Fr. Brian Park

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@PetriOP

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@RealJackHibbs John 20:19-23

Why would Jesus give his apostles, the first priests, the power to forgive sins unless He wanted them to use that power? And that power has been passed on down the centuries to the successors of the apostles.

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@GrageDustin @KendallQuallsMN

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@jdflynn “The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling.” -GIRM 160
Catholics have the right to receive Communion kneeling.

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@TaylorRMarshall @EricRSammons

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

Father Ben Little and I sat down a few weeks ago to chat about Priests & Politics. Our discussion focused around paragraph 33 from the 1994 Vatican document "Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests." Listen here:
https://t.co/0nkCx3zAQ7

[Joshua Charles🇻🇦 @JoshuaTCharles]

The Gospel is not about Christ saving us because we can’t obey the commandments (which we cannot, without His grace).

It’s about Christ saving us so that we CAN obey the commandments (which we can, with His grace).

At the Day of Judgment, the verdict is rendered based on our deeds, as we see every single time it is mentioned in Scripture.

Only those done in, through, and with God’s grace will pass. Everything else is dead works, and will be thrown into the fire.

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@EricRSammons I ask because priests will quote St. Max Kolbe: "It is impossible for us to be mistaken in obeying a superior’s command. The only exception to this rule is the case of a superior commanding something that in even the slightest way would contravene God’s law."

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@EricRSammons So, practically you’d say these mandates go beyond a bishop’s authority:
-Not allowing public Masses
-Limiting the # of people at a Mass
-Mask mandates
And thus a priest would be justified in disobeying these mandates?

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@EricRSammons In this podcast, do you discuss the topic of obedience priests must have to their bishop? I remember during COVID this was a big area of debate among priests, i.e. if I as a priest ignored diocesan COVID policies, was I being disobedient? Thanks!

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@NWSTwinCities St. Michael, MN

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@EricRSammons I 100% agree

[Eric Sammons @EricRSammons]

My thoughts on the National Eucharistic Congress

I attended the NEC yesterday, and my impressions can be summed up as follows: great intentions and professional execution, but flawed in understanding how to solve the problem.

The NEC is part of the National Eucharistic Revival, which is trying to address the scandal that so few Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It is an effort led by the United States bishops.

Many Catholics have become so cynical of our bishops that they often assume that they are mostly either heretics or bureaucrats. I understand that sentiment, but I don't think it's accurate. I think most bishops lament the loss of faith among Catholics, and they truly want to address disbelief in the Real Presence.

The problem isn't that they don't want to pass on the Faith; it's that they don't understand *how* to pass on the Faith.

When the typical bishop (or priest or lay leader) hears that Catholics don't believe in the Real Presence, their reaction is, "well, we need to *tell* them why they should believe." We need to have workshops and conferences with dynamic speakers beautifully articulating why the doctrine of the Real Presence is true. We need to engage their intellect and stir their emotions to deepen their love of the Eucharist. When people hear those great talks, they will surely believe again, right?

Such talks are fine, but they are only a tiny piece in solving the puzzle. The Faith is passed on primarily not through verbal teaching, but by osmosis. You see and hear and smell and touch and experience the faith being practiced on a regular basis, and it seeps into your soul. *That's* the primary means of catechesis.

And that's where the problem lies. Most Catholics experience Mass in a bland building with little or no beautiful artwork. They see legions of lay people, mostly older women, casually handing out the Host. They themselves receive It on the hand, while standing. They see priests celebrate the Mass in a irreverent manner. And most of all, they see Catholics who object to these things treated like the worst kind of Catholics by many in the Church.

None of these problems will be addressed at the NEC, of course. They are too "controversial." But those problems are keeping us from a true Eucharistic revival, and they will continue to do so until they are addressed instead of ignored.

I'm sure that many attendees at the NEC will have their faith strengthened, and for that I'm grateful. I'm also grateful that there were signs of more traditional expressions of Catholicism at the Congress—this is a good sign for a better future. But most of the attendees will sadly return to parishes where Eucharistic devotion is being undermined every single Sunday, often by the very people who lament the loss of faith in the Eucharist.

Until Catholics understand how to truly fix our problems, we will continue to have events that are essentially a bandaid on a bullet hole.

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@Shaloo_Loo22 @RCAnnaKate @BethEdwar John 20:19-23

[Michael Knowles @michaeljknowles]

No better occasion than the Feast of Our Lady of Victory to extol the virtues of the Mass of the Ages: https://t.co/IrtAZdfg6r

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

@JLLiedl Just curious, how do you know this?

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

Thank you Sister Elizabeth Ann, the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, and all the beautiful, faithful religious sisters in our world today. You witness to us all what true joy is, and where, and in Whom it can be found.

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

Yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, my good friend Sister Elizabeth Ann (Sara Haecherl) made her 1st vows with the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus. I am so proud of her.

[Fr. Brian Park @bpaggie]

True joy will never be found in giving into our fallen desires for lust, greed, or pride. True joy is only found in giving our bodies, our possessions, and our hearts to Jesus.