Protecting the Eucharist

The last several months have seen blasphemy in its severest form, Eucharistic sacrilege, catapulted into the public sphere. It began with a college student in Orlando, Webster Cook, who took a communion host home in protest against what he perceived as inappropriate behavior by a parishioner. Then P.Z. Myers, a professor from the University of Minnesota Morris who, to demonstrate his contempt for religion in general and the doctrine of the Eucharist in particular, thrust a nail through a communion host and threw it into the trash. More recently, a Youtube user listed as "fsmdude" has posted over forty videos in which he desecrates communion hosts in a variety of ways, including feeding the host to ducks and flushing the host down the toilet. Youtube thus far has ignored protests by Catholics to remove the videos on the grounds that the content involves religious hatred and inflammatory images.

It is important to comprehend the theological implications of these acts. One might be tempted to see the behavior of Myers and fsmdude as the juvenile antics of not particularly sophisticated unbelievers doing their best to gain some attention, and this may well be the case from a subjective point of view. Unbelievers of their kind engage in crude sensationalism and, like children throwing temper tantrums, are usually best ignored. The problem is that objectively they have gotten a hold of something we value very much. A pouting kid can often be ignored, but not when he’s flushing the car keys down the toilet. Flushing the Eucharist down the toilet demands a response as well.

The Church teaches that the Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life. The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch" (CCC 1324). In other words the foundation and purpose of the Catholic enterprise is the Blessed Sacrament. Trying to explain who we are and what we do apart from the Eucharist is like trying to explain basketball without the basket or the ball.

So when the Eucharist is violated, the whole Catholic structure is violated – we, the people of the Eucharist, are violated. Sacrilege of this sort is a battering ram against the edifice of the Church; it shakes the entire building and busts holes in the walls. If we ignore such an assault, we are either asleep in the pews or place little value on our own spiritual preservation.

But what can we do? Catholics have already made protests to Youtube, to the University of Minnesota and to the individuals involved, but without much effect. Inaction is unacceptable, since there is no reason to think that this trend of desecration will go away on its own. The only remaining option is to tighten security from the inside.

Although theoretically, the Eucharist may be received only by a believing Catholic in the state of grace, practically speaking most ministers at mass will distribute the host to anyone who gets in line. Asked if he would desecrate someone’s private property, Myers told the Minnesota Independent he wouldn’t, but then added, "The cracker is completely different. This is something that’s freely handed out." In one video, fsmdude films himself going to a local mass where he receives the host without difficulty. Clearly, greater discretion is needed in terms of Eucharistic distribution.

I would humbly but fervently request all pastors – both bishops and priests – to alert their flocks to the need for a heightened vigilance where the Blessed Sacrament is concerned. If a Catholic sees anyone not consuming the host immediately after its reception or taking the host out of his or her mouth, they must stop all else and confront the person. This is especially true for Eucharistic ministers, both ordinary and extraordinary. If a minister of communion is unwilling to interrupt the normal flow of communion-line traffic to ascertain whether Our Lord is in danger, they should not take upon themselves the sacred charge of distributing the hosts.

A further possible measure might be the appointment of ushers or mass attendees to guarantee the proper reception of the Eucharist. In fact, in certain major basilicas in Europe, an attendant is appointed at every mass to observe all communicants and make certain the Eucharist is always consumed. This method could prove to be a very effective safeguard in United States as well.

Christ has made Himself vulnerable in the Blessed Sacrament for the holiness of his followers, but then a responsibility is placed on our shoulders to protect Him. It may require burdensome precautions and socially awkward confrontations, but can we do less for the Savior among us for Whom we live and upon Whom we depend?