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Philip's avatar

"And we’re looking at just how to cover the liturgical controversy which emerged during World Youth Day — namely, the overnight reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in large plastic tubs ahead of the final Mass, a move which has generated a lot of discussion about reverence and the reservation of the Eucharist."

Thank you for this JD! To me, it's not so much the need to use reserved hosts that had been consecrated prior to the mass or the use of strategically placed Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion that bothered me, but the plastic bowls covered by cling wrap. The GIRM Chapter VI 327-329 seems to explicitly call out this out as a violation. Maybe this only is a concern in the US and not worldwide. I'm not a cannon lawyer and so this is my concern as an untrained layman.

The question then becomes:

Why does the GIRM call for sacred vessels to be made from precious metal or other precious materials? Was the choice of a Costco-level plastic bowl in keeping with that reasoning?

It was a valid mass that, I believe, was immensely spiritually beneficial for all those in attendance and following WYD. All non-divine humans (barring our Blessed Mother herself) are fallen and thus, fallible and capable of making errors in judgement. I am certain that this choice was an error in judgement rather than a malicious action. This incident makes an interesting juxtaposition between Pope Francis lamenting the loss of reverence of the Eucharist and the adoration of it, and the choice of sacred vessels for a massively attended mass broadcast throughout the world that, effectively, undercut the projection of their sacred contents.

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Daniel Quick's avatar

Excellent analysis of so many pertinent events occurring worldwide 🌐

Congratulations to Sister Mercy's final vows was a beautiful picture, and congratulations on Google News using the Pillar reporter's report from WYD today in their app, hopefully they'll start using more of your trustworthy journalism 😀 😊

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