The following comes from an August 25 Contra Costa Times article by Rowena Coetsee and Nate Gartrell:
OAKLEY — Parishioners at St. Anthony Catholic Church here briefly found themselves at a loss in more ways than one after one or more thieves made off with the church’s tabernacle, the sacred receptacle used to carry the Blessed Sacrament.
While the heavy, brass box with gold plating is worth around $9,000, the spiritual significance of the loss was much greater, said the Rev. Ken Sales, the church’s parochial administrator. It contained four items: the ciborium, a bowl filled with consecrated Communion hosts; a lunette, a big round host; a pyx, a container for hosts; and a corporal, a linen cloth used for Communion.
“It made it a grave matter because Jesus Himself was taken away,” he said.
But the blow to parishioners’ spirits was transformed into a message of hope over the weekend, after the tabernacle was returned undamaged.
“Yes, the story started negative because of the vandalism, but whatever we lost, we got everything back, including Jesus,” Sales said. “Our community is really grateful, and we are continuing to pray for the person who did it.”
Some congregants in Oakley were setting up for an early morning Mass on Wednesday when they discovered that the case containing sacred wafers that were intended for use during Communion was missing. The wafers in the tabernacle already had been consecrated, an act that Catholics believe transforms them into the literal body of Christ.
But the loss was short-lived: Someone returned the tabernacle and its contents to an undisclosed location and the church was called to come get it on Friday, according to Sales. No arrests have been made in the case, but police are putting together suspect information, an Oakley detective said.
A few days ago a man unknown to anyone at Daily Mass was in the congregation, went up to the Communion rail to receive the Holy Eucharist. He did not consume it but put it into an envelope and walked out of the church. A few people saw him do this and followed him outside but he took off in a run and no one could keep up with him. I have seen priests at weekend Masses go after people who did not consume the Holy Eucharist and demand it be consumed or given to the priest. With Communion in the Hand so prevalent the possibility of this happening is ever present. When are our bishops going to stop this practice?
Thank you for returning Him. God bless you.
WE NEED TO RECEIVE THE BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY OF OUR GOOD LORD BY MOUTH!!! IT WOULD BE SO MUCH HARDER TO COMMITT A BLASPHEMY AGAIN JESUS!!! I ALWAYS MAKE SURE I GO TO THE PRIEST TO RECEIVE OUR LORD….AFTER ALL THEY ARE THE CHOSEN WHOSE HANDS HAVE BEEN CONSECRETED BY GOD!!!
I ALSO THINK IT IS A GOOD IDEA, IF RECEIVING OUR LORD IS ALLOWED TO CONTINUE BY HAND….THEN THERE SHOULD BE PERHAPS THE USHERS OR SOME OTHER PEOPLE STANDING AND WATCHING AND MAKING SURE THAT JESUS IS CONSUMNED! I HAVE SEEN THIS DONE AT THE BASILICA OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION IN WASHINGTON D.C.
Nonsense.
Only giving Communion the tongue protects NOTHING.
If you really want to desecrate the Blessed Sacrament, you could walk to the back of the Church, remove the Host from your tongue, and put it in to your wallet.
The bad news is that we can’t fully protect the Blessed Sacrament from evildoers.
The good news is that Jesus is Lord and can take care of Himself, punishing those who commit sacrilege in His own time, and in His own way!!!!!
I complained to our pastor for over a year about a man who would take the host from his mouth and put it in his pocket. I complained time and time again and it took my saying that I was going to the Bishop for this pastor to step in and tell the man he could not do this. He did give this man a pyx. The man does use it but he goes for breakfast after mass, does errands, etc. before taking the Blessed Sacrament home to his family.. It was my understanding that the Blessed Sacrament should be taken to the person who will receive it immediately. or within an appropriate amount of time. Perhaps I am wrong about this.
James, you are right and an old fuddy-duddy like me. Glad to see you have kept some values. I was surprised to see Vincent’s remarks to imagine comparing the value of the hosts to a cross i.e. comparing the body of our Lord to an object. There is no comparison! I wonder what the 2/3rds of V2 members who don’t believe in transubstantiation think of this situation? My guess is they couldn’t care less. If so, how sad!