Communion Thief

[telkanuru]

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/pa...d=1.1.1&sflg=1

WTF?

[fencerchica]

I read about that inane tempest in a teacup here on PZ Meyers' blog:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2...ed_cracker.php

[Fencergrl]

Thanks for posting the link.... it was quite good. What I really found amusing was comment #22

jeez - imagine what they'd do if they knew I had a tub of the things leftover from a BlasphemyParty where we mixed them with Bits 'n' Bites.

I could get into a BlasphemyParty... damn I wish I thought of it!

Now for those of you who really want to have a little fun of Catholic beliefs I present you with one of my favourite websites. http://www.jesusdressup.com

[Fencergrl]

And for the Catholics... I have this: http://www.normalbobsmith.com/satandressup.html These fridge magnets would be a perfect game for a BlasphemyParty BTW....

[seven6ty]

How can you steal, something that was given to you?

[mrbiggs]

Catholic trivia question: in what circumstances do you not have to eat the eucharist once it's given to you?


a. if a friend licks it and says "do you still want it?"

b. if it falls on something gross, like the floor or into your mom's pants

c. if someone holding a gun at your head tells you not to eat it

d. none of the above


I'll give you a hint, the answer highlights the silliness of Catholic rituals today.

[Fencergrl]

Catholic trivia question: in what circumstances do you not have to eat the eucharist once it's given to you?


a. if a friend licks it and says "do you still want it?"

b. if it falls on something gross, like the floor or into your mom's pants

c. if someone holding a gun at your head tells you not to eat it

d. none of the above


I'll give you a hint, the answer highlights the silliness of Catholic rituals today.

d. Although, you generally you eat it right away. It's not the kind of thing that you take home in a "doggy bag" to have later. So none of the answers make any sense. a) Why would your friend be licking your eucharist? How would he get between you and the priest? b) If it dropped while being given to you, most likely the priest would give you another. I suspect there's some ritual to deal with the dropped one. c) I'm sure if guns were involved, no one would care too much what you were doing or hold you responsible for not taking it.

A better trivia question might be "what is a common reason for not taking communion?"

[mrbiggs]

b) If it dropped while being given to you, most likely the priest would give you another.

No.

Or, at least that's what I was told in Sunday school. Granted, they're very careful about handing them out and in 20 years of church I've never seen one dropped. But yes, you have to eat it.

A non-sarcastic piece of Catholic trivia is that they keep a cover on the wine after it is blessed because if something falls in (usually a dead fly), the priest still has to drink it.

A better trivia question might be "what is a common reason for not taking communion?"

There isn't one, which is why the point I was making isn't obvious or known even to many Catholics. Usually they just give it to you and you eat it. But if for any reason you don't eat it, what you're doing is considered to be extremely shocking and sinful.

Catholics believe that it's the actually body of Christ, and therefore take it extremely seriously. You wouldn't drop Jesus on the ground, or steal Jesus to show to a friend, or throw Jesus away because eating Jesus would be gross because a fly died in Jesus.

[Fencergrl]

There isn't one, which is why the point I was making isn't obvious or known even to many Catholics.

I too, have never, ever seen one dropped. Partly because you cup your hands under your mouth as well.

There are a number of reasons you don't take communion.

1) If you have not been through the sacrament of your first communion and baptism. Small kids and non-Catholics are not suppose to go for communion. That was the first rule the person who "stole" the eucharist broke.

2) I was also taught that you don't go for communion if you haven't been to confession for a while or you have committed a serious sin since your last confession (they have a name for these sins, but since it's been 30 years since I've been a practising Catholic). That's why confession is held on Saturday evening. So you can accept communion on Sunday. Each Catholic makes a judgement call every Sunday as to whether you should accept the "body of Christ". Essentially you want a nice clean pure body for him (no snickers from the peanut gallery).

In the last 30 years I've been to Catholic churches for weddings and funerals, but I would never consider going up for communion (even though I really liked the taste of the wafers). It's about respect for the religion's rules.

Do I think this is blown completely out of proportion? You bet! I do understand Catholics being upset however. Everything about this goes against the rules of their religion. Mostly I think things have gone to a very silly place not just because of Catholics. The third party in all of this is the media. They love stories like this. If you spoke to the average Catholic, they would agree what happened was wrong, but they wouldn't go around making death threats.

[mrbiggs]

There are a number of reasons you don't take communion
.

Oh, I knew those, I thought you meant why you wouldn't take it after a priest had given it to you. And instead thrown it out or brought it home to a friend or whatever.

If you spoke to the average Catholic, they would agree what happened was wrong, but they wouldn't go around making death threats.

There's average and then there's average. I was shocked by how seriously I found that some take communion, even in a fairly small, modest churchgoing community in a very liberal area.

I don't think that most people would make death threats because of it (or because of anything else; people don't usually make death threats), but I'm not at all surprised that there is a decent population of people who are that angry about this, even though it:

a. didn't hurt anyone

b. wasn't very serious at all, even in a symbolic nature

c. was done with good, if misplaced, intentions

[Fencergrl]

c. was done with good, if misplaced, intentions

I don't know what his intentions were, but in the church I went to as a child I remember the priest always making an announcement about reasons one shouldn't go up for communion.

