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Adonia said:
This is an unbelievable act on the part of this person. How can people even think of doing something such as this? You should tell your friend to stop this practice immediately and run, not walk to the nearest priest for a heartfelt confession. This is outrageous!
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She’s not really my friend, she’s a neighbor that I’m friendly with. I don’t know that I’m close enough to her to chastise her decision to smuggle The Holy Eucharists out of mass and keep them at home. I know she definitely does not do it to be hateful, but rather she saves them for use when there is an urgent matter. In fact, she told me that on days her sons have important tests at school, she will pack a Holy Host in their lunch so that they may be strengthened by God. This is an otherwise VERY religious woman. Her home is full of icons and holy water fonts and I know she goes to mass every day (maybe to obtain more Holy Hosts for her stash?) I might need to think of a way to convey to her that we are not to have Holy Hosts in the home. I came to ask about a Monstrance and now I have a new dilemma on my hands!
 
MarkThompson said:
It is sacrilege and a grave sin to buy or sell relics under any circumstances.
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If you are buying them only to keep them out of museums and to put them in churches where they belong, that might be ok. A church in my town has quite a few relics- and e-bay receipts for some of them.
 
Wow what an interesting thread. I have been watching it all day.

I really think you need to talk to your friend about the Hosts that she has in her house. That’s sacriligious and very irreverant, no matter what they are taken for. I am sure her intentions were good, but just because intentions are good, does not negate the seriousness nor moral evil that this act is.

Please do have a talk with her and just be compassionate and understanding. Share with her about your desire to have Adoration in your home and how you learned that having Hosts in your home without the Bishop’s permission is wrong. I would advise her to go and talk to the priest.

If you go to the same parish, I know this may sound like ratting, but in this circumstance I do believe that it is okay and even almost required. Talk to the priest. Tell him what you know. He will know how to handle the situation discretely.

God Bless.
 
lambOpeace said:
Wow. Thank you very much for your suggestions, everyone. I appreciate your time. I have to say I am slightly taken aback because a neighbor of mine had many Holy Hosts in a ceramic container at her house. I know that she obtained the Blessed Hosts by taking communion at mass, and then just holding on to the Holy Host and bringing them home in her purse.

Thanks
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this is actually as stated a very grave abuse and sacrilege, if this is still going on tell your pastor immediately so he can correct her. The potential for abuse of our Precious Lord in the way is huge.

please take the suggestion about donation to a needy parish through Catholic Extension seriously. Under no circumstances should you sell the article on e-bay or anywhere else. Or just give it to your pastor, explain how you acquired it, and let him take it from there. At the same time, ask him to point you in the direction of good adult education on the Eucharist, which you do need.
 
m134e5 said:
If you are buying them only to keep them out of museums and to put them in churches where they belong, that might be ok. A church in my town has quite a few relics- and e-bay receipts for some of them.
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No. Buying and selling relics is strictly forbidden, no matter the reason. If you are very troubled about it, tell your pastor and give him the link to the auction.
 
lambOpeace said:
She’s not really my friend, she’s a neighbor that I’m friendly with. I don’t know that I’m close enough to her to chastise her decision to smuggle The Holy Eucharists out of mass and keep them at home. I know she definitely does not do it to be hateful, but rather she saves them for use when there is an urgent matter. In fact, she told me that on days her sons have important tests at school, she will pack a Holy Host in their lunch so that they may be strengthened by God. This is an otherwise VERY religious woman. Her home is full of icons and holy water fonts and I know she goes to mass every day (maybe to obtain more Holy Hosts for her stash?) I might need to think of a way to convey to her that we are not to have Holy Hosts in the home. I came to ask about a Monstrance and now I have a new dilemma on my hands!
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Pack a Holy Host in a lunchbox? Why don’t I just pack Our Lord in my pocket the next time I play golf? You have got to be kidding me! This story gets worse by the minute. Yes you have a dilema here, but it is your duty to confront her with this sacrilege, or inform her parish priest that this is occuring. This type of behavior MUST be confronted and stopped! I shall pray for you concerning this matter. God bless!
 
