The priest this morning talked about the "right way" to receive Communion. What was interesting was what he didn't say a word about...

This morning on the occasion of the feast of Corpus Christi, the priest naturally preached on the Eucharist, and included at the end of his homily some "housekeeping" reminders about the norms for receiving Communion such as

-Saying "Amen" as the response, (not "thank you" or "good morning, Father")

-If you receive on the tongue, open wide enough so the minister can easily place the host on your tongue

-Not grabbing host out of the minister's hand (I've actually never seen this even as an EM myself, but always hear that it happens)

-Not intincting the host in the Precious Blood (might cause the Precious Blood to drip on the floor)

...Anyway, I was surprised that he didn't say anything about "worthiness to receive". Not one word. He didn't say anything about asking yourself if you've sinned so gravely as to not be able to receive.

And this part of the story is going to sound made up, but I wasn't the only one who noticed that absence of that theme that usually comes up in homilies like that. Almost as if right on cue, I overheard another young adult outside after Mass with some more traditional leanings expressing surprise and even a little disappointment that the priest didn't go in that direction with the homily.

I do think the sacrament of confession is a part of our faith, and that priest this morning routinely hears confessions! Jesus gave it to us for us to be healed of things we've done that actually damage our relationship with God and others. But I'm not so sure if Jesus ever intended for us to build up a whole theology around "worthiness to receive". (And it seems Pope Francis felt the same, with his famous words on the subject).

I almost wonder if that priest this morning did that on purpose, glaringly leaving out the idea of "worthiness to receive". I've known him for a while, and while he's not an overt "liberal", I do notice that he seems to have little patience for the scrupulosity and neuroticism that can be induced by what we might call "trad" Catholicism.

I know "inclusive" is a bit of a buzzword in the Church; but I think it describes his pastoral style very well. He's a priest who believes that the Church is for all, he's a very experienced pastor who has no doubt seen people suffer from scrupulosity and unhealthy theology. He simply doesn't like expressions of the faith that turn people away or leave people feeling like second-class citizens in the Church. Just like Jesus.

In other words, I think this morning that priest was simply modeling Pope Francis' famous teaching "The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak".