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Special Reprint
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A Letter From A Parish Priest
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Tuesday
June 24, 1997 |
Nota Bene:
On
Monday, November 28, 2011, Fr. Richard Simon made mention during his
broadcast of the "Go Ask Your Father" program on Relevant Radio of a
letter that he wrote in 1997 when he was pastor of St. Thomas of
Canterbury Roman Catholic Church in Chicago, Illinois about
moving the tabernacle back to its former place of greatest honor in the middle of the sanctuary.
FYI - about 29 minutes and 30 seconds into the program (click here for the program of November 28, 2011 -- or -- click here for the MP3 sound file), Fr. Simon answers an anonymous caller's question about placement of the tabernacle in a Catholic church. At about the 34 minute and 5 second mark, Fr. Simon makes mention about the 1997 article that he wrote for the St.
Thomas of Canterbury Sunday Bulletin that went spiral, being
reprinted more than a million times in newspapers, magazines and on the
Internet.
Unfortunately, if you do a search for "TWO LETTERS FROM A PARISH PRIEST" you will find some PDF files that are NOT exact copies of what Fr. Simon wrote.
Below is a true and correct copy of the text that Fr. Simon wrote on Tuesday, June 24, 1997 and published in the St. Thomas of Canterbury Sunday Bulletin on June 29, 1997.
A Letter From A Parish Priest
June 24, 1997
Dear Friends in the Lord,
I
was alarmed by a statistic I heard this weekend. Only 27 percent of
Catholics in the United States believe in the Real Presence. The
doctrine of the Real Presence is at the very heart of the Catholic
Faith. The doctrine of the Real Presence is the belief that Jesus is
really, physically, present in the form of bread and wine. This idea
draws together all the central teachings of the Christian faith. It is
the incarnation, the redemption, the resurrection, the unity of the
body of Christ, and the promise and foretaste of heaven. If we don't
believe in the Real Presence, we might as well close the church.
In
fact, we are facing a generation of young people who are largely lost
to the Church because we have not given them the precious gift that is
at the heart of Catholicism, that is the Real Presence of Jesus. Mass
has become simply a drama, a vehicle for whatever agenda is currently
popular. The church building is no longer a place of encounter with the
Lord but a sort of a social center - not a place of prayer, rather a
place of chatter.
In many churches, including our own, the
tabernacle was moved from the center of the Church to add emphasis to
the Mass and the presence of the Lord in the reception of Holy
Communion. The experiment, however, has failed. We have lost the sense
of the sacred that formerly was the hallmark of Catholic worship. The
behavior of many in the church is outrageous. When Mass is over it is
impossible to spend time in prayer. The noise level reaches the pitch
that one would expect at a sporting event.
The kiss of peace
seems like New Year's Eve. Christ is forgotten on the altar. You
may counter that He is present in the gathering of the Church, and
though this is true, it should not detract from the Lord present on the
Altar. If the Lord is truly recognized in the congregation, it should
serve to enhance the sacredness of the moment. This is simply not
happening. The sign of peace in most churches has all the sacredness of
an Elks convention. (No offense intended to the Elks.)
We
are teaching our children by what we do and the way we are behaving
that there is nothing special about that little white round thing, it's
just a piece of bread. Usually wedding photographers set up their
equipment right in front of the tabernacle and I have to ask them to
move. They have no idea what that little box is for.
Worse
still, I remember walking into church one afternoon to find some of the
men of the parish smoking and drinking beer directly in front of the
tabernacle as they worked on some "liturgical" project or other. After
Mass on Sunday the Church is littered with cigarette butts, gum,
wrappers, the refuse of snacks, broken toys brought to entertain unruly
children, and all manner of filth.
Therefore, I have decided to
restore the tabernacle to its former place in the middle of the
sanctuary and to begin a campaign of reeducation as to the sacredness
of worship and the meaning of the Real Presence. This means that I will
nag and nag until a sense of the sacred is restored. I will be
reminding you that a respectful quiet will have to be maintained in
church. Food and toys and socializing are welcome elsewhere, but the
church is a place for an encounter with the living God. It will not be
a popular policy, but this is unimportant.
If you object, please
tell me why. I will not begin this change until July. Let me know what
you think. I can hear one objection already. Where will the priest sit?
I will sit where the priest has traditionally sat over on the side of
the sanctuary. Here as in many churches the "presider's" chair was
placed where the tabernacle had been. I am sick of sitting on the
throne that should belong to my Lord.
The dethronement of the
Blessed Sacrament has resulted in the enthronement of the clergy, and I
for one am sick of it. The Mass has become priest-centered. The
celebrant is everything.
I am a sinner saved by grace as you
are and not the center of the Eucharist. Let me resume my rightful
place before the Lord rather than instead of the Lord. I am ordained to
the priesthood of Christ in the order of the presbyter, and as such I
do have a special and humbling role. I am elder brother in the Lord and
with you I seek to follow him and to worship.
Please, please let me return Christ to the center of our life together where he belongs. In the Lord.
Fr. Richard Simon
Special Reprint
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A Letter From A Parish Priest
aka
TWO LETTERS FROM A PARISH PRIEST
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Tuesday
June 24, 1997 |
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