When Pigs Fly!

A few days ago, amidst the craziness that is 'piggie flu', Hubs and I heard a news report that the Catholic church had stopped giving communion in the chalice, and requested that church-goers take the body (non-Catholics call it the wafer) in their palms instead of on their tongues.

Whoa. I have a big big problem with that.

First of all, as a Catholic, I firmly believe in the transfiguration. I believe that when I receive The Eucharist, I am not eating a wafer and drinking some wine. I am taking the actual body and blood of Christ. Not a symbol. It has been transformed into the body and blood of Jesus.

I am eight months pregnant and everytime I go to church, I take communion - both body and blood. Someone who was not Catholic might think 'But you're not supposed to drink at all when you're pregnant. And inside the chalice is wine!' I don't think that way. I am not drinking wine, but the blood of Jesus, and any more of Jesus I can have in me is a good thing. And my baby is getting part of Jesus, too.

So I have a big problem with the church deciding that swine flu is too dangerous and too contagious to have the communion chalice at mass. The flu might be passed on through the entire congregation. In my thinking, though, there is nothing stronger than the blood of Christ. So I don't see a problem still having both the body and the blood still given at mass. Do you really think that the blood of Jesus is not strong enough to kill a few strands of a virus? It sure as hell conquered sin, but it can't overcome a little piggie flu??

I did a little research on the web these past few days, and while I was relieved at what I found when I typed in such google searches as "Catholic church swine flu" and "Vatican swine flu", I was also a little upset.

Apparently, the local news story we saw that reported this got a few facts wrong. I have not seen a single memo or pamphlet from The Vatican or The Pope that says we should no longer receive from the communion chalice during mass. Nothing official has come from Rome, except reports that Pope Benedict is praying for thos who are suffering. Sounds good enough.

But there are archdioceses across the world (Chicago, Baltimore, Mexico City and New Zealand to name a few) who are putting these restrictions in use. A few churches have taken these precautions against the swine flu not by Papal edict but through their own decisions. Although I vehemently disagree with them, I am releived to discover that it was not The Pope nor The Vatican itself who chose to enforce these decisions.

Because I will always believe that Christ's body and blood is strong enough to overcome any contagions. At least, I'll believe it. . . . . until pigs fly. . . .