The Easter Duty: Its Mode of Observance - Extended

In order to help the faithful in the working out of their eternal salvation superiors in the Church make laws. Since circumstances of life change it becomes necessary from time to time for those in authority in the Church to modify old laws or make new laws. Over the centuries the Church has made and changed her laws to fit the needs of the times. The decrees (laws if you wish) of the Church grew gradually, and it was not until 1917 that the Church made its first Code of Canon Law, that is, assembled in one collection. Obvious, her laws were in various documents, but they were not coordinated into one book until 1917.

To some degree many Ecclesiastical laws are an extension of natural laws and divine laws. Ecclesiastical laws often serve as a clarification what is already in natural law and divine law. This will become clearer as We develop this document.

An obvious example of this is where the Third Commandment of God is embellished by the First Commandment of the Church. The First Commandment of God requires that all men must keep the Lord’s day holy. Nothing specifically is commanded, so it is up to every person to find his way to make it holy. However, the Church law commands that on the Lord’s Day the faithful must attend Mass. Also the faithful must abstain from servile work on the Lord’s Day in order to make it holy, as is basically urged by the divine law.

The present regulation concerning the Easter Duty has become imperative because many of the faithful have no opportunity to receive Holy Communion during the Easter season. No one is bound to do the impossible. Hence, when it is impossible for many of the faithful to get to Mass during the Easter season they cannot fulfill the duty to go to Communion during that time. That condition makes it very easy for the lax members of the faithful to disappear entirely out of the sight of the priests. In order to be just before God they must will to observe their Easter duty. To say, “I would not go to Communion any more even if I had an opportunity to do so,” would be a violation of the law. However, as the law stands today those who cannot fulfill the Easter duty have no violation, and they have no sin. The same applies to the duty of going to confession at least once a year: be that during the Easter season or any other time. Those who desire to fulfill that obligation but are unable to do so have no violation and no sin against that Commandment.

What We are concerned about is this. We and Our priest have no way to know if the individual Catholics are still in the Church or fallen away from the Church. Over the past years a number of Our Catholics have received Our newsletters, and they never sent Us any letters. They do not support the Church, and they do not indicate that they are practicing their faith. As a matter of fact, when We ask for an answer they neglect to write to Us or Our priest. To that total silence, all We can conclude is that they may have died unbeknownst to Us, or that they no longer want to be with Us in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

What We would expect of a Catholic is that he professes his divine and Catholic faith in simple terms. Also, even by mail he can support the priests. When We see deliberate silence and no effort at contributing to the support of the Church We are forced to consider them among the publicans and sinners, in the outer darkness of mortal sin. Woe to those who die outside the Church, for a dogma of the faith states it thus: “Outside the Church there is no salvation.” We become the father of a prodigal son, praying and waiting for the prodigal son to return to the fold, lest he die of wretchedness and hunger. Yet, we still keep the names of all Catholics on our register as it may be that such Catholics do not contact Us through no fault of their own, under circumstances outside of their control.

While We are alone with just one priest there is an open opportunity for the younger generation to get lost in the exterior darkness where there is the weeping and gnashing of teeth. They see one parent or even both parents practicing (as they see it) some kind of religion. They ride along with the prayers and other practices as a mere family practice, one that they are free to terminate when they leave home.

In other words, the Catholic religion never really becomes a personal thing for them. When a family goes to Church together the children get instructed in the faith in Sunday sermons, and they go along developing as Catholics when they receive their first holy Communion. The same goes for the sacrament of Confirmation. Generally before Confirmation there are intensive instructions which give twelve years olds a rather mature understanding and love of the Church.

Christ gave the obligation to receive His Body and Blood to all those who have the use of reason. The use of reason usually starts around ages six or seven. The Council of Trent stressed that, and Pope Pius X reiterated that teaching in no uncertain terms.

Since Christ gave the commandment that his Body and Blood must be received in order to be saved, it is a divine law. He left it up to the Church to point out that His commandment bound all normal Catholics when they acquired the use of reason.

Ever since We acquired the use of reason, that is, when We received Our first holy Communion We marveled that there was a law requiring all Catholic to receive Communion during the Easter season. By the way, that season, by Church law, extends from Ash Wednesday to Trinity Sunday. Any person receiving Communion between those dates has fulfilled that Church law, and they remain in good standing in the Church. Those who neglect to do so when they can do so, commit a mortal sin. Thereafter, the only way to get out of that sin is to go to confession and Communion, again assuming that a priest is available. The mere neglecting of fulfilling the Easter Duty does not excommunicate one. If one neglects that duty for a number of years it is likely that he will lose his faith and abandon the Church. For example, a Catholic couple gets married outside the laws of the Church and lives as heathens.

