Communion by Machine?!

Meet the communion host dispenser:

At St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Clark, N.J., parishioners no longer handle the communion wafers that they once transferred from one bowl to another at the start of Mass.

Instead, parishioners use a very untraditional looking contraption known as a communion host dispenser. They pull a trigger and wafers are deposited into a bowl for consecration during the Mass.

“There was a big concern about germs on the hands getting on stuff so we use the dispenser instead,” said the Rev. Dennis Cohan of the system put in place a couple of years ago.

A Christmas hepatitis scare at a Long Island church has church officials across the region once again examining health and hygiene issues. Basics like using hand sanitizer and refraining from shaking your neighbors’ hand or sipping from the communion cup if you are sick are being reinforced.

The Nassau County Department of Health announced on Monday that an individual diagnosed with the hepatitis A virus was involved with distributing communion at two Christmas Day services at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Massapequa Park.

The department didn’t identify the person who was infected, saying only that individuals who received communion at those Masses could have been exposed to the virus, which can be transmitted by consuming food or drink that has been handled by an infected person…

Though no secondary cases have been reported, health officials offered free vaccines at two clinics this week. Hundreds came to receive immune globulin, which is effective if taken within two weeks of exposure.

On Thursday Nassau County officials added two additional clinics to take place on Friday after determining that some of the potentially infected communion wafers from the 10:30 a.m. and noon Masses on Christmas Day could have been used at a later Mass that day, and several Masses the following day.

Though there has never been a reported case of hepatitis A transmission through a communion wafer, after consulting with state and federal health officials, the health department decided to recommend that anyone who attended those Masses receive the vaccine…

Sean Dolan, a spokesman for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, said the diocese wasn’t considering any changes to its communion protocol, but would likely issue guidelines to its members about safe hygiene practices during flu season…

Questions over germs have led to a small but growing industry of businesses targeting churches with their antigerm communion wares. Most such products aren’t compatible with Catholic practices and communion, and therefore are more often used by other denominations.

Tom Monk, vice president of Artistic Manufacturing, an Iowa-based communion supplies company, said interest in pillow packs—communion wafers with wine inside them—has been on the rise.

Mr. Monk said interest in the wafer dispensers has been greater overseas. Though the dispensers can’t be used by Catholics in distributing Mass, St. Agnes Church found a use for it because of the way parishioners were involved with handling wafers at the start of services…

It’s mechanical, impersonal, and unnecessary if proper procedures are followed (as I mentioned when news of the hepatitis A scare first broke). I mean, look at these things in action (this from a Lutheran service):

Terrible! This is not communion… anything but communion. 

HT:    The Deacon’s Bench

Weird

Far out indeed… Click on the image… and wow… (try moving the mouse around the image).

A kaleidoscope of colour!

Our Lady of Lourdes: Video, As You've Never Seen It

The Grotto of Massabielle in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France is undergoing  restoration. The following unusual video has been released showing some rather exclusive and close-up shots of the interior. It is causing quite some excitement:

HT:   Rorate-Caeli

YWCA Loses Christianity from Title

Only in Britain (so far):

The Young Women’s Christian Association, which is one of Britain’s oldest charities, has dropped the word “Christian” from its name to better reflect its role in society.

Actually, the are ‘rebranding’:

The YWCA, which was set up in 1855 to help young women going to London for the first time, has now become “Platform 51″ [sounds more like a train station].

The name was chosen because “women use us as a platform for having their say and for helping them into the next stage of their lives”.

The rebranding is likely to raise questions among many of the charity’s donors, many of whom give to it because of the organisation’s Christian links [which people should rightly now stop doing].

However, officials at the World YWCA headquarters in Geneva told the Daily Mail that none of the 124 branches in other countries intended to follow suit [mercifully].

The spokeswoman said: “We are not even discussing a change. We see our name as an opportunity for promoting Christian values and principles.”

Without Christ, I’m afraid that they are just like any other secular charity: good works of no eternal consequence.

NABRE: A NAB Version Revision

This was predicted. The USCCB has announced a revision to the New American Bible:

WASHINGTON (January 6, 2011)—The New American Bible, revised edition (NABRE), the first major update to the New American Bible (NAB) translation in 20 years, has been approved for publication. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, then president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), signed the canonical rescript approving publication on September 30, 2010. The NABRE will be available in a variety of print, audio and electronic formats on March 9, Ash Wednesday.

The new translation takes into account advances in linguistics of the biblical languages, as well as changes in vocabulary and the cultural background of English, in order to ensure a more accurate translation. This issue is addressed in the apostolic exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, in which the pope says, “The inculturation of God’s word is an integral part of the Church’s mission in the world, and a decisive moment in this process is the diffusion of the Bible through the precious work of translation into different languages.”

The new translation also takes into account the discovery of new and better ancient manuscripts so that the best possible textual tradition is followed.

The NABRE includes the first revised translation of the Old Testament since 1970 and a complete revision of the Psalter. It retains the 1986 edition of the New Testament. Work on most books of the Old Testament began in 1994 and was completed in 2001. The 1991 revision of the Psalter was further revised between 2009 and 2010.

The revision aimed at making use of the best manuscript traditions available, translating as accurately as possible, and rendering the result in good contemporary English. In many ways it is a more literal translation than the original New American Bible and has attempted to be more consistent in rendering Hebrew (or Greek) words and idioms, especially in technical contexts, such as regulations for sacrifices. In translating the Psalter special effort was made to provide a smooth, rhythmic translation for easy singing or recitation and to retain the concrete imagery of the Hebrew.

The NABRE is approved for private use and study. It will not be used for the Mass, which uses an earlier, modified version of the NAB translation.

The last paragraph is telling and one can only assume that the cost implications of changing Missals, Liturgical Texts, the Lectionary, Prayerbooks, The Catechism and Large-Print Bibles etc. is a weighing factor. The NABRE is effectively the fourth edition of the NAB. 

There is even a Facebook site for the NABRE here.

Televangelists Escape Penalty

in Senate inquiry:

NEW YORK – A senator’s high-profile investigation of spending by televangelists wrapped up after more than three years Thursday with no penalties for the pastors who refused to cooperate and no definitive findings of wrongdoing.

The report released by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley raises questions about the personal use of church-owned airplanes, luxury homes and credit cards by pastors and their families, and expresses concern about the lack of oversight of finances by boards often packed with the televangelists’ relatives and friends.

However, the senator draws no specific conclusions about whether the ministries violated IRS rules that bar excessive compensation for leaders of religious nonprofits.

Grassley, a Republican, released the report at the end of his tenure as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. He began the investigation in November 2007. The senator will remain on the Finance Committee, but will become the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

The six televangelists targeted in the investigation preach some form of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches. Ministers in this tradition often hold up their own wealth as evidence that the teaching works.

Many conservative Christians condemn the prosperity gospel and consider the televangelists an embarrassment…

All six of the targeted televangelists insisted they comply with tax regulations for religious nonprofits. Two — Joyce Meyer Ministries based in Missouri and Benny Hinn Ministries based in Irving, Texas — told Grassley they have made changes in how they govern their ministries or set compensation.

Meyer released a statement Thursday affirming her commitment to financial transparency. Representatives for the other ministries did not immediately respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment.

But four of the televangelists would not provide full information to Grassley. Some pastors questioned whether Grassley had the authority to conduct the investigation. Others accused him of violating their religious freedom…

You can read on here.

As for me, I’d far rather be in the company of the prosperity gospel drop-outs:

They make for a much better witness!