I've got flu, a lady in the parish pointed out that we men suffer more with it than women because our sinuses are bigger, I am sure she is right.
I blame communion under both kinds, people will insist on receiving even if the have some infectious desease.
28 comments:
Dr Mildew recommends staying in bed and drinking plenty of fluids and for medication some aspirins or perhaps a proprietary medicine.
Do not attempt to fulfill your sunday duties with flu or it may get much worse and next year get a flu jab.
Take plenty of drugs and hot whisky with brown sugar.
Get well soon.
God bless
Sorry to learn you have the 'flu - do take care of yourself, Father.
Regarding receiving from the Chalice - I always make a point of not doing this if I feel a cold coming on, during a cold or just after having one. I don't think anyone told me this but it just seemed the logical thing to do and I presumed everyone else thought this way too?
Whisky, hot water and a spoonful of sugar. It won't do much for the flu, but it will make you feel better about being ill...
And if you're feeling really rough, omit the sugar, and the hot water.
Brandy can be substituted for the whisky if preferred.
Can't you stop Holy Communion under both kinds Fr? Hope you are better soon..actually in my experience men are hardier..I'm much more of a moan than my dear husband!
My prayers for your recovery. I hope you have someone who can fill in for you.
God bless.
Father you look different in that photo.
well stay away from people !! And I know this may seem anathema but if you have to say mass this IS a time to use extraordinary ministers - keeping your distance from the parishioners who will want to carve you a new navel if they are forced to take time off work because you gave them a cold!
What's more - feed your cold father - if it were flu you wouldn't be typing without clinging to the keyboard and begging the cosmos to switch to standby mode for the foreseeable future...
plenty of protein and carbohydrates mixed together [make your 'fasting' take the form of force-feeding against your wishes] lots of shepherd's pie or cheese on toast or bacon sandwiches - get hold of some A-Z multivitamins/minerals [zinc and selenium levels will plummet and need replaced - trace minerals also assist electrolytes in your muscles and prevent over-aching] keep your blood sugar levels high - here's hoping you aren't taking that diabolically protestant drink of sugarless black tea for lent.
As your tastebuds will be off-kilter food won't exactly taste great - try marmite on toast [if you like it of course] and orange juice will taste foul - so try sanguinello juice instead [or pomegranate juice which is so laden with antioxidants the French have classified it as a medicine]
a cheap bottle of menthol and eucalyptus works wonders if mixed into a deep foam bath...
Now you may need to be up and about - whatever you do, occupy your mind - the best way is to plunge into something different - a new movie or a history book or an audio book if you're too exhausted to read - if you want a link to a movie which will really make you think - try this one :
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=3909854615539675694&q=primer&total=113875&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=
or if you're a specific type of individual who likes long-running stories which aren't soap-like why not click your pc over to
66stage.com and watch some tv serials - have you ever watched 'house' ? every episode is on the youku link ; as are many other serials you may have missed...
Last time I was ill I became utterly engrossed in Tom Holland's 'Rubicon' - could you bear sci-fi ? Alastair Reynolds is a revolution in the genre....
Well, I don't know about bigger sinuses, when you get nailed, you get nailed. IT's nasty this year. People are catching this "thing" more than once, the 2nd wave of it having just run through our office like a hot knife through butter.
Re: the Communion under both kinds... SEE, weren't you the guy poo-poohing the idea a while back? I'm seriously surprised that at the start of the winter season, the priests just don't get a little blunt about that... a subtle "For the love of God and your priest, people, if you're sick or have BEEN sick, PLEASE DON'T RECEIVE FROM THE CUP, because IT IS I WHO HAVE TO FINISH AND GET ALL YOUR GERMS.
It might sink through even the dim.... "And then I'll have to have Father X fill in, and you know how you all complained about his sermon...."
You poor fish. Order out for pizza if you don't feel like cooking.
Priests collect all the parish germs when they purify the chalice after everyone else has consumed the Precious Blood.
The following is, I assume, an extract from the old Penny Catechism. (see para 270)
266. What is the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist?
The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, together with his Soul and Divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine.
267. How are the bread and wine changed into the Body and Blood of Christ?
The bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ by the power of God, to whom nothing is impossible or difficult.
268. When are the bread and wine changed into the Body and Blood of Christ?
The bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ when the words of consecration, ordained by Jesus Christ, are pronounced by the priest in Holy Mass.
269. Why has Christ given himself to us in the Holy Eucharist?
Christ has given himself to be the life and the food of our souls. ‘Whoever eats me will draw life from me’: ‘Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever’. (John 6:58.59)
270. Is Christ received whole and entire under either kind alone?
Christ is received whole and entire under either kind alone.
271. In order to receive the Blessed Sacrament worthily what is required?
In order to receive the Blessed Sacrament worthily it is required that we be in a state of grace and keep the prescribed fast: water does not break this fast.
272. What is it to be in a state of grace?
To be in a state of grace is to be free from mortal sin, and pleasing to God.
