Having attended Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton these past two weeks, you may have heard Fr. Cole or me address a situation that we have been made aware of over the past several weeks. Heartbroken and with tears in their eyes, we have been approached by parishioners with open hymnals. What has caused the tears has been their discovery of the Body of Christ, partially consumed, stuck between the pages of a hymnal. After another incident this past weekend, I invited our NET Team (National Evangelization Team assigned to SEAS) to open and search all of the hymnals. We discovered about 30 hymnals containing the Body of Christ.St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings MN
At Mass we receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. Jesus Christ gives His life—not to be placed within a book—but within our soul. In light of this desecration of the Holy Eucharist, our parish has suffered with Christ. Let’s remember Who we are receiving within the Consecrated Host.
I am sharing with you this sad information to remind us that not everyone respects the gift that Jesus Christ and His Church is giving to us. While we may be brought to tears literally— as have parishioners who have brought me these hymnals—please remember that when we miss Mass, we also risk misleading our children. Our absence at Mass may lead our children to think that Jesus is also absent in our worship.
To address this situation going forward, please teach by example. Honor the Holy Will of God and the Divine Gift of the Holy Eucharist and make the commitment now to never be absent from the celebration of Sunday Mass again. Regarding each of our liturgical ministries, special instructions are being given to our Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist, Ushers and Sacristans to address this heart-wrenching concern.
If you have any questions regarding this message, please feel free to speak to Fr. Cole, Megan Pleviak, our new Director of Worship, or myself.
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