A reader writes:
This has been bothering me for a while but since tomorrow’s funeral Mass for the Pope will be televised, it has galvanized my will to email you about this. Some of these may seem very trite but I have a rationale for asking.
There are no bad questions, only bad answers.
1) When I watch a Mass on TV (i.e, on EWTN, or the funeral Mass for the Pope), may I plan on having a spiritual communion when the Eucharist is distributed?
You may.
2) If I can/do have spiritual communion, is it recommended that I observe the fast for Eucharist?
It is not. The Eucharistic fast is for preparation for the sacramental reception of the Eucharist, not its spiritual reception. You can make a spiritual act of communion with Jesus (i.e., the Eucharist) at any hour of the day or night with no fasting.
3) Would it be totally illicit and/or crass to have breakfast while watching the Mass for the Pope tomorrow if I cannot/do not partake in spiritual communion during the televised Mass?
It is not illicit as there is no law against doing so. Neither would it be crass as long as one isn’t engaging in a gluttinous, debauched feast or something like that. While the impulse to ask the question displays a praiseworthy concern for propriety, you should not indulge yourself very far in that direction as it could very quickly lead one into scrupulosity. Being at home while something is on TV is not the same as being at the event itself, and the standards of conduct that would apply in the latter case simply do not apply in the former. If we don’t feel the need to get dressed up in our Sunday best to watch a funeral on TV, neither do we need to refrain from eating while it’s on.
Any and all commentary you can deliver about this would be much appreciated. You’re one in a billion, Jimmy, and I really enjoy reading your blog! Keep up the good work.
One in a billion???
You mean that there are six of me???
(NOTE TO SELF: Must track down and eliminate my five clones.)
20 (with respect to the eating questions.)
I want to track down and capture at least one of your clones, so I can bother him constantly with my apologetics/language/canon law questions.
I’m watching the funeral right now (I didn’t plan to, but God nicely provided some major obstacles to my going to bed, so what the hey).
There’s quite a few people there.
Trivia bit: Shepard Smith on Fox News just mentioned John Paul II’s organist, James Goettsche. He is from here in Omaha, NE. St. Cecilia’s, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Omaha, is his home parish. He returned to play a concert last year on the cathedral’s brand-new organ, and he was very good.
Jimmy, is Mark Shae one of your clones? Or are you one of his?
Jimmy, i know you invoked rule 20, but I have to say that I disagree with you morally. Although cloning is intrinsically evil, so is murder. Eliminating these people is just wrong. Ban me from your blog if you want, but I cannot be silent on this moral issue.
Oh come on Josh! You have no idea what Jimmy means by “eliminate”. For all you know, his idea of eliminating his clones would be to invite them over for a Star Wars marathon while secretly trying to convince them that they must work together for the good of The Church…..
Jimmy:
If a person watches a Mass live from television, can he reap the benefits of the various blessings the celebrant gives the congregation (e.g. the “Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus . . .”).
What if the Mass isn’t live?
This will depend on whether the person administering the blessings intends to include the television audience or not and whether he intends to include non-live viewers or not.
Jimmy:
Is this intention present at Papal Masses, or ones such as this one where Ratzinger, in his homily, specifically addressed those watching via television?