Now while it is easy for someone trained in theology and canon law to distinguish between things of substance and things of symbolism, the average person does not care about those distinctions. Ours is not a religion of the mind alone. We are not Quakers or Fundamentalists. The Catholic religion has always spoken to the heart as well as the mind. That is why our churches have traditionally had statues, stained glass windows, vigil lights, vestments, incense, bells, communion rails, etc. When these things are removed or changed, then to many so has the Church changed. It has become a different church, one in which they no longer feel comfortable or at home. To put it graphically, a man from the Southern part of Europe might not go to Mass very often, but if you make an insulting remark about the Blessed Virgin be prepared for a broken nose.

What then is the answer? Shall we restore all these things? Will that solve the problem? Or is it too late to do that? Some people say we cannot turn back the clock; but we do that each fall when we end daylight savings time. What should be changed, what should be retained and what should be modified?

We should follow the rubrics of the Novus Ordo which assumes the priest is facing the tabernacle, also called “ad orientem.” The rubrics assume this by requiring the priest to turn toward the people each time he has a dialogue with the people such as “The Lord be with you.” Those who say he has his back to the people should reflect on a bus driver and his passengers or baseball pitcher and his team. Neither the driver nor the pitcher has his back to anyone; rather they are all facing the same direction. Holy Communion should be received kneeling, preferably at a restored Communion rail. The option of receiving Holy Communion in the hand which, unfortunately, has become the norm, should be dropped and Communion should be received on the tongue as it has been for countless centuries. The Mass should be an exact translation from the Latin not the transliteration we have today.

The Eucharistic fast should be restored to three hours before receiving. The form of the sacraments should be restored to what it was before in an accurate translation. The ancient custom of allowing only boys and men to be altar servers should be restored. The ministries of lector and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion should be restricted to adults who are exemplary Catholics. Holy Communion under both species should be restricted to very special occasions lest people think, as many do today, that they only receive part of Christ when they receive the Sacred Host alone.

Eucharistic devotions like Forty Hours Devotion and Corpus Christi processions should be mandated for each parish as it was in the past. Frequent Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and Marian devotions should be strongly encouraged especially during the months of October and May.

Canon Law should be followed in insisting that priests and religious wear their appropriate garb (canon 669) and the Friday abstinence is required (canon 1251). We should also restore the penitential nature of Lent by requiring adults to fast each weekday. The fast should begin at age 21 as it did in the past. Eighteen-year-olds are still growing and need more nourishment.

Marriages should be witnessed only by priests or deacons, never by a Protestant minister. How many of us have had people complain, “My brother was married in a Protestant church and the Church doesn’t recognize his marriage; my neighbor was married in the same church and the Church says he is validly married; what is going on?” It will be difficult, admittedly, but we have to give people a better guide to movies than the secular ratings. Those ratings are almost useless. When the movie “The Graduate” came out many years ago it was rated “X” the equivalent of “N-17.” Today that same movie is rated “PG.” There still is a Catholic movie rating list but it is unavailable to most Catholics. When the entire parish stood and took the Legion of Decency Pledge on the First Sunday of Advent it was not only a powerful witness to decency but gave parents a tool to guide their children’s movie viewing.

One of the most bizarre moves by some bishops is to remove the obligation of Mass attendance on certain holydays, namely the Assumption, All Saints and the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, if they fall on Mondays or Saturdays. The rationale is that it would be too hard on a priest to offer so many Masses on consecutive days. I don’t know of any priest who was consulted or complained about this. What it does, in effect, is to say to the Faithful that if you miss Mass on a holyday through your own fault you commit a mortal sin and could go to hell. However, if the holyday falls on a Monday or Saturday, then you can miss it with a clear conscience and go to heaven. Let’s stop this silliness and keep our holydays holy.

The latest casualty in some dioceses is the feast of the Ascension. It has been decided by some bishops that Jesus didn’t ascend to heaven on Ascension Thursday as the Sacred Scripture says but that he returned to heaven on the seventh Sunday after Easter. In other words Ascension Thursday has become Ascension Sunday. So again the Faithful are, in effect, told that if you missed Mass on Ascension Thursday last year through your own fault you committed a mortal sin. However, this year you can skip Mass because Ascension Thursday no longer exists. What is this saying to the Faithful about the importance of Our Lord’s Ascension and the inerrancy of Sacred Scripture which says he ascended on a Thursday? Let’s leave well enough alone. The old adage applies: “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Finally two unrelated subjects: Our bishops should gather for their meetings at a seminary or Catholic University not at a plush hotel and the meetings should be private and not televised. We should make our Catholic grade and high schools affordable so all of our children could attend them. They have become too expensive. Perhaps new orders of Sisters or using more retired or single teachers who could work for a smaller salary. Lutheran and Jewish schools are proliferating while many of ours are closing. Perhaps we can learn from them.