“Love is not loved.”
-St. Francis of Assisi
Once again, I have no choice but to expose another sloppy, dreadful, and avoidable Eucharistic abuse in the Diocese of Raleigh (the horrible, soul-crushing Habitation for Dragons). My conscience compels me to shine the disinfecting light of the truth on yet another obvious mistreatment of the Blessed Sacrament.
Ironically, this occurred not at a typical Novus Ordo parish, but rather a Traditional Latin Mass at the Sacred Heart parish in Dunn, North Carolina. There, the pastor, Fr. Joseph Mulroney, decided not to use a paten or communion plate to protect the Blessed Sacrament while administering Holy Communion (Saturday, 10/5/2024).
He resorted to this outrageous liturgical sloth, using the imbecilic excuse that there were “no altar servers available to carry a paten” during the distribution of Holy Communion. To make matters worse, he rushed to pass out Our Lord and Savior so hurriedly, as if he were handing out finger foods at a shopping mall restaurant. Certainly, irrespective of his intentions, the priest dropped God onto the floor.
I later asked Fr. Mulroney why he distributed Communion that way, lest anyone would believe I denied him the opportunity to defend himself. This was the response (via his parish secretary, for what it’s worth):
Fr. Mulroney wanted me to tell you that a paten is always used when distributing Holy Communion. Unfortunately, this Saturday was a rare occasion when an altar boy was not available.
Oh, those lamentable “rare occasions” we suffer so often these days . . .
Fr. Joseph Mulroney: We Must Avoid His Parish
The absurdity of Fr. Mulroney’s excuse for not using a paten should speak volumes on its own. He blamed his liturgical malfeasance on a lack of altar servers, thus begging an obvious question for any intellectually honest Catholic:
Why in the blazes would you depend on the Mass attendance of children as a prerequisite for protecting the Holy Eucharist?
This is profoundly preposterous. Imagine if they managed hospitals with that strategy. Yet, how much more important is the safety and security of the Body of Christ, given to us for our eternal salvation, left defenseless in the Blessed Sacrament? If Fr. Mulroney cannot answer that question, like a traditional Catholic, then everyone in North Carolina should abstain from his parish.
Fr. Mulroney: Not Fired by the Anti-TLM Bishop; Unlike Other Priests
Nonetheless, this involves a much deeper endemic problem in the ecclesiastically putrefied Raleigh Diocese. Fr. Mulroney is the lone-remaining diocesan priest who has permission to offer the TLM at his diocesan parish.
This was after the local ordinary, Luis Zarama, banished two other priests, Frs. Tim Meares and Paul Parkerson, who offered it often at a flourishing parish in Rocky Mount, NC. Two other diocesan priests (Frs. Ian VanHeusen and Tyler Sparrow) had begun saying the TLM, but had to cease altogether, following Jorge Bergoglio’s Trashcan Custodians.
The two anti-modernist priests, Meares and Parkerson, got a proverbial pink slip (receiving NO other assignment), whereas Mulroney retained his pastorship AND with a generous six-year extension. So, this begs yet another question . . .
Why was Fr. Mulroney the only TLM-offering priest in the Raleigh diocese allowed to retain his job, while others had to accept exile and/or cease saying the Old Rite?
Followers of this blog, especially my North Carolina readership, might have already surmised the answer. Frs. Meares and Parkerson preach against modernism, phony ecumenism, secular tyranny, the death culture, and other Vatican II junk, while Fr. Mulroney never utters anything contrary to contemporary evils.
At any rate, I expect Fr. Mulroney’s supporters (if they exist) will attempt to rebut my case. First, however, before I address counterarguments, please let me demonstrate just how easy it would be to resolve the “no server” issue during Holy Communion.
Simple Solution to the “No Altar Boy” Dilemma
Did you know that it’s possible and permissible for communicants to pass the paten among themselves (with some preparation from the priest) whenever altar servers are unavailable? This is less than ideal, but can work in a pinch when sanctuary assistance becomes scarce.
In other words, those receiving Communion could place the paten under their chin while receiving, then pass it to their neighbor to do the same. This is a reasonable solution for small congregations (including Sacred Heart in Dunn).
Provided the communicants are deliberate, careful, and know beforehand what to do, this is not difficult. Some patens even have multiple handles, making the task easier, and with no one touching the plate portion, something we should treat as a sacred vessel.
How Might Fr. Mulroney Respond to My Criticism?
I anticipate the following refutation:
“Ah, but don’t you see? The current Code of Canon of Law does not specifically require priests to use patens while administering Holy Communion!”
Well, for one, although this is technically true, the Church does indeed recommend using another vessel to protect particles of the Sacred Host, in the event they might fall.
Moreover, shall we resort to legalism rather than love God enough to ensure he doesn’t wind up on the floor (to be vacuumed, mopped, and discarded)? Also, isn’t the 1983 Code so lenient as to allow almost any offense imaginable? This is the same Code, which has permitted the hierarchy to annul virtually every marriage for the flimsiest criteria.
It would appear the modern(ist) Code aims to obliterate (if it were possible) the sacrality of every sacrament. Finally, with this miserable reasoning, I must wonder why you would use a paten at all (since it isn’t required, and the written law is all that matters)? There’s no consistency with these practices if one insists on the legalistic mentality.
Next, I’m compelled to highlight some other minor problems with Fr. Mulroney’s approach to offering the TLM.
Fasting Before Offering the Holy Sacrifice?
Fr. Mulroney also does not adhere to the traditional fasting requirements for receiving Holy Communion (he drinks water throughout Mass). Until recently (the 1950s), this was strictly verboten. You could consume NOTHING before Holy Communion, starting from the previous midnight.
