Possible Sacrilege?

[donmaximuso27]

I apologize if this has already been covered on the forums.

Every Sunday at the mass I attend, I witness the same individuals actually cross themselves with the Blessed Sacrament prior to consuming it. It is clearly in contact with the forehead and body. Should I notify my pastor? This appears to be sacrilege, for the particles of the Blessed Sacrament may indeed be lost on the persons clothing, floor, etc.

 

[mullenpm]

Are you sure they are actually making the sign of the cross with the Host? I never take the Host in my hand so this seems strange to me. I believe when one takes the Host in the hand they are to step to the side, put the Host in their mouth and then make the sign of the cross.

If you are right, and if this were me seeing such a thing, I would tell the Priest. This definitely appears to be wrong.

Tell the Priest when you have a chance and let him deal with it.:knight2::knight1:

 

[malphono]

Every Sunday at the mass I attend, I witness the same individuals actually cross themselves with the Blessed Sacrament prior to consuming it. It is clearly in contact with the forehead and body. Should I notify my pastor? This appears to be sacrilege, for the particles of the Blessed Sacrament may indeed be lost on the persons clothing, floor, etc.

If you (and presumably others) have seen this regularly, it seems inconceivable that the minister has not. Two questions arise from that:
(1) do these people always communicate from the same person? and
(2) is the minister a priest, a deacon, or an EMHC?

If the pastor is always the minister, it’d probably be a waste of time raising the issue. But, if it’s always another priest, or a deacon, or (and this is the most likely), an EMHC, the pastor may be unaware of what goes on and it would seem to be a good idea to mention it to him.

My :twocents:

 

[donmaximuso27]

If you (and presumably others) have seen this regularly, it seems inconceivable that the minister has not. Two questions arise from that:
(1) do these people always communicate from the same person? and
(2) is the minister a priest, a deacon, or an EMHC?

If the pastor is always the minister, it’d probably be a waste of time raising the issue. But, if it’s always another priest, or a deacon, or (and this is the most likely), an EMHC, the pastor may be unaware of what goes on and it would seem to be a good idea to mention it to him.

My :twocents:

They receive from an EMHC in the back left section of the Church, while the priest and deacon are in the front distributing. They also cross themselves with the host while they walk back to their pew, and then consume it right before entering. That may explain why the EMHC hasn’t noticed this. It is very obvious, so I’m not sure why others aren’t shocked by this. I think I will mention this to the pastor in the upcoming weekend.

 

[Diaconia]

They receive from an EMHC in the back left section of the Church, while the priest and deacon are in the front distributing. They also cross themselves with the host while they walk back to their pew, and then consume it right before entering. That may explain why the EMHC hasn’t noticed this. It is very obvious, so I’m not sure why others aren’t shocked by this. I think I will mention this to the pastor in the upcoming weekend.

Seems like mis-guided piety. I would mention it to the pastor and let him handle it.

Unfortunately this is not the most bizarre thing I’ve run into distributing Communion. I wish people like this would simply receive on the tongue.

God bless,

 

[malphono]

They receive from an EMHC in the back left section of the Church, while the priest and deacon are in the front distributing. They also cross themselves with the host while they walk back to their pew, and then consume it right before entering. That may explain why the EMHC hasn’t noticed this. It is very obvious, so I’m not sure why others aren’t shocked by this. I think I will mention this to the pastor in the upcoming weekend.

Quite as I suspected. The part bolded is where I see the problem: as I understand it, (and perhaps my understanding is lacking since that option, of course, does not even exist in the EF and I’ve never had CITH in a Roman church nor do I have any plans to ever do so), the communicant is supposed to step to the side, consume the host, and then return to his or her place. If that’s correct, evidently the EMHC isn’t paying much attention. In any case, it seems to me to be a good idea to apprise the pastor and see what transpires.

 

[stuart12]

What you have described is certainly wrong, particles of the Host (our Lord Himself) can easily fall off and are then trampled underfoot.

If the pastor is unwilling to do something to correct this, contact the Bishop.

 

[benedictgal]

Quite as I suspected. The part bolded is where I see the problem: as I understand it, (and perhaps my understanding is lacking since that option, of course, does not even exist in the EF and I’ve never had CITH in a Roman church nor do I have any plans to ever do so), the communicant is supposed to step to the side, consume the host, and then return to his or her place. If that’s correct, evidently the EMHC isn’t paying much attention. In any case, it seems to me to be a good idea to apprise the pastor and see what transpires.

I believe that some good catechesis should be in order for the faithful regarding CITH. Redemptionis Sacramentum states that:

[92.] Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice,178 if any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand, in areas where the Bishops’ Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic See has given permission, the sacred host is to be administered to him or her. However, **special care should be taken to ensure that the host is consumed by the communicant in the presence of the minister, so that no one goes away carrying the Eucharistic species in his hand. **If there is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the hand to thefaithful.179

Thus, either the OMHC (priest or deacon) or the EMHC needs to ensure that whoever receives CITH consumes the Host in front of him. It seems as though, as I read the OP, that is not happening in the parish.

 

[mullenpm]

I remember seeing at a small shrine in my City where there was an usher posted on both sides of the Priest distributing the Holy Eucharist who stopped persons who did not immediately put the Host in their mouth.

It appears that they had a problem with certain people taking the Host home to use it in black magic ceremonies.

That is only one reason I am hoping the Church will return to the practice of receiving Holy Communion only on the tongue.

 

[donmaximuso27]

Thank you for the help, I will definitely be notifying my pastor of this shortly.

 

[thomas_jd]

Talk to the pastor. What you described is unacceptable. The EMHC are instructed to report those actions to the pastor as soon as mass is completed.