According to Redemptionis Sacramentum:
[131.] Apart from the prescriptions of Canon 934 § 1, it is forbidden to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in a place that is not subject in a secure way to the authority of the diocesan Bishop, or where there is a danger of profanation. Where such is the case, the diocesan Bishop should immediately revoke any permission for reservation of the Eucharist that may already have been granted.224
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[132.] No one may carry the Most Holy Eucharist to his or her home, or to any other place contrary to the norm of law. It should also be borne in mind that removing or retaining the consecrated species for a sacrilegious purpose or casting them away are graviora delicta, the absolution of which is reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.225
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This is serious business and should not be taken lightly.
 
lambOpeace said:
Wow. Thank you very much for your suggestions, everyone. I appreciate your time. I have to say I am slightly taken aback because a neighbor of mine had many Holy Hosts in a ceramic container at her house. I know that she obtained the Blessed Hosts by taking communion at mass, and then just holding on to the Holy Host and bringing them home in her purse. She did not seem to think it was sacrilegious to bring the Hosts home and keep them as a blessing for her family and household. She said she occasionally used a Holy Host when one of her kids was sick, or she needed extra blessings. I didn’t know a ton about the issue, so I guess it did strike me as odd (sneaky) but I didn’t think too much of it at the time. Now I see that she was in error, although I don’t think she meant anyone malice.
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Holy Host? Most Blessed Host? Let’s be clear here. It is the entire substance of Jesus Christ. His body, blood, soul and divinity. It is Jesus Christ!

You don’t keep the Redeemer of Mankind in a jar in the pantry like Tylenol for when your kids have the flu or for you to use when you feel a little down. That is what holy water is for. To say that the woman is in error is no small understatement. Charity demands that we give her the benefit of the doubt about her knowledge of what she was doing but she needs an education, not just for God’s sake but for her own sake. And for her safety!

The Philistines, having captured the ark of God, transferred it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. … Now the LORD dealt severely with the people of Ashdod. He ravaged and afflicted the city and its vicinity with hemorrhoids; he brought upon the city a great and deadly plague of mice that swarmed in their ships and overran their fields. (1 Samuel 5:1,6)

Look what happened to the Philistines when they messed around with the Ark of God. Would anyone dare walk around with the Second Person of the Trinity in their pocket?

-Tim-
 
lambOpeace said:
That is actually a really great idea. The Monstrance is very pretty and I would like to have it on my mantle as a devotional piece, even if I can’t have a Holy Host in it.
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That’s actually a wonderful idea. It’d be nice to have a monstrance on one’s mantel.

Joseph
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
Are you sure these are Communion Hosts or are they Agnus Dei’s? They look very similar and if your friend is older these may have been passed down through her family.
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Just read this and wondered about what an Angus Dei is. Never heard of it but found this on Catholic Encyclopedia in case anyone else was wondering.

***The name Agnus Dei has been given to certain discs of wax impressed with the figure of a lamb and blessed at stated seasons by the Pope. They are sometimes round, sometimes oval in diameter. The lamb usually bears a cross or flag, while figures of saints or the name and arms of the Pope are also commonly impressed on the reverse. These Agnus Deis may be worn suspended round the neck, or they may be preserved as objects of devotion. In virtue of the consecration they receive, they are regarded, like holy water, blessed palms, etc., as “Sacramentals”. ***

-Tim-
 
lambOpeace said:
She’s not really my friend, she’s a neighbor that I’m friendly with. I don’t know that I’m close enough to her to chastise her decision to smuggle The Holy Eucharists out of mass and keep them at home. I know she definitely does not do it to be hateful, but rather she saves them for use when there is an urgent matter. In fact, she told me that on days her sons have important tests at school, she will pack a Holy Host in their lunch so that they may be strengthened by God. This is an otherwise VERY religious woman. Her home is full of icons and holy water fonts and I know she goes to mass every day (maybe to obtain more Holy Hosts for her stash?) I might need to think of a way to convey to her that we are not to have Holy Hosts in the home. I came to ask about a Monstrance and now I have a new dilemma on my hands!
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You have a serious dilemma on your hands, and because you have knowledge of this, you have an obligation to inform your pastor of this at once. You can try talking to her first, but I’m willing to bet that she will not return the Consecrated Hosts to the church, nor refrain from bringing them home. Do this ASAP. She has to be stopped from doing this, it is a very grave sacrilege. Do not delay to resolve this. Her sons should not even be consuming these Hosts with their lunch, that violates the Eucharistic Fast. This is wrong on so many levels, she must be stopped at once! To casually treat Our Precious Lord in this way is very grave; I can only hope that she is either mentally ill, or truly ignorant, because doing this with full knowledge, because it is a grave act, constitutes mortal sin. Please, please, please; inform your pastor at once! Pray for her, and thank you for asking on CAF, rather than following her wrong behavior.
 
