#kneelforJesus

Looks like we’re getting our eucharistic revival, just not quite the way the Church envisioned…

There’s a video making the rounds on Twitter that’s gone viral in Catholic circles. It shows a middle-aged couple amidst the crowd of mourners at Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral in Rome. Priests in white robes shielded by yellow-and-white umbrellas give out Holy Communion to believers—all standing and in the hand.

As the man walks up to one of the priests and kneels down to receive the Blessed Sacrament on the tongue, he is clearly rejected by the priest, who, as far as I can tell, looks disgusted by the request. The man gets up and walks away, his wife trailing behind him.

Catholic Sat @CatholicSat

A member of the faithful is denied Holy Communion at the Funeral of Pope Benedict XVI because he wanted to receive Our Blessed Lord in the traditional manner, as was often advocated by Benedict himself; on the tongue and kneeling.

This video has gone viral on Twitter and other social media platforms, and the faithful are outraged.

“Holy Communion” and “Eucharist” have been trending on Twitter for days. One of the Twitter rad trads started the hashtag #kneelforJesus, saying we should all insist on receiving the Holy Eucharist kneeling and on the tongue and, if necessary, stay in that position until someone gives it to us or until the Mass is over.

Looks like we’re getting our long-awaited eucharistic revival after all—just not quite the way the Church intended. Which tells me that God is working His own little miracle, using His beloved pope’s funeral to drive His point home.

I have to make a confession. In the last month or two, I’ve noticed that I almost always arrive late to morning Mass. Just a few minutes; in fact, just late enough to miss the Prayer for Eucharistic Revival, which is now prescribed (by the USCCB?) to be recited at the beginning of every Mass.

It goes like this:

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I beg pardon for those who do not believe, nor adore, nor hope, nor love You.

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended. And, through the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of sinners.

For some reason, I really hate saying it, hate it with such a passion that it makes me feel sick to my stomach. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out what caused this aversion, so I prayed about it… and here’s what I realized.

It makes me feel like a hypocrite.

It makes me feel like the Pharisee in this parable:

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 18:10–14)

Let me paraphrase what, in my view, the Prayer for Eucharistic Revival says: “Lord, I believe in you, I adore you, I trust you, and all that other good stuff, but unfortunately, there are those OTHER people who don’t.”

Then, adding another level of virtue signaling, I say, “…and I beg you to please, please forgive those terrible sinners who are not at all like me.”

Supposedly, this prayer was given to the people by Our Lady of Fatima. I can hardly believe that, but if it’s true, I wonder if she intended it to be said by people like me.

People who dutifully fast for an hour before receiving Our Lord but slurp down coffee and donuts five minutes after receiving Him. People who sometimes “wake up” from their inner monologue in the middle of Mass and realize they don’t remember one word that’s been said. People who worship God at church, but then forget all about Him during their busy workdays. People who have forgotten how and why to properly receive Our Lord, and churches that have removed the altar rails to make it more difficult for people to receive Him the proper way.

Here is Bishop Athanasius Schneider, one of my heroes, clearly explaining the consequences of the practice of receiving Holy Communion in the hand:

“The angels in Heaven are prostrating themselves in front of Our Lord. We’re not. Why not?”

—Bishop Athanasius Schneider

Is it really such a surprise that 69% of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence if we’re told…

…that it’s okay to remain standing when we’re coming face to face with Jesus?

…that it’s okay to touch the Second Person of the Holy Trinity with our bare hands and wipe off the tiny crumbs—each of which contains the whole Body of Our Lord—on our pants and then trample all over Him?

…that it’s “our right as Catholics” to receive Holy Communion even if we’re not in a state of grace?

…that it’s no big deal when we drop Him on the floor or give evildoers an easy way to abduct and torture Him?

Yes, believe it or not, witches and satanists want nothing more than to get their hands on consecrated hosts because THEY know it’s the real Body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is not new either. In July 2004, the Catholic News Agency reported:

Fr. Aldo Buonaiuto, director of an “emergency help line” that assists young people wanting to get out of satanic cults, expressed alarm this week at the growth of Satanism, which has created a “market” for consecrated hosts in Italy. […]

According to Fr. Buonaiuto, “A true ‘market’ for consecrated hosts exists. They sell for 80–500 euros, depending on the size of the host, the prominence of the church from which they were stolen, and who consecrated them. […]

“The highest price is placed on those that are consecrated in the churches of Rome, above all those closest to the Vatican. They are stolen in two ways: from the tabernacle, but also at the time of Holy Communion.”

What’s more, people deeply steeped in the occult, as well as the demon-possessed, can actually tell a consecrated from an unconsecrated host.

Apparently, demons, witches, and Satanists believe in the Real Presence while most Catholics—and even some priests!—don’t.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Check out this video of a priest crying over the “absolute heartbreak” we habitually cause Jesus, the divine person we profess to love more than anything in the world:

How often are you crying over this?

Here’s what I think an HONEST Prayer for Eucharistic Revival would look like:

My God, I profess with my lips to believe in you, to adore, and to love You, but I keep falling short of that in my actions. I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present right here in front of me, in reparation for the indifference, neglect, and utter disrespect I show Him every day and with which I offend Him and hurt Him so deeply.

Through the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg You to forgive me and help me to love and worship You the way You deserve to be loved and worshiped. Amen.

I don’t know about you, but to me, that seems like a really good place to start.