Once again We return to the Church law of obliging the faithful to make their Easter Duty, that is, to receive Communion during the Easter season. It shows that the faithful had become so lax that even those who went to Mass every Sunday did not even go to Communion at least once a year. That lax attitude or coldness was even bolstered by some who demanded very much preparation for each Communion. Just study the lives of Saints. Some were forced to wait for their first Communion until they were twelve years of age. We live in the twilight of that error also. As a young priest in Our first assignment We had a relative come to Us with the problem in their parish. The pastor demanded that the first Communion could be received only after a child in his parish reached twelve years of age. A relative came to Us with their daughter thus deprived of first Communion by their pastor. Of that pastor We say: shame on you!

We heard the confession of the girl, and We invited her and her parents to come to Our Mass, and We would give to her first Communion. We acted correctly, but there was an opening that the girl’s pastor could have demanded that We keep Our nose out of his business. Really, it was his business, his duty to prepare that girl for first Communion as soon as she came to the use of reason, and not block her observance of the divine law requiring her go to Communion.

At the present time there are only two priests in the Catholic Church from which the faithful can receive the sacraments. We have only one priest, so here and at his home or visiting centers all the faithful would have to travel. Imagine people from Australia coming to America in order to fulfill their Easter duty. Catholics live thousands of miles from either of us, so they cannot meet the priests for the reception of the sacraments, certainly not every year. Again, nobody is required to do the impossible. That must be rightly understood, lest you get into trouble.

In these days mail is distributed all over the world. Hence, every person can write to the Pope or to his one priest. We now extend the law of Easter duty by making it obligatory that those who cannot get to a priest for their Easter duty must write to one of us during the Easter season. In that letter they must acknowledge that they would like to get to Mass and holy Communion, but that it is impossible for them to do so. Hence, they profess their Catholic faith and their will to observe all the laws of God and His holy Church. They desire the sacraments of penance and holy Communion. While that is impossible they profess that on regular intervals (possibly daily) they will make the act of perfect contrition. They will confess their mortal sins (if that applies) when the Sacrament of Confession is available. They will also profess their belief in the holy Eucharist, and their desire to receive Christ, really, truly and substantially in Holy Communion.. That profession should be so stated, that the belief in the Eucharist, is not that Christ is hidden in the sacred Host, but that the sacred (consecrated) Host is the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Sacred Host (His Body) and Consecrated Wine (His Blood) Christ is really, truly and substantially present. With the help of God they profess this faith, without the least doubt or fear of being in error.

During the past years We have seen the sad defection of both parents and children. Such a sad tragedy generally occurs by steps. They neglect to make every Sunday holy. There is no Mass that they can attend, so the live on Sundays as heathens. They stay in bed until it is time to eat. They neglect even ordinary prayers. They dress in work clothes, and chase after recreation in mundane activities. They go to or watch games to excess. The Lord’s day is merely a time for worldly pleasures, rightly labeled “eating, drinking and being merry.”

It may not be completely clear to all of you what We are saying. Here is an example of what We have in mind. The following incident was given to Us as a true story. One evening, as a school bus was taking the children home, a terrible snow storm developed. The bus became stuck, and it could not move. The bus driver told the children to remain in the bus. He told them that he would go by foot to get help.

Hours passed, and no help came. Here and there in the bus some children began to fall asleep. Several boys saw the trouble, and they ganged up on the dozing children, not leaving them to go to sleep even for a short time. They knew that if a sleeping person freezes to death he will never know it. Hence, in order to save the lives of all the children on the stranded bus, they organized activities, jumping over the seats, running and jumping. That went on all night. In the morning help came, and the adults feared that all or many of the children would be frozen to death. Instead they found that all the children were alive and well. They were most thankful to the children who organized the exercises on the bus. Going to sleep and dying would have been the natural thing to do.

Today We see all Catholics in general and the children in particular, as the children in that stranded bus during a snow storm. We are mandating an annual activity on those, as it applies to them, which will keep them warm and active in the Catholic faith. Nothing is added to nor subtracted from the Church law demanding that Holy Communion be received by all during the Easter season. However, where that cannot be observed because of whatever circumstances prevail, the letter to the Pope or priest in charge of the area must be sent under the penalty of mortal sin. That contact for the good of the souls is so important that We make it a serious (grave) obligation. Hence, a deliberate violation of this precept constitutes the material for a mortal sin.

