Self-communicating at home?

[Student09]

From War and Peace:

“A long-frocked abbe was brought to her. She confessed to him, and he absolved her from her sins. Next day she received a box containing the Sacred Host, which was left at her house for her to partake of. A few days later Helene learned with pleasure that she had now been admitted to the true Catholic Church and that in a few days the Pope himself would hear of her and would send her a certain document.”

I know that it’s fiction and Tolstoy was not Catholic and was also hostile to the Catholic Church (as the whole chapter that this is taken from makes quite obvious) but I found this passage really disturbing and wondered if this would have been an actual practice in Russia at that time? Would brand-new, aristocratic converts to the Church have been given home-tabernacles like this? Uh … apparently even before knowing they were Catholic??

 

[FrCorey]

From War and Peace:

I know that it’s fiction and Tolstoy was not Catholic and was also hostile to the Catholic Church (as the whole chapter that this is taken from makes quite obvious) but I found this passage really disturbing and wondered if this would have been an actual practice in Russia at that time? Would brand-new, aristocratic converts to the Church have been given home-tabernacles like this? Uh … apparently even before knowing they were Catholic??

just a story to entertain people.
You can not ship the LORD in a box. a special minister must bring the body and/or blood. the LORD must have a escort.

 

[choy]

i heard there’s special provisions for during times of persecution. i haven’t read War and Peace so i don’t know if the cirumstance in this scenario calls for it. perhaps Tolstoy did some research, found it was possible but didn’t take into account the circumstances where it was possible. or perhaps he just assumed too much from the start

i’ve seen many bad portrayals of Catholics in movies and TV. its not quite off that the same would happen in books. and by bad portrayals i’m not sayinig Catholics were put in a bad light, just that the practices shown were not accurate. so this is not that surprising that there are assumptions made which were off the mark

 

[Student09]

just a story to entertain people.
You can not ship the LORD in a box. a special minister must bring the body and/or blood. the LORD must have a escort.

That’s what I would hope, and I thought self-communicating was always forbidden to the laity. I’m guessing Tolstoy had no idea what he was talking about, but usually one expects writers to do some research on the subjects they write about. Or maybe I am just naive.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I don’t think the Eucharist was shipped in a box. It sounds like it was brought in a box for her to reserve. I recall hearing that when Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned she was allowed to keep hosts with her and self-communicate. Not sure how good that source was.

 

[JMJ_coder]

Self-communication at home can and has occurred. For example, during the anti-Catholic persecutions in Mexico during the 1920s and 1930s, there was special permission for such activity. Basically, there were certain homes where in their cupboards was the Sacred Hosts. You would, as a lay person, go to the house and then go to the cupboard and take a Host and then self-communicate. This was a special indult granted by the Pope himself because of the severity of the persecutions.

 

[choy]

i wonder if the Chinese members of the underground Church are allowed to self-communicate and bring the Blessed Sacrament home