Last week as I watched the news on television I noticed that the following was being brought to our attention:  people on the street were being asked if they were now afraid of going to church (where large numbers of people congregate in a confined and also closed space), and even more so, if they should receive Holy Communion, given that it is  distributed to everyone with the same Communion Spoon.

 

The reporter went about describing very eloquently how that could develop into a serious problem, if certain measures weren't taken.

There were also various interviews with certain priests and one high priest, but none of them gave a specific reply, or, they would give incorrect replies, despite their attempts for the opposite.

But, to get to the crux of the matter:  is it ever possible for the Holy Gifts - the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ - to be polluted, by any kind of flu or virus?

Jesus Christ is both God and a perfect human! 

By partaking of His Precious Body and Blood, the exact opposite occurs:  we receive the cure for our spiritual and our physical ailments.

Besides, at the end of every Divine Liturgy, when priests consume the remnants of Holy Communion from within the Chalice, shouldn't they present serious health problems - or even die - after so many years of performing that Sacrament? 

I know of a priest who serves in the chapel of a well-known public hospital, for several years now, who has been distributing Holy Communion every single day to all kinds of patients (in difficult and even contagious cases), as well as patients on their deathbeds, and he likewise consumes the remnants of the Chalice, with the same Communion Spoon, every time.

And yet, absolutely nothing has happened to that priest - in fact his health has remained pristine!

Let us therefore not allow all the panic, the fear, the pseudo-philology and the various expediencies to turn us away from the essence, and from our communion (and communication) with our God; (and I am wondering, could it be a mere coincidence, that they are striving to relate this recent occurrence to our attendance in the Church and our participation in one of Her major Sacraments?)      

There is not the slightest possibility for faithful Christians to be harmed by Holy Communion - the only thing they will "get" from it is benefits!

 

 

 

Translation:   K.N.