If you want your 15 minutes of fame by any means, it's not a bright idea to publicly throw out such statements in a society of 300 million where 30,000 other kooks also want their 15 minutes of fame by any means.
Posted on 07/15/2008 4:47:28 PM PDT by Pyro7480
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented on the latest developments to surface regarding the pledge made by Paul Z. Myers, a professor at the University of Minnesota, to desecrate the Eucharist:
“Myers was quoted yesterday saying, ‘I have to do something. I’m not going to just let this disappear.’ [Last Friday it was reported that he had acquired a Host.] He continued, ‘Something will be done. It won’t be gross. It won’t be totally tasteless, but yeah, I’ll do something that shows this cracker has no power.’
“The biology professor made it clear that he would never disrespect Islam the way he does Catholicism. When asked about those who abuse the Koran, for example, he said such an act was analogous to desecrating a graveyard. ‘That’s completely different,’ he said. ‘I don’t favor [that idea].’ But when it comes to the Body of Christ, he opines, ‘The cracker is completely different.’
“This isn’t the first time Myers has shown deference to Islam. For instance, two years ago he was critical of the Danish cartoons that simply depicted an image of Muhammad. ‘They [the cartoons] lack artistic or social or even comedic merit, and are presented as an insult to inflame a poor minority.’ So now the Planet-of-the-Apes biologist has divined himself an expert on the artistic value of cartoons. So thoughtful of him. He even went so far as to say that Muslims ‘have cause to be furious.’ (His italic.) Worthy of burning down churches, pledging to behead Christians and shooting a nun in the back, Professor Myers?
“We hope Myers does the right thing and just moves on without further disgracing himself and his university. The letter I received from University of Minnesota President Robert H. Bruininks makes it clear that school officials want nothing to do with his hate-filled remarks. It would also be nice if Myers’ fans would cease and desist with their hate-filled screeds.”
Catholic ping!
Ping!
What a sad man.
We had someone break into my Lutheran parish back home a few years ago. They stole the altar candles, tried to get the presence candle, and attempted to break into the pastors office (where the communion hosts and wine are stored). The local sheriff’s office suspected cult activity. Now the church is watched over by local farmers and one rather odd three legged German Sheppard (he ignores everyone during the day, but is grouchy at night).
The “host” becomes the Body of Christ when the priest says the words, “This is My Body” during the Mass. The wine becomes the Blood of Christ when the priest says the words “This is My Blood.” Until that point, it is simply bread (of a sort) and wine.
Therefore, if somebody took unconsecrated hosts and wine from a Catholic Church, it would simply be theft, not blasphemy or desecration of sacred things. We don’t want to be wasteful or anything, but until the consecration, it’s just ordinary stuff.
Your question is perfectly reasonable and not in the least offensive.
During the Eucharistic Prayer, during Mass, the bread and wine are consecrated, and by the power of the Holy Spirit through the action of the priest, the bread and wine cease to exist and become the Body and Blood of Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine.
As long as the elements of the Eucharist remain recognizable in their appearances, the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ remain.
Hope that helps.
sitetest
Yes.
I just do not understand why this “person” is going on and on about it.
Mr. Myers is asking people to bring him consecrated hosts from Mass: the Body of Christ. It’s interesting that he seems to believe there’s a difference from unconsecrated hosts (which anyone can order off the Internet). However, he has know way of knowing by sight whether they’re consecrated or not. They’re just little circles made from wheat and water, not even what I’d call a cracker. I make crackers from nutritious ingredients, with some substance so that they’ll hold cheese or taboulet.
This reminds me of the time Jesus met the possessed man, and the demon said, “I know who you are - the Holy One of God!”
No one who truly believes in the Lord’s presence in the Eucharist would cooperate with someone like this. Even a person whose church believes only in a symbolic presence of Christ would never offer their materials to a scoffer, if the person really was a Christian.
He’s looking for people who don’t believe to infiltrate and take away the consecrated bread.
Again we see leftists hating Christianity and Judaism, but loving the jihadis.
If you want your 15 minutes of fame by any means, it's not a bright idea to publicly throw out such statements in a society of 300 million where 30,000 other kooks also want their 15 minutes of fame by any means.
Typical coward, guess he lacks the courage to enter the Church and face the priest himself. What a small man.
I am not Catholic but I still find this disturbing. Why slag someone's faith? Freedom to believe is one of our most fundamental standards. I am afraid this is one, of a few, freedoms that many wish to recall. The founders were brilliant when they recognized The freedoms as divine. It removes the intervention from men who wish to "improve" things for the sake of the collective.
I certainly don’t take offense at the question. Yes, the bread only becomes the body of Christ during the consecration of the mass. There is a point during the liturgy wherein the priest holds up the Eucharist, and a bell is rung to signal the transsubstantiation. (Contrary to canon law, many parishes omit the bell for insubstantial reasons, but the bell only signals the transubstantiation; it is not a necessary part of it.) (Just as “transformation” refers to a change of the form, “transubstantiation” refers to a change of the substance.)
Within the tabernacle, there are often hosts which have already been transubstantiated. These may be stored for “Eucharistic services.” These services are prayer services with many aspects of a mass, but because they are conducted in the absence of a priest, there can be no transubstantiation; therefore, hosts which are already transubstantiated are used. Such hosts may also be used to be brought to those who are sick and could not attend mass, or for Eucharistic adoration, when they are exposed, but placed under vigilant watch.
>> “I’ll do something that shows this cracker has no power.” <<
Wasn’t that Obama’s campaign slogan during the Pennsylvania primaries?
The Bible says that God is present whenever two or more are gathered in His name. So God is already present at the Mass simply because the faithful have gathered together to honor Him with worship.
God cannot be "ordered" to transubstantiate the host and wine. No priest has that capacity. So, at most, the host and wine are transformed because God agrees to do so. The words "This is My Body" and "This is My Blood" cannot be more than a respectful, reverent invitation from the priest on behalf of the faithful for God to perform the tranformative act. The fact that the host and the wine are transformed is an entirely free and unconstrained act on the part of God for His own purposes. The fact that they are always transformed is a sign of God's lovingkindness to the community of believers.
God knows the intentions of each person's heart. It seems reasonable that, if a person receives a consecrated host with dishonest intent, God would know this instantly and cause the holy substance of the host to depart from it. To me, arguing that the holy substance of the host is somehow locked into it is the same as arguing that the priest does have the power to summon God to transform it and cause it to remain transformed until released through completion of the sacremental act.
That, of course, is impossible. God is no more "required" to keep the host in its holy state than He was "required" to transform it to begin with.
If this is the case, the moment that the student, or the professor, or anyone else helping them receives the consecrated host, God sees these impure intentions of their hearts and, to prevent its defilement, instantaneously transubstantiates the consecrated host back into an ordinary wafer. Therefore, the consecrated host can only be sacremental for those who receive and consume it in the same respectful and reverential spirit that invited (not caused) its transformation to begin with.
The atheist professor, the obnoxious student, the aiders and abetters of this controversy, no matter how cleaver, will never really possess a consecrated host because their own hearts reveal their deceit and cause its transformation back into ordinary stuff, as you put it.
During Mass, during the Eucharistic prayer, as the celebrant repeats the words of Christ at the Last Supper.
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