Reason 14

14. Because the New Mass favors the heretical theory that it is THE FAITH of the people and not THE WORD OF THE PRIEST which makes Christ present in the Eucharist.


To make it clear, this is a heretical concept. Neither the faith of the people nor even their presence influences the success or failure of the institution of the Eucharist. Likewise, a lack of a Priest speaking the words of institution would mean that the Eucharistic transformation would not take place.

We must now ask if the New Mass actually implies this position, much less favors it. As again the pamphlet offers no specific examples, I must rely on my own experiences and a review of the relevant texts. Thus I may miss something of import, but I trust that any omission shall be made known to me.

Having considered this position and examined the four Eucharistic prayers (the prayers explicitly associated with the institution of the Eucharist) I found no implication such as suggested by this objection. The closest thing to an issue is the use of the sacrifice being offered by the people which is correct insofar as all the faithful take part in the sacrifice by virtue of their baptism.

Again this objection seems to stem more from deficient theology proclaimed in the “spirit of Vatican II,” a nebulous term often used to force false doctrines and inane liturgical ideas into use in many parishes. It is not uncommon to hear someone declare that the faith of the communicant is necessary or in someway related to the institution of the Eucharist, up to suggesting that proper faith is necessary in receiving the Eucharist for it to in fact be the Body of Christ. This position is clearly against the Church’s teaching.

Thus it is highly likely that many Masses have included this heretical teaching either in a homily or an alteration to the words of the Mass, but it is not supported by the texts themselves and thus is not flaw with the New Mass.