The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
Vincent de Paul
Jasper facility will provide room for community food bank
HUGHES
staff writer
that we do the right thing."
About 150 customers shop
daily. "We have many, many
people shopping, and it's won-
derful how the Lord has helped
US."
The retail center offers "cloth-
ing, odds and ends, furniture,
curtains, bedding, beds and
appliances."
In May, a groundbreaking cer-
emony was held for a building
which will house a community
food bank and an area for sort-
ing, storing, cleaning and fixing
items donated to St. Vincent de
Paul. The store will remain in
its current location.
Martha believes the new facil-
ity will be finished in October.
work, but it's a labor
Martha Howard of
as co-manager at the
de Paul Store in
and her husband
have served as
Jasper store
six years. "My hus-
feel inadequate in
store, but the
it."
their days are
[ days. We always pray
the store, and the
in the store, and
ceremonies are held at for the new St. Vin-
Paul Store in Jasper. The new facility will house
and sorting areas, a food bank and a maintenance
store will remain in its current location. At right
Seifert, Steve Howard, co-manager, Orville
L council president, Jim Stenftenagel, store
Bill Schmitt, Jasper mayor, and Martha
Co-manager.
urveys uncover widespread confusion on Communion
N.Y. (CNS)-
series of discussions
in Rochester
r reached one
a lot of con-
Communion.
people have a little
but not everybody
Fit, said Joan Work-
of the Office of
of the Diocese of
"Even some of the
f the diocese say (of
that can't
yes it is."
SCussions and evalua:
Sunday liturgies at
Over the past year-
df recently led to the
new document
y of the Sun-
arist: Guidelines for
wine become the body and
blood of Christ.
"There's a lot of confusion over
the whole issue of real presence,
how that is defined and under-
stood," Workmaster said.
At the eight parishes studied
thus far, parishioners filled out
evaluations forms that included
a question on the real presence
of Christ in the Eucharist.
"It's interesting the number of
people, 60 to 65 percent, who
have indicated they do not
believe this," Workmaster said.
Those results were consistent
from parish to parish and
between age groups, she added.
Those results parallel that of
a poll conducted by The New
York Times/CBS News in April
1994. Of Catholics surveyed, 34
percent said they believe the
bread and wine become the body
and blood of Christ. while 63 per-
cent said they are just svmbolic
reminders of Jesus.
"That's frightening," said
e office staff mem-
:,red confusion
teaching of the
Church -- that dur-
the bread and
Franciscan Sister Ann Rehrauer,
associate director of the U.S.
bishops' Secretariat for the
Liturgy, regarding such survey
results.
The surveys indicate "we
have some major work in help-
ing people to understand what
happens when we celebrate the
Eucharist, she said. "This isn't
just a reminder of something
that happened historically."
The "Catechism of the
Catholic Church" is clear about
what happens at the Mass. "At
the heart of the eucharistic cele-
bration are the bread and wine
that, by the word of Christ and
the invocation of the Holy Spirit.
become Christ's body and blood,"
it says in paragraph 1333.
Other parts of the church's
eucharistic teachings also are
nol clearly understood, particu-
larly those pertainimz t<, mter-
conmmnion.
According to the catechism.
not only is the Eucharist the
body and blood of Christ, it is
"properly the sacrament of those
who are in full communion with
the church." This understanding
is part of the reason the church
limits intercommunion.
New guidelines issued by the
U.S. bishops last November
state that the Catholic Church
does not object to reception Of
Communion at a Catholic Mass
by members of certain specified
churches, but it urges those
Christians to respect the disci-
pline of their own churches.
The guidelines cite specifically
the Orthodox churches, the
Assyrian Church of the East and
the Polish National Catholic
Church -- churches which Rome
has judged clearly to have true
sacraments, above all ordained
priesthood in apostolic succes-
sion and the Eucharist.
The church" does allow people
of other Christian churches to
rece_ive Catholic Comnmnion in
a few limited circumstances.
such as danger of death or
unavailability of ministers of
their own fifith, and when they
are "properly disposed" and
share the Catholic understand-
ing of the Eucharist.
orkmaster noted, for exam-
ple, that soldiers in combat situ-
ations could receive, and Sister
Rehrauer cited nursing home
residents.
But the bishops' guidelines
state that =members of those
churches with whom we are not
yet fully united are ordinarily
not admitted to Communion."
And the church does not
allow Catholics to receive Com-
munion in these other churches
for the same reasons, except
under similar exceptional cir-
cumstances.
Intercommunion is |So"not
generally permitted at weddings
and funerals -- two instacvs in
which some Catholics think the
rules are relaxed.
Sister Rehrauer said an excvp-
tion is made for a non-Catholic
spouse ifthat spouse specifically
requests permission to receive
Communion, has a Catholic
understanding of the Eucharist
and the bishop of the diocese
grants his permission. But that
permission is not extended to
other non-Catholic members of
the congregation, she said.
Another common misconcep-
tion is that Catholics who divorce
are not allowed to receive Com-
munion.
Workmaster said that civil
divorce does not separate a per-
son from the church and the
sacraments. A divorced person
is prohibited from receiving
Communion only if he or she
marries a different person with-
out first receiving an annulment
for the first marriage and the
first spouse is still alive.
Some people also think they
may not receive Communion if
they have not been to confession
in a while. Such is not the case.
Wm'kmaster said.
"Confession belbre Commu-
mon is necessary only for seri-
ous sin, morlal sin." she said.
"When we understand what is
happening in the Eucharist, w,,
offer ourselves along with the
sacrifice of Christ. In the doing
of that we oftbr all that we art
and God accepts us in whatever
state we are."
Sister Rehrauer said the con-
fusion concerning the Eucharist
may be due in part to the
church's focus on other issues in
recent years and that more.
attention to this central teaching
is needed.
"I wonder if in the last num-
ber of years somehow we haven't
been clear enough on some of the
doctrinal issues as we haste been,
say, on social justice, she specu.
lated. *Or did we just assume
people would know.
She said on a national level,
preparation for the millennium
would likely include materials on
the Eucharist.
Meanwhile, in dealing with
current confusions over rules
concerning who can receive Corn.
reunion, Workmster advised
pastoral sensitiv,
AII of tho kinds of situa-
tions, none of us can really
judge what is in another's
heart," she said.
