How Ebola shakes Catholic Church Wednesday, 27 August 2014 00:00 ................IYIP WE understand why the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) purportedly in its wisdom recently issued certain directives concerning the practice and observance of the Church’s liturgy and worship. The outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa nay Nigeria necessitated that individuals, governments, groups and organisations, including faith-based bodies, needed to be on top of the situation by adopting certain preventive and precautionary measures to check the spread of the killer and highly deadly disease. As a prompt response, some Christian denominations stopped the shaking of hands during worship. The Catholic Church especially in the Archdiocese of Lagos was one of those that suspended the practice of handshake during Masses. Many faithful were so surprised about the negative impact such discontinuation would have on both the Faith and faithful. Some Catholics say the measure slightly distorted the Liturgy and Order of the Mass. However, no much fuss was made concerning the shaking or non-shaking of hands by the faithful. It was understandable that EVD could be contacted via shaking of hands; after all, even our politicians and leaders started the practice of elbow-raising in lieu of handshaking. However, one decision that now appears fatally flawed and blowing ill-wind within the Catholic Faith in Nigeria is the so called “interim” approval of reception of Holy Communion by hand by both Tom, Dick and Harry. The interim approval by CBCN was reportedly announced via a letter read to the faithful recently in masses in the Archdiocese of Lagos. The letter was said to have been signed by Archbishop Alfred Olawale Martins, who is in charge of the Metropolitan See of Lagos. In the letter, the faithful have been given options. They are to choose between Holy Communion by hand or through the usual method, reception of the Holy Viaticum/species on the tongue. Although, the fear of Ebola Virus has led to this development, it seems that the real end is here. The Church, the last hope of the ordinary people for succour and salvation, is now being bombarded by force of darkness, although her founder and guidance, Lord Jesus Christ, made it succinctly clear that the gates of Hell shall never prevail against the Church. Without mincing words, communion by hand remains sacrilegious and any serious lay Catholic that resorts to it perhaps is either an agent of the devil or doing so wittingly or unwittingly to imperil his/her salvation. Some of us are not really surprised that the priests – whether Bishops, Reverend Fathers, are falling like a pack of cards in this regard, succumbing to the Devil’s antics and blackmail against the Church. It is the duty of priests to administer the sacraments to the faithful. Now, what happens nowadays – distribution of Holy Communion has been left to non-priests, reverend sisters, un-ordained Catholics or the so called extra-ordinary ministers. Our Lord Jesus Christ is being wounded the more by this unholy practice and those who think that they are right while they have totally failed in their calling, stand to be proven woefully wrong on the day of reckoning. Concerning the “interim” reception of the Holy Communion by hand, this is the highest blunder the Church in Africa/Nigeria will make. In Overseas, the Faith has since been lost; people do whatever they like including taking the Holy Communion indecorously and impiously by hand and chewing it like chewing gum. Indecent, immodest, so called civilised, highly travelled, educated and modern day Catholics have since been abusing the Holy Eucharist. Now, they will abuse it the more because CBCN has given them a leeway, (licence) to Hell, for a long time, they have been struggling to whittle down the power of the Catholic Church as is encapsulated in the Holy Eucharist. Now, attack on the Holy Eucharist, tantamounts to taking away whatever/the only thing that remains in the Catholic Church. The rest is killing, feasting, dancing, rollicking parties, hollow rituals, and money-making through the worldly-propelled and organised harvests and bazaars. My late father-in-law, so devout, always used to say that, even if the Pope/papacy made mistakes (which is quite uncommon), he himself, would never make mistake as to holy observance, piety and practice of the Faith. No wonder the old man was believed to have died on the odor of sanctity. Upholding the faith should be the stand of true Christians. So, why are priests afraid of Ebola? One thing concerning the end-time occurrences which have long been predicted is massive loss of faith. The Evil One has perhaps thrown up Ebola and the faithful including ministers of God are crashing irretrievably. “Will the Son of Man find faith in the world when He comes again?” Apostasy is a deadlier disease than Ebola, HIV/AIDS, Boko Haram insurgents, kidnappers, armed robbers, etc. Apostasy is spreading; it is contagious, millions have already contacted it, but the remnants will never get the virus because Jesus, Mary and Joseph will be for them and with them till they all make it to Heaven. We wish and pray that CBCN would immediately revise the “interim” order on Holy Communion, since those who will die will definitely die and since we will all die at the end, Ebola or no Ebola. Why should priests doubt the potency of the Holy Communion which they hold over all evil and viruses? Why should some young, able-bodied priests now find it difficult to hear confessions or distribute Holy Communion? These are perhaps some of the manifestations of the end of this age. • Alia, a Catholic Lay faithful, wrote from Lagos.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 05:49:19 +0000