When our acts of Piousness become more important than our Love for our neighbour

Last week, I came across a video on YouTube of an American Bishop "denying" a man and his daughter communion on the tongue. What seems to have actually happened in the video (and I could be wrong), is that the man and his daughter approached the Altar, got down on their knees, and reverently stuck out their tongues to receive the Eucharist. The Bishop then tried to ask them to stick their hands out instead, given the fact that our world is currently in the midst of a pandemic. The instructions in that particular diocese is that Holy Communion is only to be received on the hand, at least for now. The man and his daughter refused to do so, and the Bishop then proceeded to give Communion to the rest of the congregation. The man and his daughter remained there, refusing to stick out their hands. 

As you might have expected, this video caused quite a stir. Many lay people from all over the world wrote in to express their aversion towards the Bishop for doing this. For most, they simply expressed how heartbreaking it was to see this and commended the duo for "taking one for the team". Others were not so charitable. Some Catholics commented that the Bishop a disgrace to the Church, and insinuated that he ought to tender his resignation as a member of the clergy. Some wrote that the Bishop was going to suffer in purgatory for denying communion to the poor little girl and her father. One man even wrote that this is the reason why he stopped attending the Norvus Ordo Mass, and that it's such a disgrace to see that heretics have taken over the Church. 

I know that this musing is likely going to unruffle the feathers of many. I want to assure you, dear reader, that like all my musings, this musing is not written with the intention to cause a stir or to offend anybody. I only write this with one objective in mind; to shed some light on another perspective. What I write today is based entirely on what I know, and I stand corrected if what I write in this blog is not in line with the teachings of Mother Church. 

The instructions of the Liturgy make it perfectly clear that we lay people have the option of receiving the Eucharist either by the tongue, or by the hand, if the local bishop so allows. It also states in Redemptionis Sacramentum that all who come forward to receive the Sacraments should seek to receive them in a reasonable manner, and be rightly disposed. 

As much as the instructions of the Church also make it perfectly clear that under normal circumstances, the Bishop would have no grounds to have "denied" communion to the man and his daughter, we need to put things into perspective, as we are not under normal circumstances. The world is currently facing one of the biggest pandemics in the course of history, and rules have been put in place for the safety of the people of God. Implementing such rules does not demonstrate a lack of faith in our God. In fact, us following the rules put in place for everyone's safety is doing what faith requires. Faith demands that above all else, we are to love the Lord, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. 

In my humble opinion (and I know I'm going to receive a huge backlash for writing this), but as much as it is truly commendable that the man and his daughter sought to give the Eucharist it's due reverence, I do question their motives for doing what they did. While I do feel that we should not judge their hearts, I think it is also questionable as to whether or not they sought to receive the Sacrament in a reasonable manner. The instructions from the diocese were clear with regard to the reception of Holy Communion during this time of pandemic. In most dioceses throughout the world, the current practice, at least for those who attend the Norvus Ordo Mass, is that Holy Communion should only be received by the Hand, and that Communion from the Chalice is to be suspended until further notice. These instructions were made in consultation with the GIRM. Why then was there a need to go against the rules put in place for everyone's safety? Were they claiming to know better? Was the man attempting to push an agenda? 

Furthermore, the entire congregation was happy to receive the Eucharist by the hand. Was there a need to be different? For a lot of us, we think that our hands are not worthy of touching the Eucharist because of the sinful nature of our hands. I actually think the tongue can do a lot more sin than the hand. Not that it's wrong to receive the Eucharist on the tongue. 

In a way, this episode has exposed quite a few things. For one, it has exposed how poorly we treat our pastors at times. The Bishop in this case, had to make a call, so as to prevent the spread of the virus. And this decision caused a great uproar from all over the world. Whatever our clergy do out of love for their flock, we laity will always have something nasty to say. And it's no different even here in Singapore. Some of us are very demanding towards our priests, and we get easily offended when they do not live up to our expectations. We send letters of complaints to the Bishop for the most trivial matters, and we wonder why some of our priests seem jaded and tired. This is very sad indeed. 

But more than that, this episode has also exposed the title of this musing; that for many of us Catholics, our acts of piousness seem to be more important to us than our love for our neighbour. Sure, it was truly commendable that a man and his young daughter sought to give due reverence to the Eucharist. Quite frankly, I feel that we sometimes do not give due reverence to the sacraments. However, if the Bishop had allowed the man and his daughter to receive Communion on the tongue, and this caused the virus to be passed, the people of God would have been subject to all the repercussions. Not to mention that the Churches in that diocese would likely have needed to close again, and the whole diocese would be deprived of the sacraments once again. 

Jesus himself asked his disciples to love one another as he has loved us. It seems like a simple message, but as this episode has exposed, we often fall short of living to his commandment. Jesus does not need us to receive him by the tongue. Jesus needs us to take the Eucharist, and to allow it to transform into a verb, not merely a noun. Jesus needs us to love our pastors, and to love our neighbour. This is far more important than our acts of piousness.