In possesion of a concecrated HOST!

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mab23

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I know a person who brought his girl friend to mass yearstime ago and he was a part time Catholic and did not know what the Eucharist was

he told his GF how to recieve the Eucharist and she kept it and put it in a Altoid tin box

and she tucked it away somewhere in her house - so Now after Realizing that he has a Concecrated HOST that is years old - in a Tin box. He doesn’t know what to do with it

I would suggest to him - to take it to a priest

but has asked me if he could consume it, if he recieved the sacrament of Reconiliation first

he is also afraid to open the tin

Any suggestions
 
Take it to a parish, the priest will be glad to help. You could even give it to a Church secretary with a note to Fr. attached. Please do try to see that it is returned to a parish.
 
Anything other than taking it to a priest will cause distress to Catholics even if they hear about it years later. For this reason it would be best to follow this advice - irrespective of what you or he believes. I don’t believe, but see no reason why Catholics should be offended by the actions of others on matters than are very important to them, but not to others.
 
There is no need to open the tin (you said he is afraid). He can bring the tin as is and right away to a parish and give it to the priest, informing him of its contents. It is important to properly handle the tin (purify the tin of particles), and the priest will do all that.

It would not be correct to wait until Saturday confession to handle this. This should be handled right away.
 
Pug said:
There is no need to open the tin (you said he is afraid). He can bring the tin as is and right away to a parish and give it to the priest, informing him of its contents. It is important to properly handle the tin (purify the tin of particles), and the priest will do all that.

It would not be correct to wait until Saturday confession to handle this. This should be handled right away.
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Yes … listen to this advice and do exactly what is suggested… this should be handled properly by a priest… praying Divine Mercy for this intention.
 
Hokomai said:
I don’t believe, but see no reason why Catholics should be offended by the actions of others on matters than are very important to them, but not to others.
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If you believed someone had, say, desecrated your mother’s body, you wouldn’t be offended?
 
Yes, please ensure that the Host gets safely to a priest ASAP. He should talk to a priest after the whole debacle is over, to get things in order with God if he hasn’t already.
I really would go straight to a Roman Catholic priest, not a secretary with a note. The tin could get lost. It doesn’t have to be the priest of the parish from which the Host was taken, just a real deal Catholic priest. I would go to a rectory and ask for Father ASAP. Make sure they’re a Roman Catholic Priest. The first priest I would go to would be the one at the parish from which the Host was taken.
 
Do you trust this guy? How about his girlfriend? Do you know they are telling the truth?

Before you take what could possibly be an empty tin to a priest, I would open in. Why would anyone be afraid to open the tin? At best, you are in the process of protecting Jesus in the Eucharist and the blessings that entails. At worst, you will be opening an empty tin. 🤷
 
maryjk said:
Do you trust this guy? How about his girlfriend? Do you know they are telling the truth?

Before you take what could possibly be an empty tin to a priest, I would open in. Why would anyone be afraid to open the tin? At best, you are in the process of protecting Jesus in the Eucharist and the blessings that entails. At worst, you will be opening an empty tin. 🤷
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Not worth the risk. If you open it, pieces of the Host could fall out. The priest should handle this kind of situation, or anything similar involving Our Eucharistic Lord.
 
I would take it to a priest if I could do so immediately. But if a priest was not available in a reasonably short period of time, I would consume the Host myself, then tell a priest what happened. (Also, I would carefully put a little water in the box and drink it in hopes of catching any particles.)

If you have to keep this Host even overnight, what would you do with it? Personally, I would feel disrespectful going to sleep or eating with a Host in a box which is on a table or in a drawer. To me, that’s an even bigger dilemma than consuming a Host. I remember in EMHC training, we were taught that we’re not supposed to just have consecrated Hosts around. We’re not supposed to run even a short errand while in possession of the Blessed Sacrament. We are only supposed to carry it to the sick, and if there are any leftover, to either consume them ourselves or bring them right back to the church so they can be placed in the tabernacle.

If you consume the Host, it will cease to be the Body of Christ once it is digested. Personally, I think it’s worse to keep a consecrated Host in a candy box than putting the Host in my sinful body, which is a designated vessel for Holy Communion.
 
John_of_Patmos said:
Not worth the risk. If you open it, pieces of the Host could fall out. The priest should handle this kind of situation, or anything similar involving Our Eucharistic Lord.
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IF there is anything in the tin. And IF you open it recklessly.

First we are to believe that this girl friend, who wasn’t Catholic, attended Mass with her boyfriend that wasn’t Catholic (enough to know that neither of them should have been receiving) , received the Eucharist and somehow saved it. Instead of telling ANYONE, she put it in a tin and hid it away. She did all of this with no knowledge that it was anything but a wafer of bread. YEARS later, she tells her, what-- still boyfriend-- about it? And he is concerned. But not concerned enough to do anything about it. He only tells his friend? No, just someone he knows. 🤷

Sorry, it is a story that is very hard to believe. I wouldn’t waste the time of a priest until I was sure the guy wasn’t making it all up just to put me into a tizzy.
 
