Security Detail at Communion

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Thrstypirate

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So at Mass today at a nearby parish I rarely attend, I saw something that I’ve never witnessed, and I’m sad that at this parish it’s probably necessary.

During communion near the priest and ministers stood an assistant who watched everyone who took the body of Christ to make sure they ate it and didn’t steal it, I’m guessing. I can only imagine what spurred them on to do that. 😦

Also there was a lovely statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. When I got to church this morning, it was gone. I hope that the statue is iether being repaired or in protection. There was another parish in the neighborhood where a statue of Mary was decapitated a couple years ago.

Sad times and I needed to share this with someone. Have you ever experienced such a thing at your parishes?
 
Done routinely at my parish. The people who do it discreetly are usually ushers or Knights of Columbus.
 
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Thrstypirate said:
Also there was a lovely statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. When I got to church this morning, it was gone. I hope that the statue is iether being repaired or in protection. There was another parish in the neighborhood where a statue of Mary was decapitated a couple years ago.
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It could just be due to a general remodeling or re-landscaping of the property- the statue could be placed on a different part of the property and there are new plans. Here in Pittsburgh, one of the Byzantine churches had statue of Jesus in their yard behind a fence that disappeared one day and that was that. The fence wasn’t damaged, its location was just changed those things happen.

As far as decapitation of statues, my theory is that the Simpsons television program popularized it when Bart sawed off the head of a statue of Jeremiah Springfield. I’ll bet the atrocity was committed shortly after that episode was rebroadcast. Sending someone out there as a security detail for several days after the local stations re-broadcast the episode might be a smart idea.
 
Seagull said:
That’s from people who receive in their hand.
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Really? Do you have to go their? Read Paul’s writings on the importance of celebrating the unity of the Church, and not sowing the seeds of division! Wow!
 
Not necessarily. I’ve seen these people at my parish a few times, and we don’t receive in the hand. One time this kid received the Eucharist and kept playing with it in his mouth. The priest noticed and kept watching the kid as he distributed communion, but the usher who was supposed to watch out for these things didn’t notice. Not sure why the priest didn’t tell the usher to approach the kid, but the point is, I’ve seen those guys at my parish also, as well as many NO parishes. When I lived in Denver back when Archbishop Chaput was there, he always had an usher for every Eucharistic minister to watch out for any mistreatment of Eucharist.
 
Come to think of it, we were at Archbishop Chaput’s last Saturday night Mass in Denver where I saw it.
 
Yep. You are not going to stop the error unless you expose the cause of the error.
 
A Shepherd knows his flock. I attended an early morning Mass every day and sometimes helped the priest. He had me post up and watch for anyone walking away with the given Eucharist. I inquired why? Father implied that they have received unpleasant phone calls and threats, and the Church was experiencing some vandalism at the time. At these early weekday Mass, one get’s to learn who are the regular attendees and those who attend new or irregular.
There is an evil out there folks that does not sleep. The Eucharist is a welcome prize for such evil to practice sacrilege. The Bishop is ultimately responsible for the Eucharist. The priest are delegated by the Bishop to be good stewards and protectors of the Eucharist at the local Parish.
It is good practice for the Church to react and prepare to battle against these evil powers and principalities. The good news is, the Church becomes aware of such evils that come against her.
 
I think seagull is just saying that it might be easier for someone receiving in the hand to steal. 🙂
 
Lee1 said:
I think seagull is just saying that it might be easier for someone receiving in the hand to steal
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Theoretically, I suppose.

But I don’t think there are any statistics to support that this has actually happened.
 
It might be hard to gather data on something like that since it is by nature a stealthy act. Personally I’ve never seen it happen. I did hear someone tell of a priest who insisted on the host being consumed before leaving the immediate vicinity, though thinking about it that could lead to some significant congestion! Especially at weekends etc.
 
Lee1 said:
It might be hard to gather data on something like that since it is by nature a stealthy act. Personally I’ve never seen it happen.
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Point well taken. It is difficult to detect and there is no proof really that it occurs on any sort of regular basis.

I think its probably a pretty rare sacrilege.
 
Where you find spotters during communion, know the local parish has been notified or informed of such evil attempts at the Eucharist. That is why the Shepherd must know his flock and test the spirits of those who are new to the communion line.

I pray it never happens, but by my experience, attempts have been made for some to walk out with the Confected Eucharist who have not made their first holy Communion.
 
Back when we had a healthy contingent of Altar Servers, the older teen servers were instructed to keep an eye on each communicant and to stop them if they tried to carry away the Eucharist.

At BIG Masses where there are many in attendance the Knights of Columbus are there keeping watch.

It really varies from pastor to pastor.

ETA this does happen OFTEN at Papal Masses because people want to keep the Host as a souvenir of sorts.
 
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In the early church candidates to join the church were dismissed before the consecration because they were not yet trusted. We have recently reestablished that practice. The fear was that the Romans had the habit of making foreign gods Roman gods! I think something similar goes on now in some cases.

My brother saw a kid carry the host to the pew and start playing with it. He ask the parents, who were not paying attention, what the child was going to do with Jesus? I saw a kid who had not received Holy Communion yet receive a host. The parents started to intervene as they were walking away. The priest said it is too late let him consume it.
 
Thrstypirate said:
So at Mass today at a nearby parish I rarely attend, I saw something that I’ve never witnessed, and I’m sad that at this parish it’s probably necessary.
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Was this, by any chance, a youth Mass, teen Mass, or Mass for new Confirmation Preparation students? It’s that time of year. Some teens are returning for Confirmation Prep who haven’t been to Mass for a few years, maybe not since First Holy Communion, and may have forgotten what their are supposed to do. With charitable correction, they will learn. 💖
 
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