Posted on 03/24/2006 6:06:40 AM PST by marshmallow
DALLAS. A host kept in a jar of water for four weeks grew fungus and bacterial colonies in a natural process, a laboratory report concluded about an incident in a local parish church that created public speculation.
A March 23 letter from Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann to the pastor of St. James Parish relayed that what some were calling a miracle of a host contains nothing of a supernatural nature.
The letter to Msgr. Mario Magbanua states: At my request the object you submitted to me, around which there was heightened publicity, was presented to Dr. Marcy Brown Marsden, chairman and associate professor of biology, University of Dallas, and Dr. Frank Doe of the same department, for tentative identification and characterization of the object.
The bishop said that after analysis was done he was provided with their conclusion.
They told the bishop: We conclude that the object is a combination of fungal mycelia and bacterial colonies that have been incubated within the aquatic environment of the glass during the four-week period in which it was stored in the open air.
The bishop further wrote: From this conclusion the phenomenon was of the natural order and contains nothing of a supernatural nature. Thus, you need to remove yourself from any further activity surrounding this matter and its exaggerated claims.
The incident began about a month ago when a young boy received the Eucharist at Mass and then became sick in the restroom. Ushers who checked on him found the intact host in the bin.
The ushers reportedly summoned Msgr. Magbanua, who came to retrieve the host. He put the host in water to dissolve, where it remained unseen until March 19. Its appearance had changed, viewers said.
Within hours people were coming to the church to see the host, which is located in a low-income area and has approximately 2,000 registered parishioners.
Fueled by telephone and e-mail stories saying a miracle had occurred, as well as media reports, curious scores of the faithful hoping to see something extraordinary began to show up.
Among those was Shirley Vilfordi, a member of St. Rita Parish in Dallas. She was among those who suggested people should not be too quick to rush to conclusions, and thanked those who took quick action to discover the truth.
We praise God for our beloved church who wants to investigate these things thoroughly rather than falsely mislead the faithful, Vilfordi said as the investigation was ongoing.
There have been other cases in past years when a host received fungal and/or bacteria contamination when it was not properly consumed and/or disposed.
Church officials said the matter is now closed and called on faithful to end any further speculation.
Fine. Wouldn't want to accuse people of worshipping vomit mold or anything.
There is a difference between an attack against another poster, personally, and an attack against the group to which he belongs or its doctrine.
please elaborate
Hmm - as a Prottie Pastor thanks for the edumacation
But you know - I looked all through my Catholic Bible (yes I still use it over the KJV,NIV) and cant find an epistle or letter or gospel to say we need to become Catholic.....everything I see says become a Christian
help me out here will you please and direct me to the verse
The same happened to Christ in His day, but He always responded with love and patience.
Some may say I am expecting too much of the Religion Forum posters, but I do not think so. The nature of the attack and the manner of the response are both testimony for the passers-by.
How can an apostate (intentional apostate) intend to do what the Church intends? That is a requirement for validity, along with proper form and proper matter. By very definition a Satanic intent would render it invalid.
What was the miraculous change?
Becky
You evidently don't know what transubstantiation is. It is a threefold miracle: (1) the substance of the bread or wine is gone (2) Christ is entirely present: body, blood, soul and divinity (3) the appearances (physical and chemical properties) remain the same.
That means that a consecrated host --- which is Christ --- can get digested; can get stale; can get moldy. Christ intends to be our food, so getting digested isn't a problem: it's how we receive him bodily. Getting stale or moldy, though, is undesirable because such deterioration interferes with the symbolic value of the appearance of bread as being wholesome, nourishing.
To reiterate: the appearance of bread and wine is symbolic. The presence of Christ is bodily, substantial, and real.
The Catholic Church teaches that the consecrated host still has the physical and chemical properties of bread. You apparently didn't realize that. Well, read and learn.
Of course Jesus was human. He called himself the Son of Man.
Hebrews argues that Jesus had to be fully human.
Tastes like wheat.
And Whom do I receive? Jesus Christ Our Lord.
I know you don't believe this. Fine. In John 6 it says that most of His hearers walked away from Jesus when he said, "Unless you eat my fleshand drink my blood, you do not have life within you." (The whole chapter bears careful reading.)
When the crowds left Him, did He chase after them saying, "Oh, come ON folks, Geez! It's just a metaphor!"?
John 6:66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you want to go away as well?
LOL.
Sorry but the Bible is Catholic book. You can lie to yourself as much as you want but from a purely historical viewpoint you are incorrect. Though I suspect that you know this but you lie to yourself so you can sleep at night.
Sourdough starter. Who knew? |
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