I agree, it is a simple misunderstanding. I can see someone unfamiliar with Catholic practises not realizing what an inappropriate thing this was to do.

Mostly Catholics don't make death threats because that in itself is against the rules of the religion... The whole... "Thou shall not kill" thing. Yes saying it and doing it are different, however I imagine most priests would frown upon it.

[OROD]

In other news:

Atheist groups are up in arms over a California student that took a copy of "On the Origin of Species" from the library and returned it with dog pee on it.

"I dont know what happened, my dog must have peed on it", said the unnamed student.

Atheists worldwide became furious. A spokesperson for a local Atheist group said, "...if anything were to qualify as a hate crime, to us this seems like this might be it.'"

The student just wants all of this to go away. Especially now that he feels his life is in danger.

Oh, wait that's right, that never happened. Hmmm...

.

[Nolano]

Yeah.... I can understand them being angry....


But this is just dramatic

“However, if anything were to qualify as a hate crime, to us this seems like this might be it.”

Yes, stealing a wafer is a horrible hate crime compared to people being assaulted or killed for things, that unlike religion, they don't have a choice over, like sexual preference or race.

[mrbiggs]

In other news:



Oh, wait that's right, that never happened. Hmmm...

.

Honestly, if a dog had peed on the communion, this response would be at least vaguely justified. But the whole "it was returned in fine condition fairly soon" thing makes this whole thing simply embarrassing for the church.

[Insipiens]

I too, have never, ever seen one dropped. Partly because you cup your hands under your mouth as well.

There are a number of reasons you don't take communion.

1) If you have not been through the sacrament of your first communion and baptism. Small kids and non-Catholics are not suppose to go for communion. That was the first rule the person who "stole" the eucharist broke.

2) I was also taught that you don't go for communion if you haven't been to confession for a while or you have committed a serious sin since your last confession (they have a name for these sins, but since it's been 30 years since I've been a practising Catholic). That's why confession is held on Saturday evening. So you can accept communion on Sunday. Each Catholic makes a judgement call every Sunday as to whether you should accept the "body of Christ". Essentially you want a nice clean pure body for him (no snickers from the peanut gallery).

In the last 30 years I've been to Catholic churches for weddings and funerals, but I would never consider going up for communion (even though I really liked the taste of the wafers). It's about respect for the religion's rules.

Do I think this is blown completely out of proportion? You bet! I do understand Catholics being upset however. Everything about this goes against the rules of their religion. Mostly I think things have gone to a very silly place not just because of Catholics. The third party in all of this is the media. They love stories like this. If you spoke to the average Catholic, they would agree what happened was wrong, but they wouldn't go around making death threats.

You are missing the othe basic one: if you have not observed the proper eucharistic fast.
This used to be that you should not eat or drink (I think you were allowed water) from midnight until you take communion. The Church changed it to one hour before communion. If you go to the right (or wrong!) service you can be eating on your way in the door (although that would be bad manners at least in Chuch!) and still take communion because it takes more than an hour to get to that point.

I have seen a consecrated host dropped on a number of occasions. The priest or minister has always picked it up and eaten it, giving the communicant a new host.
Of course if you spill the consecrated wine you might have to burn the carpet.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

I too, have never, ever seen one dropped. Partly because you cup your hands under your mouth as well.

There are a number of reasons you don't take communion.

I've seen them dropped before. In fact, when I was a Eucharistic Minister I dropped them before. You just pick it up (as the EM), hand them another, and hold onto it. When you're done handing them all out and on your way back up to the Alter you eat the one that fell on the floor. It's no big deal, you just have to make sure it gets consumed.

[Fencergrl]

Now that you guys mentioned it... this sounds familiar. I seem to recall the priest eating the dropped one. Like I said, it's been over 30 years since I attended church regularly, the details are pretty fuzzy.

[migopod]

If you drop the eucharist wafer, does the five second rule apply?

This vaguely reminded me of an idea i had for 'vegan eucharist' where the wine and wafers were 100% guaranteed to never transubstantiate.

Also, "Meat Lovers' Eucharsist (tm)" where the wafer would actually be a slice of pepperoni and the wine would be something like borscht made with beef broth. The idea there is that since both the "wine" and "bread" are already fairly meat-rich that less actual miracle (juju?) would be required for transubstantiation and would therefore be available for answering prayers.

[OROD]

..."it was returned in fine condition fairly soon" thing makes this whole thing simply embarrassing for the church.

You make it sound as if this kind of behavior is not consistent with religion and religious fanatics.

.

[mrbiggs]

You make it sound as if this kind of behavior is not consistent with religion and religious fanatics.

.

These aren't religious fanatics, this is mainstream Catholicism.

(Of course, you may have the opinion that they're fanatics, but you then have to realize that you're calling a LOT of people fanatics.)