'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH'

New Zealand Tablet, 7 August 1913, Page 3

'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH'

(A Weekly Instruction specially.: written for the N.Z. -,..'." Tablet by 'Ghimel'.) FREQUENT AND DAILY COMMUNION.— II. The second, and in many ways the important part of the Decree of Pius X., is disciplinary: it contains, apart from, some declarations;, a ; number ofregulations for the more effective carrying out of the Pope's wishes. . -.. . - ■ ' 1.-' Frequent and daily Communion, as a thing most earnestly desired by Christ our Lord, and by the Catholic Church, should be open to all the faithful, of whatever rank or condition of life so that no one who is in a state of grace, and who approaches the Holy Table with a right and devout intention, can lawfully be hindered therefrom./ In this very plain statement, the Pope makes it clear that frequent and even daily Communion is a right possessed by every member of the Church, no matter what his or her state or condition of life may be, provided always that he or she is in the state of grace and approaches the Holy Table with a right and pious intention: if these two conditions are verified, everyone of the faithful has as much right to receive Holy Communion daily as he has to be present at Mass daily. II. — .right intention consists in this: that he who approaches the Holy Table should do so, not out of routine or vainglory or human respect, but for the purpose of pleasing God, of being more closely united with Him by charity, and of seeking this divine remedy for his weaknesses and defects'." Two conditions only twoare laid down as essential for the frequent and daily use of Holy Communion; other dispositions of soul, as we shall see, are strongly recommended, but these two are sufficient. They are (a) A State of Grace. St. Paul gave this rule: ' Let a man prove himself, and so let him- eat of that Bread' (1 Cor. xi., 28), and the Council of Trent has explained that this proving of oneself, or the making sure of the state of one's conscience before approaching the Holy Eucharist means a search for mortal sin, and when the search reveals the presence of mortal sin, a sacramental confession of that sin. It is freedom from mortal sin only that is insisted upon by the Council as a necessary condition for receiving daily; hence we may conclude with Bishop Hedley—and indeed with all Catholic theologians nowadays: 'lt is not necessary even for daily Communion that one should be free from venial sin, even such as is deliberate, or from affection thereto. This indeed were earnestly to be desired; but all that is necessary is freedom from mortal sin with a firm'purpose not to sin gravely any more.' And, as if to remove all doubt and difficulty in a matter that readily lends itself in many cases to scrupulosity, the Decree makes the following declaration: ' Although it is most expedient that those who communicate frequently or daily should be free from venial sins, especially from such as are fully deliberate, and from any affection thereto; nevertheless it is sufficient that they be free from mortal sin, with the purpose of never sinning mortally in future; and if they have this sincere purpose, it is impossible but that daily communicants should gradually emancipate themselves from even venial sins, and from all affection thereto ' (No. 3). (b) A Bight and Pious Intention. To illustrate the nature of this right motive, the Decree gives some samples of what is right and what is wrong. Good motives for receiving frequently would be ' the purpose of pleasing God, of being more closely united with Him by charity, and of seeking this divine remedy for his weaknesses and defects,' in brief, any motive of a genuine spiritual kind, such as zealous charity for the spiritual welfare of others or for the souls in purgatory, and so on. On the other hand, unworthy or sinful motives would be to receive ' out of routine or vainglory or human respect.' 'To communicate,', explains Father Zulueta, 'in order to gain repute for piety would be "a vain" motive. To communicate

merely because some one would laugh at mo-if I did not, would be a motive of “ human respect.” ' But we must distinguish between human respect and a reluctance to give disedification to others by abstaining, which would be virtuous. To communicate automatically simply because all the others rise from their places to approach the rails would be “ routine.” A Communion, however, is not one of “routine” because constant practice makes it a habit requiring little effort for that is a virtuous . habit : nor because our emotions and pious feelings are not stirred by a religious act which we perform so continually, and hence get accustomed to’ (The Spouse of Christ, p. 36). And here it may be well to explain that pious feelings are not everything in the spiritual life: they come and they go at God’s good pleasure. If He gives them to make our path heavenwards easy and pleasant for the time, we should be grateful if He withdraws them in order to harden our virtues with the freezing cold of temptation, difficulty, and discouragement, we can still, with His never-failing grace, do His will, and so remain pleasing in His sight. . *.