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Missing the point of ‘Body of Christ’ letter

To the editor:

The  Aug. 2  ‘Honoring the Body of Christ’ author seems to have missed the point I was trying to make in my July 31 letter. So I will reiterate using  two perspectives.

1. The secular view: An atheist notes that one of the stated instructions for the priest is to make sure no particles from a round bread host about 3 inches diameter and about 1/16 inch thick, become lost after the host has been broken per ceremonial instructions. Many times, the priest will consume about half of the host bread and then break up the rest to be handed out to a few parishioners. The atheist wonders: ‘How do you control breakage of sharp corners of this thin, frail piece of bread after it’s placed in the recipient’s hand?’ Even the 1inch diameter thin hosts handed out to the rest of the congregation are susceptible to chipping; common sense tells him there’s going to be particles broken off sooner or later. Apparently, these priests don’t take their process instructions very seriously, he reasons.

2.     The religious  view: In Bishop Robert Barron’s book ‘This Is My Body’ I find it interesting that on page 79 he refers to early Church writer Origen (185-254 A.D.) who said: “You who are accustomed to take part in the Divine mysteries know, when you receive the Body of the Divine Lord, how you protect it with all caution and veneration lest any small part fall from it, lest anything of the consecrated gift be lost”. So if desecrating a small part of the Host was a sacrilege over 1700 years ago, why isn’t it a sacrilege today? Would we throw a new born onto the floor and step on the child? So why would we throw the Creator of that child and of the universe onto the floor and step on Him? Catholic laity and clergy need to decide if this is truly God, or just bread. If ‘IT’ is God, then why don’t we act like ‘IT’ is?  If it’s just bread then belief in the Eucharist becomes empty nonsense.

 Phil Drietz

 Delhi

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