Tell the guy to take the tin to the priest of his current parish. Encourage the guy to say what he said to you. He doesn’t know if anything is in there but if it is or even if it isn’t the Roman Catholic Priest would understand the distress the guy is going through in fear of opening it. Offer to go with the guy if that helps him. Don’t leave it with anyone else but the a Roman Catholic Priest. If he is out, then ask the secretary when he due back and ask to make an appointment so the priest receives it first hand rather than via a secretary who may be very good but the secretary wont be able to reassure the guy unlike the priest.

If in the event there is nothing in the tin, well the priest and the guy can relax can’t they.
After all it may be the guy is using the tin to try and reach a priest somehow? Too fearful to ring but trying to seek help. We can come up with the wierdest things when in distress. The priest will be aware of this with any luck and will hopefully seemingly chatter to the guy enough to encourage the guy to seek whatever help he may be trying to achieve if that is his aim of presenting an empty tin. If that is his aim. That between the priest and him and no one else:)

If the Host is in the tin, then the priest will know how to deal with it and how to reassure the guy he did the right thing-of which he will most likely say even if the tin is empty. Priests are used to thinking on their feet and will know what to say and do to help the guy if the tin is empty.
 
A perfect example of why there should not be Communion in the hand.
 
maryjk said:
IF there is anything in the tin. And IF you open it recklessly.

First we are to believe that this girl friend, who wasn’t Catholic, attended Mass with her boyfriend that wasn’t Catholic (enough to know that neither of them should have been receiving) , received the Eucharist and somehow saved it. Instead of telling ANYONE, she put it in a tin and hid it away. She did all of this with no knowledge that it was anything but a wafer of bread. YEARS later, she tells her, what-- still boyfriend-- about it? And he is concerned. But not concerned enough to do anything about it. He only tells his friend? No, just someone he knows. 🤷
Sorry, it is a story that is very hard to believe. I wouldn’t waste the time of a priest until I was sure the guy wasn’t making it all up just to put me into a tizzy.
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Even if it seems hard to believe, you should heed what he said and act as if you know for a fact that the Lord is there.
Our Lord could be present, and what if you accidentally pull open the tin recklessly?
I honestly don’t think this would be wasting a priest’s time. In fact, it wouldnt be. You can never be too careful with Our Lord. I really wouldn’t open the tin. Many tiny Particles could be lost. What if there are only very small Particles in the tin, and can’t see them, and throw the tin away? Take it to a RC Priest just in case. Like I said, with the Eucharist, there is no such thing as being too safe or careful.

Simply, go to a Roman Catholic Church, knock on the rectory door. One Roman Catholic Priest must certainly be home in the city. Look up the different Roman Catholic churches on the diocese website, and go to each one if needed.
 
John_of_Patmos said:
Even if it seems hard to believe, you should heed what he said and act as if you know for a fact that the Lord is there.
Our Lord could be present, and what if you accidentally pull open the tin recklessly?
I honestly don’t think this would be wasting a priest’s time. In fact, it wouldnt be. You can never be too careful with Our Lord. I really wouldn’t open the tin. Many tiny Particles could be lost. What if there are only very small Particles in the tin, and can’t see them, and throw the tin away? Take it to a RC Priest just in case. Like I said, with the Eucharist, there is no such thing as being too safe or careful.

Simply, go to a Roman Catholic Church, knock on the rectory door. One Roman Catholic Priest must certainly be home in the city. Look up the different Roman Catholic churches on the diocese website, and go to each one if needed.
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CALL A GOOD PRIEST, ASAP! Ask him what to do.
 
John_of_Patmos said:
What if there are only very small Particles in the tin, and can’t see them, and throw the tin away?
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Do not worry if a particle is too small to see. 🙂 The concern is for visible particles that are lost. Jesus is present only as long as the appearances of bread remain for the host. So we must look with care to see if there are *visible *particles.

I agree that it is possible that a particle of host could fall if the tin is opened, especially if the opener is unaccustomed to thinking about that issue, and especially if it is a tin that closes very tightly, so that force is needed to open it, and the contents “jump” when the lid is opened. (some older cough medicine tins are like this)
 
This is a really important and recurring topic. It requires a quick and straight answer.

The moderator should put up a sticky about it. A sticky would give a quick and straight answer to people who need a quick and straight answer.

And it will prevent this from being hi-jacked into another Communion in the hand rant-a-thon like we are seeing.
 
John_of_Patmos said:
Take it to a RC Priest just in case. Like I said, with the Eucharist, there is no such thing as being too safe or careful.

Simply, go to a Roman Catholic Church, knock on the rectory door. One Roman Catholic Priest must certainly be home in the city. Look up the different Roman Catholic churches on the diocese website, and go to each one if needed.
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A deacon can also handle this situation. Deacons are ordinary ministers of Holy Communion.
 
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