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.