lambOpeace said:
Oh, indeed I am sure. She told me how she obtained them (sleuthing them out of mass) and in fact she only showed me in the first place because I told her I had a terrible migraine, and she offered me a Holy Host so that I might feel better in time for a big meeting. She said she saved them for urgent situations. I was feeling sick to my stomach so I said no thanks.
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This story is terribly disturbing. I have heard rumors about people taking hosts out of Mass and not consuming the Eucharist when it is received. I didn’t necessarily believe them until I found a host in the back of a church, in the slot for the missal. It is neither appropriate nor proper to smuggle the Eucharist out of the church. And, your friend’s concept of the Eucharist as a magical Tylenol for migraines is equally disturbing. Her actions might be out of a false sense of piety, but they are gravely wrong and inappropriate.

As for saving them for a serious emergency, that’s what the Tabernacle is for. If there is an emergency requiring reception of the Eucharist, she should call a priest. I would definitely approach her first, but this is a serious enough issue that you might tell her pastor about it. That way, he can talk to her or simply be aware of the situation and monitor her at Mass. As much as we talk about liturgical abuse regarding rubrics on these boards, this is perhaps one of the gravest liturgical abuses of the highest magnitude no matter what sense of piety informed her actions. Again, this is a very serious manner, and I second what others have said in this manner.

On another note, please ignore the message above mine from hayyabusha. It is an inappropriate spam message.
 
lambOpeace said:
She’s not really my friend, she’s a neighbor that I’m friendly with. I don’t know that I’m close enough to her to chastise her decision to smuggle The Holy Eucharists out of mass and keep them at home. I know she definitely does not do it to be hateful, but rather she saves them for use when there is an urgent matter. In fact, she told me that on days her sons have important tests at school, she will pack a Holy Host in their lunch so that they may be strengthened by God. This is an otherwise VERY religious woman. Her home is full of icons and holy water fonts and I know she goes to mass every day (maybe to obtain more Holy Hosts for her stash?) I might need to think of a way to convey to her that we are not to have Holy Hosts in the home. I came to ask about a Monstrance and now I have a new dilemma on my hands!
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this is a very urgent issue, and you need to contact the pastor, I cannot overstate the gravity of this abuse and sacrilege. Having icons does not make you religious. She is anything but, she displays total ignorance of the Eucharist and is making the Blessed Sacrament into an object of superstition. It may not be her fault, but now you have this knowledge you simply must act. Call the priest today.
 
puzzleannie said:
this is a very urgent issue, and you need to contact the pastor, I cannot overstate the gravity of this abuse and sacrilege. Having icons does not make you religious. She is anything but, she displays total ignorance of the Eucharist and is making the Blessed Sacrament into an object of superstition. It may not be her fault, but now you have this knowledge you simply must act. Call the priest today.
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Wow. I was not expecting to have this whole other issue on my hands. I honestly just thought she was an strange lady. I had no idea the seriousness of the violation, even though I do know that The Holy Host is indeed Our Lord. Maybe I thought once the Holy Host was out of the church it was no longer sacred? I guess now that I think about it more it is very significant that she is sneaking Him out of mass and saving the Holy Hosts to use as she pleases. And yes, I agree packing one in a lunch sack is really inappropriate now that I am considering it.

We belong to the same parish but do not usually attend the same mass. As I said, she and I are not close and I am not sure knocking on her door to bring this up would go over all that well. I guess I can call the parish on Tuesday, when the office opens back up. I will let you know how it goes.
 
lambOpeace said:
Wow. I was not expecting to have this whole other issue on my hands. I honestly just thought she was an strange lady. I had no idea the seriousness of the violation, even though I do know that The Holy Host is indeed Our Lord. Maybe I thought once the Holy Host was out of the church it was no longer sacred? I guess now that I think about it more it is very significant that she is sneaking Him out of mass and saving the Holy Hosts to use as she pleases. And yes, I agree packing one in a lunch sack is really inappropriate now that I am considering it.

