“Lex Orandi, Lex Credenda”

Cardinal Cupich has graced us with his thoughts on the reception of communion – an article that has been enthusaistically received by the publicity arm of the German Catholic Church. 1) The cardinal’s statements are indeed extraordinary in many respects.

It seems Cardinal Cupich wants everyone to receive communion standing:

Our ritual for receiving of Holy Communion has special significance in this regard. It reminds us that receiving the Eucharist is not a private action but rather a communal one, as the very word “communion” implies. For that reason, the norm established by Holy See for the universal church and approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is for the faithful to process together as an expression of their coming forward as the Body of Christ and to receive Holy Communion standing.

In fact, the “norms” published by the USSCB and currently found on its website do not state that:

The General Instruction asks each country’s Conference of Bishops to determine the posture to be used for the reception of Communion and the act of reverence to be made by each person as he or she receives Communion

In the United States, the body of Bishops has determined that “[t]he norm… is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling” and that a bow is the act of reverence made by those receiving (no. 160).

Therefore, it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing” (Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 91). 2)

What other authority does Cardinal Cupich adduce?

It is important to recall that processions have been part of the liturgy from the earliest days of Christian practice. … This is why we process into the church, process up to bring the gifts, process to receive Holy Communion and process out at the end of Mass to carry the Lord into the world. … Nothing should be done to impede any of these processions, particularly the one that takes place during the sacred Communion ritual. 3)

In part, of course, this is nonsense. The congregation does not process in or out of the church. In the Novus Ordo only a few individuals “process” with the gifts. But in part it is also pathological. For the cardinal views communion as a group or communal event. This is consistent with current liturgical practice, where everyone receives communion, regardless of his spiritual state or, often, even his religion. In Cupich’s mind, however, the key problem is not to “disrupt” the “flow” of the action.

Cardinal Cupich further draws for support on the principle of:

(The “Council Fathers” – SC) took seriously the ancient maxim “lex orandi, lex credenda,” a phrase often associated with Prosper of Aquitaine, a fifth-century Christian writer. It simply means that the law of praying establishes the law of believing. 4)

Now, as an erudite friend of mine points out, the actual expression is lex orandi, lex credendi. “Lex orandi, lex credenda” means the law of praying must be believed. Is it simply a gross mistake? That’s very likely, since Cardinal Cupich goes on to write:

The law of praying establishes the law of believing is our tradition. (sic) 5)

But perhaps unwittingly the cardinal may indeed be asserting that the law of praying (meaning the Novus Ordo) must be believed (= unconditionally accepted?). That would be consistent with Traditiones Custodes and how it has been forcefully applied in the archdiocese of Chicago. And Cardinal Cupich commences his article by claiming:

We all have benefited from the renewal of the church ushered in by the Second Vatican Council. 6)

Yet all objectively verifiable indicia testify to the drastic decline in religious practice since Vatican II, and the growing ignorance of basic Catholic and Christian doctrine – including the nature of the Eucharist – among those who still remain in the Church. Yes, the law of praying does indeed determine the law of believing, but in the case of the Novus Ordo the result has been calamitous.

Isn’t the real problem here that the institution of receiving communion standing (and in the hand) is even today such a breach with Catholic tradition and practice that a minority, while remaining within the Novus Ordo, cannot accept it. And Cardinal Cupich’s “solution,” as well as his theory of the communion ritual as a communal act, illustrates nicely the totalitarian aspects of the Novus Ordo – the drive to create a block-like unity in the congregation through the mandatory performance by all of external acts under the supervision of the “presider.” Finally, our Conservative Catholic friends would do well to take note that Cardinal Cupich’s article confirms that, under the current pontificate, not just Catholic Traditionalism but all aspects of continuity with prior Catholic liturgical practice remain potential targets of the friends of Francis.

1. Cardinal Blaise Cupich, “As we pray…”, Chicagocatholic.com (12/11/2024). For the German semi-official reaction see: “Kardinal: Kommunionempfang nicht zur frommen Show machen,” Katholisch.de (12/13/2024). The introduction to the katholisch.de article states: “In receiving communion the community is what matters, not the servile pose of individuals.” The contempt of the Catholic establishment in Europe (and the United States) for the faithful, their dignity and rights, couldn’t be better expressed. (both accessed 12/13/2024)
2. USCCB, “The Reception of Holy Communion at Mass,” usccb.org (accessed 12/13/2024)
3. “As we pray… .” supra note 1.
4. Id.
5. Id.
6. Id.