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| Bishop Speaks | ||||
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| September 12, 2002 Edition | ||||
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As we embrace the first anniversary of September 11th we recall, through television and press, the horror of the terrorist attack on our country.
We record it as a day much like December 7th, 1941, when the Japanese, in a surprise attack, bombed Pearl Harbor and our President, Franklin Roosevelt, called it, "A date which will live in infamy."
"With firm faith, with a genuine reliance on the promises of God, and with love of God and our brothers and sisters above all things, we can model a world of peace for all." |
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One year later, as the graphic details of the Trade Center bombings parade themselves before our very eyes, we recall once again the phrase, "We will never be the same again."
Its full meaning has many facets. It refers to a new alert in our defense systems, the tracking of terrorists, and an internal resolve to fight back with what is best in American life - our freedom-loving hearts.
Terrorism causes us to tremble
We want an end to terrorism. We want peace for ourselves and all nations of the world. Terrorism topples not only our buildings and a good and growing economy, it creates uneasiness, suspicion, and uncertainty in our personal, family, and work life.
We have learned there are no easy answers. We have discovered, the hard way, that not only do we have this terrible moment in history to recall, we continue to live day-by-day wondering what next . . . and when and where.
The resiliency of people, the heroic caring of others in time of tragedy and sorrow, brings new signs of hope for our country. "9-11," as it is popularly called, made us vulnerable and causes us to reflect deeply on what we value most in life and how we must protect our values.
In what way or ways are we not the same one year later? Are we becoming more caring and sharing? Are we more prayerful and participative in good moral ways? Are we truly seeking ways in which to end terrorism or deal with it constructively in our lives at home and at work?
Like you, I have a better hold on the questions than the answers. However, I offer a simple reflection for you on this first anniversary as we continue to dig out of the rubble and ruin that came upon New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, and indeed an attack on the free world.
What do you believe in, hope for, and love?
Three factors in our Catholic-Christian life guide our thinking, acting, and doing. The first is our faith - what we truly believe in, what we are intellectually convinced about as given to us by God and can be adhered to with firm faith. The second is our hope - what we truly rely on in the infinite promises of God. The third is love - what we truly love above all things.
What we truly believe in as absolute and unchanging values drives us day by day. What we practice, rely on truly, forms us in our choices, in establishing our priorities. What we love above all things motivates us, declares for all the world to see who we are, what we are, and why.
We abhor violence in all its forms - abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, war, racial hatred, nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, terrorism - and we consistently respect and promote the dignity of human life from its beginning in the mother's womb until natural death.
With firm faith, with a genuine reliance on the promises of God, and with love of God and our brothers and sisters above all things, we can model a world of peace for all.
Living these qualities of life can and will end terrorism. God bless America and God bless the Church.
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Requirements for Communion
under both species
MADISON -- Bishop William H. Bullock has written to pastors, administrators, and parochial vicars of parishes in the Diocese of Madison reminding them of the church requirements regarding offering Communion under both species during Mass.
The letter was the second in a series concerning normative practices in liturgical celebrations in the Diocese of Madison.
"Under girding this letter is the fact that offering Holy Communion under both species is normative," said Bullock.
Regarding wine
Bullock pointed out that, according to Paragraph 284 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and Canon 924 of the Code of Canon Law, the wine for use at Mass must be pure grape wine without additives. Any foreign substances in the wine such as flavoring or herbs, or wines made from other substances, are not acceptable.
The presence of sulfates in the wine is acceptable, however, because they are a preservative used throughout the industry. Grape juice or wine coolers are not to be used, he said.
Special provisions
"I also want to be sensitive to the special provisions for those who are recovering alcoholics," said Bullock. "With the permission of the ordinary after presentation of a medical certificate, priests recovering from alcoholism or other conditions which medically prevent the ingestion of even the smallest quantity of alcohol may consecrate mustum instead of wine for themselves."
He explained that mustum is the unfermented juice of mature grapes, and it is 100 percent pure. It is not "off-the-shelf" grape juice.
Bullock said that, according to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the presider is the only one who may consume mustum - it may not be offered to deacons or laypersons.
"A separate cup of wine is to be consecrated for others present," he said. "Mustum is not available in grocery stores; to procure mustum, you may contact the religious supply stores such as Stempers and others."
Those who have received permission to use mustum are prohibited from presiding at concelebrated Masses.
"But with prior approval of your ordinary, you may preside at a celebration of your anniversary of priestly ordination or similar circumstances," said Bullock. "In those cases, you as presider are to communicate under the species of bread and mustum, while the concelebrants are to communicate under the species of bread and wine."
Care of Precious Blood
Bullock also addressed the proper care of the Precious Blood. "Over the centuries, the reverence we Catholics give to the Precious Blood has unfortunately slipped to a secondary status compared to the reverence we give the Precious Body," he said.
The Precious Blood must be consumed and may not be poured down the sacrarium, as stated in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' recent document, "Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion Under Both Kinds in the Dioceses of the United States of America."
That applies to all dioceses of the United States, said Bullock.
To minimize the amount left over after Mass requires a careful estimate prior to the start of Mass, he said.
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