We belong to the same parish but do not usually attend the same mass. As I said, she and I are not close and I am not sure knocking on her door to bring this up would go over all that well. I guess I can call the parish on Tuesday, when the office opens back up. I will let you know how it goes.
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She may not even realise what she is doing is sacrilege. Others have pointed to areas of the Catechism that prohibit what she is doing: perhaps print them out and take them with you. She needs to know as soon as possible. It is perhaps better to discuss it with her directly - most people will take less offense if you go straight to them rather than going to the priest first. You should tell the priest anyway, especially if she refuses to stop.
 
lambOpeace said:
Wow. I was not expecting to have this whole other issue on my hands. I honestly just thought she was an strange lady. I had no idea the seriousness of the violation, even though I do know that The Holy Host is indeed Our Lord. Maybe I thought once the Holy Host was out of the church it was no longer sacred? I guess now that I think about it more it is very significant that she is sneaking Him out of mass and saving the Holy Hosts to use as she pleases. And yes, I agree packing one in a lunch sack is really inappropriate now that I am considering it.

We belong to the same parish but do not usually attend the same mass. As I said, she and I are not close and I am not sure knocking on her door to bring this up would go over all that well. I guess I can call the parish on Tuesday, when the office opens back up. I will let you know how it goes.
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Ahhh Good. Tuesday can’t get here soon enough in my opionion. I am praying on this. Glad you don’t think that once the Eucharistic Host is out of the Church it is not sacred anymore. Jesus is always present in the Eucharistic Host after Consecration and He does not go away at all no matter where he is.

I know this sounds real, but when I became a Catholic I was always amazed that Satanists wanted to have the Consecrated Host, and that got me to wondergin why. I wondered why they did not want to go out and buy doritos or say a box of crackers, then I realized by the grace of God, that the Consecrated Host was who the Church said it was, or else why would they go to the trouble of obtaining it. Can’t desecrate a cracker, but sure can desecrate a Consecrated Host.

I am looking forward to your update.

May Almighty God give you the right words and courage and whatever strengthes and graces that you are in most need of to do this. Be at peace.

God Bless.
 
lambOpeace said:
Wow. Thank you very much for your suggestions, everyone. I appreciate your time. I have to say I am slightly taken aback because a neighbor of mine had many Holy Hosts in a ceramic container at her house. I know that she obtained the Blessed Hosts by taking communion at mass, and then just holding on to the Holy Host and bringing them home in her purse. She did not seem to think it was sacrilegious to bring the Hosts home and keep them as a blessing for her family and household. She said she occasionally used a Holy Host when one of her kids was sick, or she needed extra blessings. I didn’t know a ton about the issue, so I guess it did strike me as odd (sneaky) but I didn’t think too much of it at the time. Now I see that she was in error, although I don’t think she meant anyone malice.

I guess I figured displaying Him in a Holy Monstrance would be acceptable since I only wanted ONE and He would be in a really nice display. But, I will take your advice against it. Our parish is wealthy, I doubt they’d use the Monstrance. They already have a really gorgeous one and we only have adoration once a year or so. The one I bought is similar to this one: cgi.ebay.com/Nice-older-Monstrance-case-w-luna-/270331954363?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ef10a44bb#ht_5442wt_1112

Not exactly the same, but similar. Would I be in error keeping it or reselling it? It was kind of a lot of money and if I can’t use it to display a Most Blessed Host in my home I might want my money back.

Thanks
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Oh MY! Yes, what your neighbor did was a sacrilege. She would have received so many more graces from devoutly consuming the Eucharist at Mass. And if she wanted graces for a sick child or other misfortune, asking the priest and parish friends to pray for her, or spending time in adoration at Church would be a much better choice.

In your situation, I would say the money you spent has bought you a very valuable lesson. To then give the monstrance willingly as alms to a mission church or poor parish, is an excellent thank offering.

If your parish has a monstrance, but doesn’t offer adoration very often, get a few folks organized as committed adorers. Ask your priest for adoration once a month or once a week, letting him know you already have people who will stay with Our Lord in adoration during that hour. You and your parish will experience tremendous graces.
 
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