It is Our concern for the souls of lax and careless Catholics that has brought on this action on Our part. During Our ministry in a foreign mission We heard adult men chiding themselves for forgetting the fundamentals of the faith. One man said he even forgot how to recite all the Commandments of God and all the Commandments Church. To one and all who read this newsletter We direct this question. Can you recite the Ten Commandments of God and the Six Precepts of the Church? If you can, please do not think that you are entirely in the clear air of known truth. The 1917 Code of Canon Law, now in force, is composed of 2,414 Canons. Call them directives of law as you please. They direct and command how Catholics must conduct their lives. Natural and divine laws never change. However, purely ecclesiastical laws change as the circumstances of time and place require. A simple example of what We are saying is this. It used to be the Church law that one had to abstain from all food and all drink (water included) from midnight on days that the faithful were to receive Holy Communion. In our times, Pope XII saw fit to change that to the law now in practice. We quote from a standard up-to-date moral theology book as follows: “The eucharistic fast, i.e., abstinence, (A) for three hours immediately preceding reception, from solid foods and alcoholic beverages; (B) for one hour from non-alcoholic beverages. Water does not break the fast. This most recent legislation was issued in a Motu Proprio by Pope Pius XII March 19, 1957.”

We shall run an example. If you are to receive Holy Communion at nine o’clock you may eat and drink normally until six o’clock. After that you may not take any food or alcoholic drinks. However, you may drink fruit juices, soft drinks and the like until eight o’clock. Even after eight o’clock one may drink water right up to the time of receiving Communion.

The above example shows that those teaching catechism must keep up-to-date with up-to-date catechisms when they are available. If the catechism you use is older than the date where Pope Pius XII gave the latest law on the Eucharist fast then the one must teach the law that is binding right now.

To summarize, the Easter Duty of receiving holy Communion at least once between Ash Wednesday and Trinity Sunday is binding as usual. When that cannot be observed for just reasons the obligation to write a letter to the Pope or a priest in charge over you, during the Easter Season, comes into force as given above. If one received Holy Communion during that time no letter needs be written to the Pope or the priest in charge.

We shall use this newsletter to promulgate this law, dated September 25, 2004. Every Catholic should feel an obligation to read all the newsletters. For some time in the future We shall continue to repeat this obligation. Once a law is published in a normal way all Catholics are obliged to know the law.

There are families where the children have left home for school and for work. We do not have all their addresses, and We presume that their parents are sending them the newsletters. We have no other way to keep up with children who do not write to Us and tell Us their address.

Try to imagine a scenario where when you get the use of reason you automatically enter the military service. If you do not report for duty you are AWOL, and severe punishments follow, whether you like it or not. Children who were baptized, and while residing at home, observed the commandment of performing the Easter Duty as a natural course of events. When they leave home they must live in the parish where they have residence. Catholics cannot pick their parish. They are parishioners in the parish that exists in their area, whether they like it or not. There may be another parish or two in town, but they remain in the parish where they live, inside its borders: something that is determined by the bishop. You can observe how Protestants live. Since their “church” is not universal (over the whole world) they pick and choose any parish where they like it the best. If they don’t like the way their minister smiles, they go elsewhere.

While We are on the topic of receiving holy Communion We shall make some observations on how to observe that obligation. There are spiritual preparations and bodily preparations. The basic spiritual obligation is to be in the state of sanctifying grace, and merely getting sanctifying grace by the act of perfect contrition is not enough. Before going to Communion one must have confessed all his mortal sins and received absolution from a duly authorized priest. One can receive Communion while having venial sins, but even at that, one should try to get forgiveness for them by the act of perfect contrition. The better one is prepared the more graces one received from his reception of Holy Communion.

The body must be prepared also. First of all one must be bodily clean. One must have clean and modest clothing. Furthermore, the clothing should be dress clothing. Overalls and all denim wear as skirts and jackets cannot be classed as suitable for clothing to be worn when in the house of God or any place where Mass may be said in these days. Our conduct at Mass and the reception of the sacraments tells God and our fellowmen what we think of God. Unless times have gone really rotten, people go to weddings in fine dress clothing.

Do not look at the way people now go to the Novus Ordo Churches for their services. They are horribly dressed, and instead of elevated music they use rock songs. We saw one such Church where they had a dead tree with Easter Eggs hanging from the leafless branches. The very best that we can give to God is never enough, but God accepts our best efforts to honor and serve Him.

The mental preparation for serving God is also to be considered. In these days good books on theology and devotion are available. Hence, our minds must be steeped in holy knowledge and our hearts filled with love and devotion. If you buy a Catholic book from time to time the publishers keep on sending you catalogs listing the latest publications. What you must buy are copies of pre-Vatican II days. We and Father Lyons will advise you concerning correct and proper reading materials, that is, if you have questions.

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We do not know your individual needs, but We know one book that can be most helpful to both children and adults. It is entitled A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture, by Bishop Frederick Justus Knecht, D.D. It has 844 pages with an imprimatur dated 1923. It has a hundred pictures and four maps. Order from TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. P.O. Box 424, Rockford, IL 61105, 1-800-437-5876.

We read this book for Our learning and spiritual advancement. You will do well to do the same.