Catholic school girl "pockets" the host

[mumto5]

When I was her age, at Catholic school, I could have easily written something like this. I wouldn’t have done what she did if I went up to communion. I went and saw the principal and told him I didn’t want to go to Mass as I believed it was wrong (he was a brother). He just nodded and let me get on with it. I was excused Mass and allowed to leave the school when it was on. He was wise not to push it but I would have been thrilled if the response had been to study the faith with someone. I just didn’t know how to initiate that, hadn’t heard of RCIA, was raised Catholic in name only. Like this girl, I was sincere in my search for ‘truth’ and studied with the churches that did offer something that seemed more concrete. Also, the members really seemed to care and were kind, sincere about their faith, they LIVED their faith. How many Catholics did that? Not many I could see. I felt Catholicism was about hyposcrisy. I got baptised in a different faith. Anyway, I came back eventually after realising there were some ‘real’ Catholics out there who did try and live their faith. When I did my first communion, I didn’t understand it even though I’d been to classes. I didn’t know as much as that it was more than just a wafer.

I think a lot of you are being too hard on this girl. My point in relating my story is this: .I believe, from experience, that this girl is sincerely searching and the way people respond to this is going to have a big impact on where she goes from here. Yes, she needs to be admonished about taking communion, which she probably doesn’t really understand. I will give her this, at least she is thinking. I think her family should be looking at the obvious spiritual gap in her life. Probably caused by lack of understanding. Maybe this girl would benefit from learning about the faith so she can find value in it. She is not simply a bad girl who committed desecration with that as her intention. She is a seeker. There have probably been a long line of people whose actions have brought her to this point. Just as many whose inactions have contributed to the same. It’s not too late. All this girl needs is for someone to answer her questions.

I recall going to a teacher and asking why Catholics believed something and being told to stop being controversial. I wasn’t trying to be controversial. I was looking for answers and seeking to understand. This kind of response only drove me out further.

I hope this girl will find the support she needs to learn what she needs to know.

 

[TeriGator]

rwoehmke:

What happened to the host? Reverence and concern is a good thing but I cannot believe that Jesus is the least bit insulted by her actions. After what we did to Him on Good Friday, Him being folded away in a pocket or even being tossed in the garbage is nothing…

So are you really saying that it’s okay to add insult (and additional injury) to the most holy body of Christ because He’s already been through the worst on the cross? That doesn’t make any sense to me - like stomping on someone who has been tortured, and saying “it’s okay, it’s nothing compared to what they already did to him.”

If we cannot display true awe and worship toward the very flesh and blood that was brutalized in our stead and for our sins, toward our Lord and God come down from heaven, then we have truly degraded the very meaning of His death and resurrection.

I’m still hoping that you were somehow being facetious.

 

[jimmy]

Kielbasi:

Because she is a minor, she wouldn’t be excommunicated.

**

*Can. 1323 No one is liable to a penalty who, when violating a law or precept:

1ƒ has not completed the sixteenth year of age; *

That means that if she is sixteen or older, she is excommunicated, since fifteen is the sixteenth year. Since she only has one year left in highschool, it is safe to assume she is atleast sixteen.

 

[djrakowski]

Detroit Sue:

Something in that girl’s story smacks of fiction. I don’t think I am that naive, but I truly believe that a Catholic highschooler would do anything so absolutely reprehensible.

Hi Sue… although I know that you’re coming from an intense love of the Church, I’m sad to say that I’m not at all surprised that this is indeed not fiction. I had roommates in college who used to boast of how they abused the nuns at Shrine, and a co-worker’s son who deliberately flunked religion class at DeLaSalle to spite his parents and teachers. Yes, these don’t come even close to desecrating the Host, but they were bad impressions of Catholic education that have stuck in my mind.

 

[rwoehmke]

TeriGator:

So are you really saying that it’s okay to add insult (and additional injury) to the most holy body of Christ because He’s already been through the worst on the cross? That doesn’t make any sense to me - like stomping on someone who has been tortured, and saying “it’s okay, it’s nothing compared to what they already did to him.”

If we cannot display true awe and worship toward the very flesh and blood that was brutalized in our stead and for our sins, toward our Lord and God come down from heaven, then we have truly degraded the very meaning of His death and resurrection.

I’m still hoping that you were somehow being facetious.

To answer a number of you who were “put off” by my original post(number 35 above), I certainly do not accept that abuse of the sacred host is an okay thing to do. I am saying that I think sometimes we antrhopomorphsize God as having our very human emotions and that I am also sure that diliberate sin on our part would be a much graver insult to God than the actions of an idiot girl who obviously does not understand that she is committing a grave sin(remember the three conditions). Also there is no evidence what-so-ever except her own word that she did indeed kidnap Jesus. That being said, if she were my kid she would not be going out much or watching TV etc. she would be about as close to the ground as one can get. Being as intelligent as she writes I fail to believe she would have to wonder why her bottom was in the sling. This girl needs prayer and discipline. Lots of both.

Jack Chick is a very anti-catholic writer of religous tracts that talk of the whore of Babylon, the satanic cookie(the host), and so forth. I suppose it is appropriate that his screeds are often left in public toilets for those who will read anything while doing their duty. I was therefore a little “tongue in cheek” and also struggling with the “lynch mob” tone of some of the posters. I think they were much more insulted than Jesus. As for RCIA, I teach as the Church teaches because I have accepted that responsibility and not the responsibility to teach my own opinions and feelings. I took a test/survey on beliefnet.com Monday and scored over 70 but under 80 which classifies me as a neo-traditionalist. Hardly what one might call a liberal.

 

[fix]

rwoehmke:

To answer a number of you who were “put off” by my original post(number 35 above), I certainly do not accept that abuse of the sacred host is an okay thing to do. I am saying that I think sometimes we antrhopomorphsize God as having our very human emotions and that I am also sure that diliberate sin on our part would be a much graver insult to God than the actions of an idiot girl who obviously does not understand that she is committing a grave sin(remember the three conditions). Also there is no evidence what-so-ever except her own word that she did indeed kidnap Jesus. That being said, if she were my kid she would not be going out much or watching TV etc. she would be about as close to the ground as one can get. Being as intelligent as she writes I fail to believe she would have to wonder why her bottom was in the sling. This girl needs prayer and discipline. Lots of both.

Jack Chick is a very anti-catholic writer of religous tracts that talk of the whore of Babylon, the satanic cookie(the host), and so forth. I suppose it is appropriate that his screeds are often left in public toilets for those who will read anything while doing their duty. I was therefore a little “tongue in cheek” and also struggling with the “lynch mob” tone of some of the posters. I think they were much more insulted than Jesus. As for RCIA, I teach as the Church teaches because I have accepted that responsibility and not the responsibility to teach my own opinions and feelings. I took a test/survey on beliefnet.com Monday and scored over 70 but under 80 which classifies me as a neo-traditionalist. Hardly what one might call a liberal.

I think I understand your points and tone, but IMO, you are doing a great disservice to this girl by minimizing her actions and her intentions.

Objectively her actions were evil, we can’t know the state of her soul before God, but we should not overlook this terrible act by implying she is ignorant. By her own words she was willful. Young people can and do commit mortal sins. I do not know her culpability, but I would not treat her or this case as mere adolescent rebellion or make the astonishing claim that Christ would not be offended by these actions.

 

[Catholic2003]

jimmy:

That means that if she is sixteen or older, she is excommunicated, since fifteen is the sixteenth year. Since she only has one year left in highschool, it is safe to assume she is atleast sixteen.

Please review post #15.

The cutoff age for excommunication is 18. If she is under 18, then she is not excommunicated. If she is 18 or older, then she is subject to excommunication, provided that none of the other mitigating circumstances apply.

 

[rwoehmke]

fix:

I think I understand your points and tone, but IMO, you are doing a great disservice to this girl by minimizing her actions and her intentions.Objectively her actions were evil, we can’t know the state of her soul before God, but we should not overlook this terrible act by implying she is ignorant. By her own words she was willful. Young people can and do commit mortal sins. I do not know her culpability, but I would not treat her or this case as mere adolescent rebellion or make the astonishing claim that Christ would not be offended by these actions.

I don’t disgree with your assessment. My wife and I raised six kids and dealt with their adolescent behavior. IMHO if this girl was reading this thread she would be ecstatic at the reaction she was able to generate. She may be a lost and wandering soul, or on the other hand as a junior in highschool she has learned well how to pull peoples chains and I would say if that was her intention she has succeeded magnificently.

 

[onetruechurch]

Elizabeth B.:

Has the school administration publicly responded to this article?

I can only monitor the Mercury News “letters to the Editor” for the next 2 days. I will then be completely out of the loop for a week. I am hoping that there is someone out there who is able to monitor it during that week. As of today July 26 there has not been an apology in the Mercury. I hope someone will keep this thread alive until we hear “good news”.
I know there is a Cardinal Newman Society that reports on Catholic universities that are not living up to their “Catholic” name. Is there such a society for Catholic high schools? If we do not hear from the administration either on this thread or in a letter to the editor I think this school should be exposed. Let’s hope and pray that the school administration will do God’s will.

 

[fix]

rwoehmke:

I don’t disgree with your assessment. My wife and I raised six kids and dealt with their adolescent behavior. IMHO if this girl was reading this thread she would be ecstatic at the reaction she was able to generate. She may be a lost and wandering soul, or on the other hand as a junior in highschool she has learned well how to pull peoples chains and I would say if that was her intention she has succeeded magnificently.

I know. She may be just trying to get a rise out of folks, but if the actions were actually committed and the thoughts she shared were true, she is gulity of more than adolosecent high jinks and is endangering her soul.

 

[GoLatin]

I heard the following from a man from my diocese who was once a teacher at a Catholic high school in a neighboring diocese.(He is still Catholic, he just now has a position with his own diocese. He is a convert, and I think that this teaching position was his first Catholic job.)

At this high school, at a Mass for the students, one student, apparently on a dare from a friend, went up for Communion, and when he got to the Precious Blood, drained the ENTIRE Contents of the Chalice. So now the Precious Blood is now apparently no longer offered at student Masses at this school.

