Eucharistic Desecration

In the midst of the occurrence of the sadly all-too-common Eucharistic desecration (which is often broadcast on the web via YouTube) Thanksgiving is celebrated. The Eucharist, Whose very name means ‘thanksgiving’, is often abominably blasphemed and physically demeaned by those who hate Him, and yet who every year profess to be thankful for what they have. I cannot even comprehend hating God, Who is so loving and good to give us all we have, to let pleasing things happen to us, and to allow us to enjoy beauty even though we are sinners!

As I read reports of the desecrations, I became very sad, and couldn’t understand how people could do such things knowingly. I thought “Those horrible people! How could they do this? Don’t they understand what they are doing? How can God love them? Is there anything lovable in them at all?” But then, it occurred to me that perhaps this atrocity was more familiar to me than I first thought. How much it must pain Our Lord to be disgraced in His humble form of the Eucharist, which He has given to the world as its most Precious Gift—but how much more does it pain Him to be received into a soul that professes outwardly to love and serve Him, but is spiritually tepid? And what of such a soul’s repeated offenses against Him, with little to no effort expended to atone for and mend his ways? Surely, these offend Him in the same manner as the desecrations of His Sacred Body and Blood, and perhaps even more so. Are not all the concessions to our passions and all our failures desecrations of Him in a spiritual way? Do they not wound Him as seriously as do the horrors of Eucharistic desecration? Though the sin is on a lesser scale, it is still infinitely displeasing to God, and all the more serious because the soul has been given so many graces.

Similarly, it is common to regard Judas Iscariot as almost inhumanly evil. How can a man, having lived and worked with Jesus and hearing Him preach, betray Him, and turn Him over to be killed? But this also, is more familiar to us than perhaps we think. As Catholics, we know that Christ has died as a result of our sin and out of His great Love for us. Knowing this, how much more of a betrayal is it to disregard His Holy Will in favor of our own selfish ones? How can we, who go to Mass, hear His Word, and receive His Body and Blood into our souls ever betray Him? And yet, we do.

Christ was not betrayed only once a few thousand years ago—He is betrayed every time one who claims to love and follow Him sins. After all He has done for us, can we bear to look at His bruised and lacerated Face when we have sinned and knowingly inflicted the wounds upon Him? When we sin, we become like Judas, betraying Him in a most loathsome way - with a kiss. Let us strive to do so no more, with the realization of how serious every sin is in the eyes of God.

St. Peter, you who repented of your thrice-betrayal of Christ, pray for us.

Determination

I hope that I might have as much determination to reach Heaven as this Narnian mouse did to reach Aslan's country.

"My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east on the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia."
-- Reepicheep, in C.S. Lewis' book The Dawn Treader

AD ORIENTEM!

In Bernard's Words II

As Bernard grew to age four, his vocabulary increased as well. This, of course, led to even funnier mispronunciations! I hope the reader enjoys this sequel of 'In Bernard's Words'.

Words
Police car: Peace car (which, come to think of it, is quite true)

Delicious: Alicious

Salami: S’mommy

Alphabet: Awfulbet (it was awful when he had to learn it, so I'm not surprised at this word!)

Stomach ache: Stomach hake

Hot dog: Dot Dog

Chex Mix: Chets Mitts or Chek Mik

Ornaments: Orderments or Ormamints (quite a tongue twister for little tots)

Moustache: Moose-tash

Raffle ticket: Rifle ticket

Bowling: Bowling Pinning

Instructions: Strutchins

Host: Holster (I remember him saying: "And when the priest lifts up the holster...")

Meat Loaf: Meef loaf

Cappuccino: Chabb-ed-chino (Yes, he liked cappuccino at age four!)

(Lego Villian) Baron Von Baron: Bing Bong Baron

Vocabulary: Kibillary

Feliz Navidad: A-neez Na-Nee-Na

One-Liners
His name for our neck massager: Head Machine

When he tried to read the label of our ‘Spicy Cider’: Spikey… drink

When there was a king inside his building: “It’s kingerful”

Toobrushes and Penance: A Dental Hygienists View of Sin

This will probably seem a rather odd post, so I beg the readers’ courtesy. Being in dental hygiene, one can hardly help thinking about the mouth and the bacterial processes occurring within. And, being Catholic, one also thinks (or should think) about the condition of one’s soul and how best to better it. With these two subjects occupying my mind and different intervals, an unusual analogy began to form: venial sin can, in some ways, be likened to the bacteria in a person’s mouth!

Both bacteria and venial sins are small, but quick to multiply. One tiny bacterium, in the nourishing environment of the mouth, grows exponentially into many colonies in a short period of time. Similarly, one venial sin can lead to more and more sins as time goes on, especially if a person’s surroundings encourage it.

What can one do to help keep their souls out of sin? Go to Confession, of course! It is simple, but one must be sincere. In the Sacrament of Penance, Christ gives us his grace and wipes all our sins away, and the soul is very white and clean. It is just like when we brush our teeth with toothpaste to get rid of the bacteria that have been growing there. Now, everyone knows that one should brush one’s teeth twice a day and be very thorough about it to keep up our oral health. So also should we be with Confession—going often and being thorough. That way, one can continually increase in holiness!

Everyone is familiar with the consequences of neglecting to brush their teeth. The bacteria, fed by sugar from a person’s food, make acid, which builds up and creates cavities. Neglected cavities can soon become very painful infections that require root canals or even tooth extraction to remedy. Also, the bacteria can settle in the gum tissue, causing gingivitis and periodontitis. These latter diseases are more insidious, as no pain is felt and many people do not even realize they have them. They are also well known to cause bone and tooth loss. One can certainly imagine what happens to one’s soul in the case of neglect. The venial sins multiply and cause the soul to decay while it is still alive. Attachment to these sins can deform the soul so much that great measures must be taken over time to eradicate them. Sometimes, as in the case of a serious cavity, one knows that one has done wrong, is suffering from it, and knows that there is a problem that needs to be fixed. But what is more often the case is that one cannot see the effects of sin upon their soul, and thus never seek to treat it. This often happens with gingivitis and periodontitis, and they are the most widespread dental diseases. In these cases, the disease progresses unnoticed and the soul becomes more and more diseased until it is almost unrecognizable.

But—with God, all things are possible, so no matter how terrible a condition the soul is in, one good confession can heal it as good as new! Some effects of the sin will remain though, and because the soul has been compromised, one must do one’s best to keep from falling into sin again by changing their behavior. It is exactly the way, after a dentist fixes a cavity, that a tooth may continue to be sensitive for months afterwards, depending on how bad the cavity was. Or, after someone goes in for a deep cleaning, they must be very careful to change their habits to keep up their oral health. They may have to stop smoking, eat fewer sweets, etc.

And—since bacteria will continue to invade the mouth, one needs to keep up with brushing… and going to Confession!