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See, it's mostly women in their 80's and 90's who keep Wednesday adoration going. I fill in for 2 who are no longer able to walk. Today they cancelled adoration due to the snow - it is not a lot of snow - but it's dangerous for old people and travel is bad - therefore calling off adoration is very prudent.
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My parish is really focused upon social justice with heavy emphasis on works - volunteer for everything - except prayer. I know there are people there who do not believe in the Eucharist - they can't when they act so casually in the sanctuary, never genuflecting, or showing any reverence - sometimes even at Mass.
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Which brings me to this story.
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Instead of the song title "Jesus, take the wheel", this story could be titled, "Jesus, wait in the back seat". A priest leaves the Eucharist in the back seat of his car and it was stolen - and it wasn't the first time.
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Father Chris Flesoras was presiding over a funeral at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Serbian Orthodox Church in Fair Oaks when the suspect struck, smashing a rear window of his car and a window of a nearby car, scattering glass.
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"Sadly, what was taken from my car was a black bag," Father Flesoras said.
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The bag was his Communion bag, which contains all the tools used by a priest, including the Holy Communion, which believers say symbolizes the body and blood of Christ. The bag also contained his cross, his blessing oil, his scripture book, and a container that was passed down through three generations.
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The items are sacred and won't be easy to replace, Flesoras said.
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Father Dante Papovich said it's the second time a Communion bag was stolen from the church parking lot. He believes the suspects thought it was a laptop bag; the first one that was stolen was found abandoned with all the items still inside a short time later. - Story
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A few years ago I was visiting a priest friend of mine, when another priest came home from a sick call, threw the little sick call bag - with the sacrament in it - on the counter, along with his wallet and keys and went into the living room to relax. Way too casual and careless for me. (There were consecrated hosts in the pix.)
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"The items are sacred and won't be easy to replace," Fleoras said. (Unfortunately, they are.)
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Art: Detail: "Apostolic Visitation"
The theif might have suspected the bag to contain drugs--since it is more than a one time occurance--it seems unwise to leave the bag in the car.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to leave the Holy Eucharist anywhere other than in the tabernacle, if not on the person of someone authorized to carry it. All of the chatter and laughter in church, before and after Mass, always drives me crazy. I too worry that not many people believe in the Holy Eucharist.
ReplyDeleteI was taught as an EMHC that if I was taking Communion to the sick, and somehow ended up with an extra host; that the proper thing to do was to receive it myself if not able to return it directly to the tabernacle (as would happen if Mass was going on at the time I finished my rounds).
ReplyDeleteMy favorite priest around here leaves his sick call bag (NEVER with consecrated hosts) in his car, but it is locked in the glove box. And that is during daylight hours in places like parking lots of high-end nursing homes.
ReplyDeleteHe would never, ever leave it laying on the back seat of his car. Never!
"Symbolizes the Body and Blood of Christ"?
ReplyDeleteBzzzzzzzzzzzzt.
AP fail.
I went through BeFrienders Ministry training over the weekend and we were told in no uncertain terms that we must a) always carry the Holy Eucharist on our person; b) be prepared to defend it with our life; and c) consume anything remaining when we had finished distributing; this includes adding tap water and consuming particles.
ReplyDeleteMelody, returning to tabernacle wasn't on our list of possibilities.
I did click through to the article and the priest is Orthodox; I know their canonization rules are different, so likely their rules on Communion and what to do with the Eucharist are different.
I wish there was a version of "Cops" for Catholics. I would love to see priests, religious and other offenders get arrested, ticketed or put in handcuffs for some of these liturgical violations. This one brings to mind how far we have run away from the image of Saint Tarcisius clutching his own Viaticum.
ReplyDeleteIf a priest(or if he is replaced by an extraordinary minister)the pix should either be hand held or worn arounfd the neck and close to the heart. It also mist be brought straight away to the Communicant and not left in the back seat in a "priest bag".
When stopped when carrying the Eucharist, simply say,
"I have the Blessed Sacrament" and keep going.