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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Reverance for the Eucharistic	ann	Thursday, October 4, 2012
Question: Brother i have attended a prayer meeting in a house that is used for prayer only. Only i am finding that there is very little reverance before the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. There is an hour of personal prayer followed by a rosary and chaplet of Divine Mercy. Then people offer up requests. I have found in the offering up of prayers that it goes into a lot of talking before Exposition, I believe the hour spent should be for personal praise, reparation, thanks and requests. Then a priest often arives to do a Mass. But the Mass creed or the confeitior is not prayed. I have mentioned this to a leader and was told because we have prayed the creed in the rosary that no need for priest to do it. Also in the quite hour before the Blessed Sacrament some will start reading aloud from Scripture or have a word believing to be from the Holy Spirit. I have started to leave after the chaplet is over to avoid listening to conversations goin on, that stem from the prayer offerings. I have said to prayer leader that all that should not be goin on before Blessed Sacrament. But was told its Jesus with us. Should i continue to go or not. Or is it alrite to stay and leave when the chaplet over. I would appreciate your advice. Thanking you.
Question Answered by Dear Ann: If I am understanding you correctly, you are talking about events that take place before the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. The period before the Exposition, when no liturgy is offered, is not regulated. Even during the Exposition itself prayers, songs, and readings are permitted, but "should be arranged so as to direct the attention of the faithful to the worship of Christ the Lord. To encourage a prayerful spirit, there should be readings from the Scriptures with a homily or brief exhortations to develop a better understanding of the Eucharistic mystery" (Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, number 95). The activity before the Exposition that you describe—"There is an hour of personal prayer followed by a rosary and chaplet of Divine Mercy. Then people offer up requests."—is perfectly okay as preparation for Exposition. I would say that this period should not be chit-chat. Presenting prayer intentions does not require conversation, but technically this period before the actual Exposition is not regulated, but proper reverence is to be expressed whenever in the presence of the Eucharist reserved in the Tabernacle. You state that the Exposition is in a house. The Eucharist may not be reserved outside of a Church—such as in a house or private chapel—without the bishops permission. That permission requires that measures be in place to guard against an irreverence at the place. The room in which the Eucharist is reserved in the Tabernacle should be a place of reference. Chit-chat and conversation and the like violates of the reverence due to our Lord in the Eucharist. This reverence is to be 24 hours a day. Sometimes before or after Mass the Nave sounds like a football stadium with everyone chatting away. This is grossly inappropriate. The Nave of the Church (where the pews are located), or anywhere else the Eucharist is reserved, is to be a place held in reverence at all times. As for Mass, the Creed is only required to be said during Sunday and solemnity Masses. To omit the Creed because it was said during a rosary before the Mass is nonsense, and it would be illegal to do that when the Creed is required by liturgical law. I think your leader is confused. In terms of changing the order or rubrics of the Mass, no priest has authority to do that The Mass is regulated from beginning to end and must be said according to the Sacramentary and the General Instructions to the Roman Missal (GIRM) without any modifications. The rosary recited before a Mass has absolutely no effect upon what is said or not said during the Mass. As for the Charismatic expression of giving "word believing to be from the Holy Spirit", that is nonsense and the idea of it comes from the Pentecostals and not the Catholic Church (See Charisms Gifts Uplifting the Church for detailed information about the Charismatic Renewal). It does not matter whether or not you participate in these pre-Exposition activities. Thus, you can leave when you please, and come back when you please. Or avoid the whole pre-Exposition time altogether and just come to the Exposition itself. It is your choice. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Reverance for the Eucharistic

ann

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Question:

Brother i have attended a prayer meeting in a house that is used for prayer only. Only i am finding that there is very little reverance before the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

There is an hour of personal prayer followed by a rosary and chaplet of Divine Mercy. Then people offer up requests. I have found in the offering up of prayers that it goes into a lot of talking before Exposition, I believe the hour spent should be for personal praise, reparation, thanks and requests.

Then a priest often arives to do a Mass. But the Mass creed or the confeitior is not prayed. I have mentioned this to a leader and was told because we have prayed the creed in the rosary that no need for priest to do it.

Also in the quite hour before the Blessed Sacrament some will start reading aloud from Scripture or have a word believing to be from the Holy Spirit. I have started to leave after the chaplet is over to avoid listening to conversations goin on, that stem from the prayer offerings. I have said to prayer leader that all that should not be goin on before Blessed Sacrament. But was told its Jesus with us.

Should i continue to go or not. Or is it alrite to stay and leave when the chaplet over. I would appreciate your advice. Thanking you.

Question Answered by

Dear Ann:

If I am understanding you correctly, you are talking about events that take place before the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. The period before the Exposition, when no liturgy is offered, is not regulated.

Even during the Exposition itself prayers, songs, and readings are permitted, but "should be arranged so as to direct the attention of the faithful to the worship of Christ the Lord. To encourage a prayerful spirit, there should be readings from the Scriptures with a homily or brief exhortations to develop a better understanding of the Eucharistic mystery" (Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, number 95).

The activity before the Exposition that you describe—"There is an hour of personal prayer followed by a rosary and chaplet of Divine Mercy. Then people offer up requests."—is perfectly okay as preparation for Exposition. I would say that this period should not be chit-chat. Presenting prayer intentions does not require conversation, but technically this period before the actual Exposition is not regulated, but proper reverence is to be expressed whenever in the presence of the Eucharist reserved in the Tabernacle.

You state that the Exposition is in a house. The Eucharist may not be reserved outside of a Church—such as in a house or private chapel—without the bishops permission. That permission requires that measures be in place to guard against an irreverence at the place.

The room in which the Eucharist is reserved in the Tabernacle should be a place of reference. Chit-chat and conversation and the like violates of the reverence due to our Lord in the Eucharist. This reverence is to be 24 hours a day. Sometimes before or after Mass the Nave sounds like a football stadium with everyone chatting away. This is grossly inappropriate. The Nave of the Church (where the pews are located), or anywhere else the Eucharist is reserved, is to be a place held in reverence at all times.

As for Mass, the Creed is only required to be said during Sunday and solemnity Masses. To omit the Creed because it was said during a rosary before the Mass is nonsense, and it would be illegal to do that when the Creed is required by liturgical law. I think your leader is confused.

In terms of changing the order or rubrics of the Mass, no priest has authority to do that The Mass is regulated from beginning to end and must be said according to the Sacramentary and the General Instructions to the Roman Missal (GIRM) without any modifications.

The rosary recited before a Mass has absolutely no effect upon what is said or not said during the Mass.

As for the Charismatic expression of giving "word believing to be from the Holy Spirit", that is nonsense and the idea of it comes from the Pentecostals and not the Catholic Church (See Charisms Gifts Uplifting the Church for detailed information about the Charismatic Renewal).

It does not matter whether or not you participate in these pre-Exposition activities. Thus, you can leave when you please, and come back when you please. Or avoid the whole pre-Exposition time altogether and just come to the Exposition itself. It is your choice.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary