This is exactly why John Chrysostome started to give communion to the mouth only!
They would confront the person and either watch him consume the host or get it back. If you see him do it again, you can alert one of the ushers or Eucharistic Ministers.
Yes. A EMHC or a priest or Deacon would say " excuse me, but I’m going to have to ask you to consume the host right now, or give it back to me."
And, as you point out, not all the ‘weird stuff’ is based on the desire to desecrate the Eucharist. I’ve talked with priests who tell stories about people who just want to take the Eucharist home to a family member who is unable to attend Mass, or who want to adore the Eucharist at home. Not legit; but not nefarious, either…A woman did this at the Catholic school graduation Mass. I followed her to the parking lot, and she ran to her car and sped away.
It still really upsets me.
Weird stuff happens.
They went to the altar so another guess would be that they were an extra ordinary minister of holy communion bringing the body or Christ to the homebound or the sick and carrying Jesus in a special container called a pyx
We can make it legit by letting everyone be an extraordinary minister. But that no doubt would lead to chaos. And as I’ve said before, not everyone is cut out to be an EMHC.
But even then, there would be the problem that how he’s doing it (carrying it out in his hand) isn’t legit.
Yes – in the earliest days of the Church. As the Church grew in its awareness of exactly how the Eucharist was the Body & Blood of Christ, though, it was decided that this was a bad idea. It still is.
The other possibility then is to expand communion to include unconsecrated bread, such as the Poles and others do with what they call the oplatki. I don’t know how they could incorporate this into parishes but it can be done and it certainly wouldn’t be a risk to the profanity of the sacrament.But even then, there would be the problem that how he’s doing it (carrying it out in his hand) isn’t legit.
Yes – in the earliest days of the Church. As the Church grew in its awareness of exactly how the Eucharist was the Body & Blood of Christ, though, it was decided that this was a bad idea. It still is.
But, opłatki isn’t communion; they’re just wafers. Big difference.
This is a good point.
At the local abbey, they recently put up a sign at the entrance of the conventual church that the host must be consumed in front of a priest (with 15 priests concelebrating, there isn’t even a need to have the Eucharist given by a deacon, let alone an EMHC). I witnessed several incidents before that.
On the contrary, the opłatek (singular form of opłatki) is very much communion. (I think it was Br. JR who told me this.) Small children, divorced/remarried et al exchange it. It just isn’t the Body and Blood of Christ.
Perhaps, but shouldn’t people know the hosts that are in back of the church (as people come in) are unconsecrated? Why can’t those that are left there be distributed there? I don’t see the confusion, although I admit anything introduced into the liturgy may cause -]some/-] lots of confusion.
Polish people may not think this to be as funny as you do. We were always excited to receive them inside Christmas cards and the like.
OK; so, we’re talking around one another, then. The topic was the Eucharist; you’ve expanded it to include all sorts of things that people exchange that manifest the communion – that is, the ‘unity’ – they share.
Here’s the thing, though: if you take an unconsecrated host home with you, and I take the Eucharist, and we both show up at a sick person’s house… how will he know which is which? And, for a person who’s sick or otherwise not in their best frame of mind, won’t the sight of an unconsecrated host be potentially confusing?
Take a host out of a church, and show it to a Catholic out on the street. Ask him what it is. If he doesn’t say “Eucharist” (or ‘communion’), I’ll concede. In other words: complete confusion.
You misunderstand me. (And yes, I was always excited to open up a Christmas card from our family back in Europe and find an opłatek in it!) But, there’s a big difference between that and your suggestion that people come home from Mass carrying an (unconsecrated!) opłatek…
Better than a consecrated one in this case, which is my point. If people must take something out of church, which one is preferable, the consecrated one or the unconsecrated one? Judging by the testimonials presented so far on this thread, it doesn’t seem like the “honor system” is working too well. And not all ministers of communion are 6ft 7in tall to intimidate potential offenders.
I think at some of the oplatki exchanges, some actually think or pretend it’s consecrated, they even fast beforehand, but point taken.
I doubt Rome was given little choice in the matter of communion in the hand, as well as many others. Rome puts up with it but that’s about it. In fact the US Bishops tried to do away with anything BUT the reception of communion in the hand while standing which Rome rejected; their website even states that the order came from Rome. Someone walking out the door with the Eucharist is something that would have been incredibly difficult previously and no one could say otherwise; gee I wonder which Bella Dodd seminary infiltrator came up with this one! All one needs to is look at Papal Masses offered as a guide. Roma loctua est indeed; open your eyes.
I doubt Rome was given much choice in the matter of communion in the hand, as well as many others. Rome puts up with it but that’s about it. In fact the US Bishops tried to do away with anything BUT the reception of communion in the hand while standing which Rome rejected; their website even states that the order came from Rome. Someone walking out the door with the Eucharist is something that would have been incredibly difficult previously and no one could say otherwise; gee I wonder which Bella Dodd seminary infiltrator who made his way up the ranks came up with this one! All one needs to is look at Papal Masses offered as a guide. Roma loctua est indeed. Open your eyes.
Opłatki is based on antidoron which is a Byzantine Rite custom. Introducing it into the Roman Rite would be a byzantinization, and you know how sensitive people are about latinizations - this is going in the opposite direction.