Dear Parishioners and Friends of our parish,
I hope you are doing well! After a relatively calm summer, this week has seen the return of some of the busiest activities in our parish. It is a great joy to see that the catechists and children of our parish’s Religious Education Program are back to their regular schedule of classes. This year, we have a total of 217 students registered for Sacraments preparation and ongoing Catholic formation, representing the strongest program in the Deanery. Many other parish groups and ministries are resuming their normal activities as well, especially those in Spanish. Over all, there seems to be a lot of new and renewed energy at this point of the liturgical year.
As people also return to attend Sunday Mass in greater number, an odd thing has happened frequently and our liturgical ministers have asked that I bring it to everyone’s attention. It has to do with some people who come forward to receive Holy Communion, placing one hand upon the other correctly, but do not consume the Consecrated Host immediately. Instead, they walk away carrying the Host in one hand or, in a few instances, putting it in their pocket. Whenever this happens, the priest or Extraordinary minister of Holy Communion would have to stop right away and follow that person to ensure that the Host is consumed. Please know that as a general norm, communicants must consume the Body of Christ immediately upon reception while still standing in front of the priest or Eucharistic minister. Under no circumstance should a person bring the Consecrated Host away for another use.
To ensure the proper reception of Holy Communion and prevent any potential sacrilege to the Sacred Host, I am inviting everyone, especially our competent ushers, to keep watch. If you happen to notice that someone is walking away with the Host in his or her hand, please do not hesitate to tap the person on the shoulder and ask him or her to consume it immediately. If that person does not do so, please immediately notify one of the priests. Your active vigilance will help the priests to concentrate on the liturgical action without unnecessary distraction or worry.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. As a priest, I am always inspired by the reverence that the vast majority of our faithful show when they gather in church. Let us together witness to the ancient Christian truth lex orandi lex credendi, namely, how we pray really shows what we believe.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Msgr. Cuong M. Pham