273. Is it a great sin to receive Holy Communion in mortal sin?
It is a great sin to receive Holy Communion in mortal sin: ‘because a person who eats and drinks without recognising the Body, is eating and drinking his own condemnation.’ (1 Cor. 11:29)
274. Is the Blessed Eucharist a Sacrament only?
The Blessed Eucharist is not a Sacrament only; it is also a sacrifice.
I hope you are soon better.
Men have flu and women get colds.
I hope you are feeling better soon Fr.,will pray for you
Sorry you're not well, Father.
I totally agree with all the above remedies.
Aspirin is effective because it is an excellent anti-pyretic. If you're allergic, "buffered" or coated asprin is available.
Yes to the whisky, hot water, sugar (or honey) mix, but use a good single malt.
OTSOTA is, as usual, right about everything, but he doesn't mention vitamin C !!
If you lose your appetite completely, Complan (hot or cold) is easy to make, easy to drink, and contains just about everything your body needs.
Don't get dehydrated.
Plenty of water, fruit juice, whatever.
If you're feeling really rotten, you'll have to go to bed !
Yes, post flu depression is always a possibility. You'll have put Lent on the back burner, so to so to speak, and have some form of entertainment.
Avoid anti-histamines !
They don't "agree" with everyone, and might only make you feel worse.
Communion under both kinds might have been a factor, but frankly I had my doubts about that Lenten fare thing you posted, involving skilly, gruel and what-not.
No balanced diet in that stuff, I thought.
Get better sooon.
Rest !
Paracetamol and plenty of hot drinks!
Plus, hardly need to remind you what Pope Benedict urges us to do in Spe Salvi: Offer it up! :)
And please, get well soon.
Fr. Ray,
Get well soon.
Regarding Mary's point on colds vs. flu, the way to tell the difference between having a cold and having flu is to apply the £10 note test: if you are going down with a cold and see a £10 note lying on the ground, you will pick it up. If you have flu, you will ignore the money and collapse into bed. Easy!
re: the chalice
we are talking of the 'accident' [I wish we would change that word to 'exigent'] of fortified wine here - a considerable alcoholic content - highly anti-microbial ; especially if a silver chalice is used -it's the bad use of the purificator which can cause the problems - the GRIM is very specific - the inside and outside of the chalice is to be wiped dry - it's the pathetic 'high-church' hyper-ritualising - using the same few square centimetres of a folded purificator repetitively -merely peripherally sweeping against the exterior of the chalice - that's a ludicrous nominalising of a process...
I think some Female Lutheran scientist did a study of it a while back.
A couple or so years ago my Parish Priest insisted on using a very small chalice for himself during one Mass because, he told me, he had a bad cold. He said that he did not want to pass his cold on to anyone else. I remonstrated with him, saying "Father, do you really suppose that Our Lord would allow His blood to be the means of passing on some illness?". I said that, just to prove that I meant what I said, I would be very happy to receive from his small chalice.
He got his way, I'm afraid! But I did disagree with him. Look at all the sick who bathe at Lourdes in the same water! Never, to my knowledge, has any sickness been passed on via this water.
JARay
You might want to check out Man Cold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz6DktXFvg4
Is it compulsary to have Communion under both kinds expecially in winter?
The old penny catechism certainly stated things clearly. Today we use thousands of words, to describe the same thing, which can be interpreted in many ways and the average person who manages to get to the end says 'huh?' and relies on an 'expert' to tell him what the Church teaches. Said 'expert' may or may not interpret according to the authentic teaching of the Church.
Sorry to hear you are not feeling well Fr Ray and wish you a speedy recovery but we all catch the dreaded BUG and some point and i guess it is not very fair for people to take communion when they are not feeling very well but maybe they should be not out at all??.
No point blaming us Fr as you can catch the Bug anywhere even Waitrose!!
John,
I am sorry but part of Catholic doctrne is that "the accidents remain unchanged", one of the accidents of wine is that the alcohol does not destroy all known germs, to say nothing of what is carried on the lip of the chalice.
I always use an additional chalice if I have an infection.
Get well soon Father,5 days of aggro & a lot of tissues and then you will be fit as a fiddle & immune for a while.
JARay,
I have a friend who went to Lourdes with his buddy. The buddy went in the waters, and he became sicker than he'd ever been in his adult life. (He'd had chronic back pain, or some such - so, no, it didn't exacerbate that.)
Karen
Fr. Ray
Get Well Soon
When I get sick I just want my mother. Big hugs, Father.
People don't usually drink the Lourdes water in which they have been bathing...
Intinction, Father, inctinction.
Mac, he wasn't drinking it! [From my friend Jim's description, he said there was no way he'd go in those waters! "well, then there's this scummy skin floating by....I commented to my friend about it, but no....he insisted...."
I think my friend had a bit of schadenfreude over that one! But who knows...he could have been one of the miracles.
I found it interesting when reading St. Therese's mother's family letters that though she was making the pilgrimage to Lourdes, she herself said that she doubted whether a physical cure would be affected. I'd have to go back and read the details again, but if memory isn't playing tricks on me, her thought was maybe that precisely because she believed so deeply in God etc....that she WOULDn'T be cured, because she didn't "need" it. But I'd have to double check that. It seemed she was going more to satisfy the desires of her family.
Karen
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