.
“Many well-meaning laypersons
would like to offer their own thoughts
about the readings, but often it is without
much theological or biblical training.
It seems that if we require deacons,
who have several years of schooling, to
have faculties in order to preach, the
least we should do is require some
theological training on the part of lay
leaders of prayer.”
According to the 1983 Code of Canon
Law, “Laypersons can be permitted to
preach in a church or oratory, if necessity
requires it in certain circumstances
or it seems advantageous in particular
cases, according to the prescripts of
the conference of bishops and without
prejudice to Canon 767, #1” (#766).
Canon 767 indicates that priests or deacons
are to give the homily during
Mass.
On November 14, 2001, the Latin
Church members of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops approved
complementary legislation for
Canon 766. Confirmed 13 days later by
the Congregation for Bishops, this
norm took effect on January 15, 2002
(www.usccb.org/norms/766.htm).
Reasons listed why a diocesan bishop
may authorize such preaching include “the absence or shortage of clergy, particular
language requirements, or the
demonstrated expertise or experience of
the lay faithful concerned.”
The legislation continues: “The lay
faithful who are to be admitted to
preach in a church or oratory must be
orthodox in faith, and well-qualified,
both by the witness of their lives as
Christians and by a preparation for
preaching appropriate to the circumstances.”
Ultimately, each bishop who heads a
diocese decides how this issue is handled
within that area. Because someone
who leads a Communion service acts in
the name of the whole Church, the
Church wants to ensure that those who
preach have been well prepared to offer
this service.
 Did God Take Him to Glory?
Q: Fifty years ago, my wife began hemorrhaging
from her pregnancy. Our
son, William, was born prematurely as a
result of her emergency C-section. When
he died the next day, we were devastated.
Because we were very poor and confused,
we did not know how to handle
this. Our family doctor suggested that we
have William cremated in order to save us
a lot of grief and expenses.
My question is: Did God take William to
glory, even though he never had a chance
to receive any of the sacraments of the
Church, not even Extreme Unction (as it
was called then)? This has troubled me
all my life.
A: Fifty years ago, this was one of
the most troubling situations
that parents and priests ever faced. The
death of a child is still a profound loss,
but it need not raise fears about the
child’s salvation.
The 1992 Catechism of the Catholic
Church teaches: “As regards children
who have died without Baptism, the
Church can only entrust them to the
mercy of God, as she does in her funeral
rites for them. Indeed, the great
mercy of God who desires that all men
should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness
toward children which caused him to
say: ‘Let the children come to me, do
not hinder them,’ allow us to hope
that there is a way of salvation for children
who have died without Baptism.
All the more urgent is the Church’s call
not to prevent little children coming to
Christ though the gift of holy Baptism”
(#1261).
I am very sorry that you did not hear
this affirmation 50 years ago. Although
the text cited above was written much
later, many pastors and theologians
then were already convinced of what
the Catechism now teaches.
For couples experiencing such a loss
today, most diocesan family life offices
can help them find support groups of
parents grieving a miscarriage or the
death of a child.
Q: In Genesis 22:1-19, we read the story of God’s command that
Abraham should sacrifice his son, Isaac. At the last moment, God
sends an angel to command that Abraham not kill Isaac but rather
sacrifice a ram caught in a bush nearby. Why did God test
Abraham in this extremely unloving way? I cannot believe that a
loving God would act this way.
A: Yes, this is a difficult passage to understand. The fact that it
troubles us, however, indicates how completely we have accepted its message:
God does not require human sacrifice. This is clearly a self-imposed
limit on God’s part; accepting such sacrifice would be contrary to God’s
nature.
Although we may consider that fact perfectly obvious, historians tell
us that some of Abraham’s pagan neighbors practiced child sacrifice. In
a world where belief in many gods was the norm, establishing belief in
a single God was not easy and involved many efforts to show that this
God is not like the pagan gods. This story is one of those efforts. You are
right: A loving God does not expect human sacrifice.
More About God and Hurricane Katrina
In our December 2005 issue,
I responded in this column to a reader
who asked if Hurricane Katrina was an
act of God. On March 20, 2006, Catholic
News Service posted an article by
Peter Finney, the editor of Clarion Herald,
the newspaper of the Archdiocese
of New Orleans.
Finney reported on the recent visit
to New Orleans of Father Raniero
Cantalamessa, O.F.M.Cap., preacher of
the papal household. Each Saturday
evening in Italy, Father Raniero broadcasts
a television program about the
next day’s readings at Mass. He was in
New Orleans to tape segments for the
Saturday before Palm Sunday and for
Holy Saturday.
One segment included a man and
his family cleaning up their house.
When Father Raniero asked what his
faith meant to him, the man took him
inside the house and pointed to the
crucifix.
The papal preacher said that it was “dangerous” and “erroneous” to consider
Hurricane Katrina as divine punishment,
as some people have asserted.
“Because we would say then,” he
continued, “that the poor people are
the most sinful people, because usually
they are the victims, which is, of
course, untrue.”
“A disaster like this is not a punishment
but a warning for everybody that
we should be vigilant and we should
not put all our trust in what can be
taken away in one day, if not by the
flood of water, then by the flood of
time. Time passes and will take everything.”
Some of his writings have been published
in English. See www.cantalamessa.org for more details.
'Pastoral Ears' Revisited
A reader has
pointed out that my November 2005
response to someone seeking “pastoral
ears” could have also mentioned the
Secular Franciscan Order, Dominican
Third Order, plus groups such as associates
of religious communities and
oblates for monasteries.
Thanks to all who responded to the ‘Gifts of the Magi’ requests (December
2005 issue) from Papua New Guinea,
South Africa and Nigeria for used books,
magazines and religious articles.
If you have a question for Father Pat, please submit it here.
Include your street address for personal replies enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, please. Some answer material must be
mailed since it is not available in digital form. You can still send questions to: Ask a Franciscan, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
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