3 ms·

This is a common criticism: "Why would God care about this seemingly minute detail?" We hear it, as well, with things like, "Does God really care if I eat meat

by jawns 3y ago

This is a common criticism: "Why would God care about this seemingly minute detail?" We hear it, as well, with things like, "Does God really care if I eat meat on Friday?" But actually, the whole point is that if we can't expend the effort to make trivial sacrifices, or to follow seemingly trivial rules about valid matter for the Eucharist, then why on earth would we expect ourselves to get more important things right? Catholicism is not as persnickety as you might think, but there is a "When you know better, do better" mentality. Now that the bishop has realized the problem, he's taking steps to do better and rectify the issue. Yes, we trust that God knows what's in our hearts, but that doesn't mean we should just shrug our shoulders and say, "Not a big deal" when we have the opportunity to do better.

leephillips 3y ago
This seems backwards. I wouldn’t expend effort on the trivial because it’s trivial. I try to conserve my time and effort for what’s important. (Now excuse me while I spend two hours fine-tuning my Vim color scheme.)
RcouF1uZ4gsC 3y ago
> But actually, the whole point is that if we can't expend the effort to make trivial sacrifices, or to follow seemingly trivial rules about valid matter for the Eucharist, then why on earth would we expect ourselves to get more important things right? Reminds me of the Van Halen brown M&Ms https://www.insider.com/van-halen-brown-m-ms-contract-2016-9?amp https://www.insider.com/van-halen-brown-m-ms-contract-2016-9...
madars 3y ago
Exactly. Validity is extremely important: you want to have certainty in sacraments. When you go to confession and hear "I absolve you" you want to know that it means what it means.
mavhc 3y ago
They specifically said all the masses where you used the wrong wine don't count, God will have ignored all your intentions said during those masses
- jawns 3y ago
  If the bishop specifically said that God ignored those intentions, please quote it. What he said was that the Masses were invalid, a term that means the conditions necessary for the sacrament were not present. He also said, "the intentions for which those Masses were offered were not satisfied," meaning that the Church did not offer a valid Mass for those intentions, not that God ignored people's prayers. This quote from America magazine, a Jesuit publication, touches on the nuances of such cases: > “Invalid” is not the same as “unreal.” Our mistakes do not prevent God from entering into a moment any more than our sins do. In the wake of Father Hood’s case, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit wrote,“The Church, following the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, recognizes that God has bound Himself to the sacraments, but He is not bound by the sacraments.” What that means is that although we must never be cavalier and make mistakes with the assumption that God will overlook them, we can nevertheless have hope that God offers his graces to those who sincerely seek them, even extra-sacramentally, and especially when we take the time to remedy the issue once we become aware of it.

by jawns 3y ago

leephillips 3y ago

This seems backwards. I wouldn’t expend effort on the trivial because it’s trivial. I try to conserve my time and effort for what’s important. (Now excuse me while I spend two hours fine-tuning my Vim color scheme.)

RcouF1uZ4gsC 3y ago

> But actually, the whole point is that if we can't expend the effort to make trivial sacrifices, or to follow seemingly trivial rules about valid matter for the Eucharist, then why on earth would we expect ourselves to get more important things right? Reminds me of the Van Halen brown M&Ms https://www.insider.com/van-halen-brown-m-ms-contract-2016-9?amp https://www.insider.com/van-halen-brown-m-ms-contract-2016-9...

madars 3y ago

Exactly. Validity is extremely important: you want to have certainty in sacraments. When you go to confession and hear "I absolve you" you want to know that it means what it means.

mavhc 3y ago

They specifically said all the masses where you used the wrong wine don't count, God will have ignored all your intentions said during those masses

jawns 3y ago
If the bishop specifically said that God ignored those intentions, please quote it. What he said was that the Masses were invalid, a term that means the conditions necessary for the sacrament were not present. He also said, "the intentions for which those Masses were offered were not satisfied," meaning that the Church did not offer a valid Mass for those intentions, not that God ignored people's prayers. This quote from America magazine, a Jesuit publication, touches on the nuances of such cases: > “Invalid” is not the same as “unreal.” Our mistakes do not prevent God from entering into a moment any more than our sins do. In the wake of Father Hood’s case, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit wrote,“The Church, following the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, recognizes that God has bound Himself to the sacraments, but He is not bound by the sacraments.” What that means is that although we must never be cavalier and make mistakes with the assumption that God will overlook them, we can nevertheless have hope that God offers his graces to those who sincerely seek them, even extra-sacramentally, and especially when we take the time to remedy the issue once we become aware of it.