Once again, I suspect he’ll utilize Canon Law to wiggle free from this criticism. If so, he will be forced into the company of so many disingenuous, pseudo-Catholics who employ the manipulated Church laws to justify every manner of sin.
Then, there are still other minor discrepancies he commits . . .
“Nice-Guy” Preaching
Believe it or not, I try to remain patient when it comes to how priests preach at Mass. If you’ve ever spoken in public (extemporaneously or scripted), then you know how easy it is to commit verbal miscues. For priests, those miscues might manifest as material heresies, not from ill intentions, but just from simple gaffes or poor word choice.
Whenever there’s a doubt, it’s better to offer the benefit of such. Yet, after a while, one starts to notice patterns in the way certain priests preach . . .
Fr. Mulroney is one of those priests who would rather die than preach a solitary word about the Church crisis, Freemasonic infiltration, and/or Bergoglio usurpation. I challenge him to prove me wrong, and I believe other local traditionalists could corroborate my opinion on this. His sermons neither challenge the faithful to amend their lives, nor do they admonish them to avoid the wolves and manifold scandals emanating from Rome.
Why is it like this?
Well, it may have something to do with other local priests who had had their preaching faculties revoked on account of teaching the Catholic understanding of the nature of sin. Word around the Raleigh Diocese is that at least one priest incurred this injustice at the hands of the vicious Wilton Gregory, when he was the archbishop of Atlanta. Disciplinarian action like that tends to tame many men into submission.
As I mentioned before, the toughest preachers around the diocese (who purvey authentic Catholicism for the laity) lost their jobs, whereas the innocuous Fr. Mulroney kept his. In reality, it’s no different from how it is everywhere else in Bergoglio Land. There’s always some bully (antipope, apostate cardinal, or apostate bishop) who intimidates and/or neuters the preponderance of diocesan priests into docility.
Why Does All This Matter?
Perhaps the reader wonders why I would devote more space to yet another Eucharistic abuse or a priest’s poor job performance (common as they are during these spiritually decadent times).
Although such recklessness has become tragically trite, this example strikes me as far more frustrating. That’s because the failure to safeguard the Blessed Sacrament is even more demoralizing and painful when it occurs during a Traditional Latin Mass. It incurs several difficult consequences, but here are just a few, for instance.
- Unless the priest possesses perfect hands, this guarantees that God, Who is All Things Good, Died for our sins, and grants us infinite love, will fall to the floor.
- We lose a tremendous opportunity to distinguish the splendor of the TLM from the obvious and intrinsic disaster: the Novus Ordo.
- More importantly, abuses that happen at the TLM force us to relinquish some of the moral high-ground in the war against the evil antichurch. Worse yet, it stymies the ability of the faithful to differentiate between the Traditional Catholic Religion and the Modernist Vatican Facade.
- This also doesn’t help those many Catholics struggling to determine whether the sacraments are valid (from diocesan priests, especially).
Bonus Question for Fr. Joseph Mulroney, J.C.L.
Then, while we’re here, I have another pressing question for Fr. Mulroney, who holds a degree in canon law:
Have you examined Edmund Mazza’s thesis regarding Pope Benedict’s invalid resignation?
According to Mazza, the resignation violated Canon 188 under Title IX; the section of the Code governing resignation from ecclesiastical offices. You’re welcome to disagree, but if there’s anything erroneous or suspect with Mazza’s application of canon law, would you explain where he has erred? This has an important bearing on whether we should obey the evil Antipope Jorge Bergoglio (I, for one, contend we should not).
One of these days, I will convince at least ONE Catholic priest (other than Fr. Kramer and a couple of others) to investigate the specific premises of Mazza’s argument. Until then . . .
Conclusion – The Sorrows of St. Francis
We recently observed the Third-Class Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the holy deacon and Seraphic Doctor, who loved God so abundantly. Now, let us meditate on his most pressing concerns and sorrows, since they correspond well with the aforementioned negligences.
“Love is not loved.”
St. Francis repeated this phrase often, but what is its meaning? It refers to the minimal love man ever dedicates to Jesus Christ, who is love itself. This pertains to how few of us return any gratitude for Jesus’ redemptive suffering and death following all the scourging, spitting, slapping, insulting, and . . . falls from carrying the cross.
St. Francis also bemoaned the catastrophic thanklessness man has for God’s gift of Himself in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus’ boundless love extends even so far as to enslave Himself to His love for men. The continuous legacy of such slavery involves His willingness to remain on earth, helpless in a piece of bread, begging us to requite His love for us.
Modern men seldom appreciate this profundity, and the lack of reverence for the Eucharist aptly reflects this. What else could we possibly conclude when so many Catholics have almost no concern for whether particles of the Host fall to the floor?
If you doubt any of these assertions, then please read St. Francis’ own words regarding clergy who show carelessness with the Eucharist and sacred vessels.
Reparation for These Sorrows
Finally, what can the rest of us do in the meantime, given such a widespread lack of respect for the Blessed Sacrament?
- Pray the Rosary every day (15 decades), but most especially the 4th Sorrowful Mystery, the Carrying of the Cross; meditating on Our Lord’s three falls. Must we force Him to fall repeatedly more by dropping His Holy Body onto the floor at Mass, that sacred time when we’re supposed to honor His sacrifice the most?
- Are you a parishioner at Sacred Heart parish in Dunn? If so, then now is the time to gird up your loins and speak about these awful discrepancies with your pastor. Then again, there may be rather few remaining since parish membership seems to have dwindled. That, of course, would explain the lack of altar servers last Saturday. By their fruits (or lack thereof), you will know them.
- Pray for as many priests as possible (by name), including Fr. Joseph Mulroney. Yes, you should pray for those you dislike (with even greater fervency).
Tantum ergo sacramentum veneremur cernui . . .
Catholics Aren't Zombies! 