A priest prevented a man from taking the consecrated Host without consuming it after approaching to take communion during the Mass for the second anniversary of the sanctuary of Santa Lucía in the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán, in Honduras.
Father Nery Adalberto Gómez Pérez, parish priest of San Marcos Evangelista in Ocotepeque, was invited last Friday to preside over the celebration at the sanctuary of Santa Lucía, in whose temple a large crowd of faithful had gathered.
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At the time of Communion within the Mass, among the faithful was a man taller than the average of those present, who sported a mustache and was wearing a white T-shirt and a baseball cap.
Waiting his turn, he stood before the priest, who pronounced the words “the body of Christ” without obtaining a response from the person who would later be confirmed as a desecrator.
In the sequence, which can be checked through the Facebook of Channel 16 of Ocotepequewe can see how the man makes an unusual gesture, moving his mouth forward to take the Host from the priest’s hand, instead of waiting for him to place it on his tongue.
With the Eucharist between his teeth and half sticking out of his mouth, the desecrator remains for a moment without knowing what to do and looks at the priest, resulting in a smile that betrays his nerves.
Without finishing consuming it, he turns around to return to his place on the church pews, but the priest immediately realizes the situation. First he points at him with his hand, but then he is forced to approach his place, to demand that he return the sacred form.
After reserving the profaned Eucharist, the priest continued the celebration without any major surprises.
The Eucharist, “the greatest treasure of the Church”
At the end of the liturgical celebration, Father Gómez took advantage of the occasion to catechize on the importance of the Eucharist and the responsibility of all Catholics when it comes to safeguarding it.
The priest stressed that the Eucharist “is the greatest treasure of the Church” and, given that both priests, religious and lay people are part of it, he recalled that “we must all be zealous with this treasure.”
“That is why at the moment of communion, instead of being distracted,” the celebrant continued, “something that we all have to do, if the Eucharist is our treasure, is to be careful that someone does not make amends.”
“It was my turn today. But it’s not just my question. It is also everyone’s question. “Everyone must be watching,” he insisted.
Furthermore, he pointed out that, in these situations, the layman has “the authority as a Christian” to complain to a desecrator: “Give me the consecrated Host, please. Give it to me. If you are not going to honor it, give it to me, and I will honor it”, to then give it to a priest.
Before concluding, Father García recalled that the Eucharist is “the presence of God among us, real and living. Otherwise, this is a theater.”
Nicholas de Cardenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish husband and father and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specializing in sociopolitical and religious information. I have worked for more than 10 years in defense of human rights and have accreditations in Journalism and Comprehensive Communication. Since July 2022, I have been a correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.