I'm confused. Intravenous introduction of the Eucharist?

I've heard of people being communed via the Precious Bloood when they are fed by tubing that is through the mouth and down into the stomach, but introducing liquids via IV methods is a whole different thing.

As far as the Papal dispensation, at the time of Blessed John, the laity did not receive the Precious Blood and it probably did take a Papal dispensation to override the rules in effect at that time.

Bob

Actually, any bishop could have done it, but you know how brave and can-do that bunch is.

Well, "brave" and "bishop" may appear in the same section of the dictionary, but apparently they're about an eternity apart in reality.

Let us always be on guard against Jansenism. Like Arianism, some of it's venom never seems to go completely away. It's like a perduring case of the spiritual shingles. Jansenism's fetid stench has befouled the interior lives of many, many good people.

It wasn't intravenously - it was through a feeding tube into the stomach.
Wine intravenously injected would probably kill or at least severely harm you, depending on the amount injected and it's level of alcohol content.

Thanks, Sielos for the sensible clarification. It seems to me that the only dispensation needed for this is the fasting requirement. There really isn't anything extraordinary about it.

Actually it seems unnecessary; a drop of the Precious Blood is enough to Communicate, just as for an infant at Baptism. This would eliminate the need for ablution and burying/burning of the bag in which the food and Eucharist are mixed.

Fr Deacon Paul

YES!

Isn't it also based on the theology of East vs. West why Communion is also seen differently. The East sees that we can never be worthy except by He who makes us worthy. Because of sin our nature is wounded and the only way to repair the wound in our nature is to achieve Theosis, and Communion is the path to that.

In the West there is this concept of state of grace. Because sins are offenses or debts that need to be repaid, confession is what forgives these debts. Therefore after confession we have been forgiven our debts. Because we have been forgiven our offenses, therefore we are worthy to be in the presence of God, which on Earth is the Eucharist

"Worthy" is always relative.

It doesn't necessarily mean "deserving".

During her trial for witchcraft and heresy, Ste. Jeanne d'Arc was asked by her interrogators if she were in the state of grace. To which she replied, "If I am - thanks be to God. And if I'm not, may God get me there as soon as possible."

As an aside: the bishop who presided over her trial was Pierre Cauchon - that means "Peter Pig" in English. Betchadidnknowthatdidja?

She's a saint and he ain't.

The conclusions of most of the posters here are in stark contrast to my experience. In my experience, Russians are likely to make much bigger a deal about approaching unworthily than anyone else (see the prayers in the prayer book about being burnt for apporoaching where angles fear to tread unworthily etc), and most Russian orthodox commune five or fewer times a year (traditionally once during each fast and your names day, but sometimes just Pascha and sometimes not even that).

That doesn't make it right. The whole discussion of frequent communion is a big one. We could go for years on that topic. The Canons state one must commune in order to be Orthodox. I know some of the academics will pipe up to make all the necessary corrections on my statement, but I have been told the general rule is commune at least once a year, and miss no more than three consecutive Liturgies. Sure there is all kinds of circumstances that fall under economia, but those do not include vacation or the super bowl. One thing that always caught my attention was the blessing of baskets after Pascha. More Russians would show up than were at the liturgy.

chadrook:

About the blessing of paschal baskets--

That's like the Catholics who don't come around all year but make sure they get their throast blessed on St. Blaise's feast in February and get their ashes on Ash Wednesday.

Bob

Reminds me of this story I heard about someone calling a parish about the blessing of the baskets, "what time does the blessing of baskets start?" The priest said, "it is at the end of the Liturgy. Liturgy starts at 7am." And the person replied, "so around what time does the part when the blessing of baskets begin?"

I would say too that there are more people in our parish (UGCC) at Christmas and Pascha. And most of the time of the year the parish is always half empty, often more than half.

Of course, these "Chreaster" Catholics will be the first and loudest to complain if the parish is shut down by the bishop for lack of support or other good reason.

Wasn't saying it was correct - only there seemed to be a vibe that some Orthodox commune more often than Catholics, which is definitely not the case in the Russian tradition.