So Eucharistic abuse can also go on with the Precious Blood, not just with the Body of Christ!

 

[onetruechurch]

GoLatin:

I heard the following from a man from my diocese who was once a teacher at a Catholic high school in a neighboring diocese.(He is still Catholic, he just now has a position with his own diocese. He is a convert, and I think that this teaching position was his first Catholic job.)

At this high school, at a Mass for the students, one student, apparently on a dare from a friend, went up for Communion, and when he got to the Precious Blood, drained the ENTIRE Contents of the Chalice. So now the Precious Blood is now apparently no longer offered at student Masses at this school.

So Eucharistic abuse can also go on with the Precious Blood, not just with the Body of Christ!

I am pleased to hear that the school administration took immediate disciplinary action. Let’s hope and pray that Mitty High School does likewise. The main difference between the Catholic church and protestant churches is that the Catholic church has the eucharist. If a student hasn’t learned to understand and respect the eucharist by the time he/she has reached the age of reason, he/she is not ready for receiving communion. It saddens me that some Catholic High Schools have such a liberal environment. Too much liberalism creates confused students who think they are being “smart” when they slander the church publicly. A truly “smart” student should take advantage of any religion teachers who would be willing to have classes or seminars for those who are having doubts. If Mitty High School doesn’t have any such faculty member who could handle a class of doubting students they could get help from the Catholic Answers website.

 

[Petertherock]

Do we know for a fact that this school is liberal? I mean people could and would do something like this in a conservative school environment. Teenagers are rebels and if the schools are too conservative they can actually add to the amunition for this kind of action.

For instance, if a conservative priest gave a homily condemning homosexuals and there was some gay rights supporters at mass the gay rights people might do something similar to what the girl did. But if you were in a more liberal parish that was open to gays then the gay rights activist would be happy and not have any reason to do anything like that.

I am not saying the Church should water down it’s teaching because someone might desecrate the Holy Host. But I am saying this girls actions does not automatically make this school a “liberal” school.

 

[Trick]

onetruechurch:

I am pleased to hear that the school administration took immediate disciplinary action. Let’s hope and pray that Mitty High School does likewise. The main difference between the Catholic church and protestant churches is that the Catholic church has the eucharist. If a student hasn’t learned to understand and respect the eucharist by the time he/she has reached the age of reason, he/she is not ready for receiving communion. It saddens me that some Catholic High Schools have such a liberal environment. Too much liberalism creates confused students who think they are being “smart” when they slander the church publicly. A truly “smart” student should take advantage of any religion teachers who would be willing to have classes or seminars for those who are having doubts. If Mitty High School doesn’t have any such faculty member who could handle a class of doubting students they could get help from the Catholic Answers website.

What action was taken ?

Trick

 

[onetruechurch]

Peter, My definition of a liberal school would be one that did not discipline or acknowledge any wrong-doing. There was a certain liberal president of the US who committed a scandalous felony and did not admit wrong-doing. I will happily take away the “label” if Mitty would respond to our e-mails or respond on this forum.

Trick, the action that was taken at the school mentioned by GoLatin was to no longer offer the chalice to the students at the school mass. We do not know what also happened to the offending students. If GoLatin knows, maybe he will tell us.

 

[byzmelkite]

I suppose I won’t be saying anything that anyone hasn’t said before but I am guessing she will be really sorry someday when she is burning in hell for her blasphemies. I’m sure this kind of thing happens more often than we would think. That is very unfortunate because the only one being hurt is the one who does it. Still, it is basically spitting in God’s face, not very prudent I think. May God have mercy on her soul.

 

[Lost_Found]

Bella3502:

Thank you for saying this… :clapping: Oh my Goodness, there are so many mean spirits out there.

She is 16 years old for crying out loud… This is NOT the end of the world. Just a cry for help.

Bella, I believe that your unique perspective has merit, in that we should more often see others’ faulty behavior as a cry for help. In general this could make us more inclined to minister to them than to judge them. (I realize that you have complete and total respect for the Holy Eucharist and your point was specifically geared to the ministering and non-judgement of others.) Again, great point!!

 

[byzmelkite]

Lost&Found:

Bella, I believe that your unique perspective has merit, in that we should more often see others’ faulty behavior as a cry for help. In general this could make us more inclined to minister to them than to judge them. (I realize that you have complete and total respect for the Holy Eucharist and your point was specifically geared to the ministering and non-judgement of others.) Again, great point!!

Give me a friggin’ break. This is what is wrong with modern society. We coddle criminals and rebellious youth who, while immature, have enough reason to know the basics of what is right and wrong. If she didn’t know that this was something terribly wrong to do, then she should be permanently institutionalized. Its this bleeding heart nonsense that will send more people to hell than anything else.

 

[mumto5]

byzmelkite:

I suppose I won’t be saying anything that anyone hasn’t said before but I am guessing she will be really sorry someday when she is burning in hell for her blasphemies.

This is so presumptuous. How do you know how culpable she is for her actions?

 

[misericordie]

mumto5:

This is so presumptuous. How do you know how culpable she is for her actions?

Are you kidding right? Get real the Church says so. CHRIST is present in the eucharist, but seems you don’t believe so.