Gluten intolerance.As someone who suffers from celiac disease celiac disease: see sprue. celiac disease or nontropical sprue Digestive disorder in which people cannot tolerate gluten, a protein constituent of wheat, barley, malt, and rye flours. , I appreciated Kenan B. Osborne's discussion of the eucharistic elements of bread and wine within the framework of the church as the body of Christ
The Body of Christ is a term used by Christians to describe believers in Christ. Jesus Christ is seen as the "head" of the body, which is the church. . For much of my life I have had to educate pastors about my illness, even though I lack theological and medical expertise. The advice I have received from different priests is to partake only of the wine. Yet this poses practical and, I think, theological problems. Consider the symbolism of the priest only distributing the bread, while lay eucharistic ministers distribute the wine. The bread is presented as essential to the sacrament, the wine as optional. One pastor was upset that I did not receive the sacrament from him. Perhaps he thought that I was snubbing him. I told him I could receive the sacrament from him if he distributed the wine, but he never did. A correction should be made to Osborne's use of the phrase "celiac celiac /ce·li·ac/ (se´le-ak) abdominal. ce·li·ac or coe·li·ac adj. Of or relating to the abdomen or abdominal cavity. celiac pertaining to the abdomen. allergy." Celiac sprue celiac sprue (sē´lēak sprōō), n a genetic disorder in which the body cannot digest certain gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. is not an allergy, but a food sensitivity. The importance of this distinction is that, while an eight-year-old child might outgrow outgrow verb To change the relationship with a condition or structure by dint of ↑ age or size; while children outgrow clothing, and certain behaviors, they rarely outgrow diseases–eg, asthma a food allergy, the intolerance to gluten (present in wheat, rye, oats oats, cereal plants of the genus Avena of the family Gramineae (grass family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other , and bar'ey) is permanent. The last fifteen years have seen an increase in the diagnosis of celiac sprue, due in part to changes in medical education regarding nutrition. Distributing Communion to people with this illness may therefore turn out to be a significant pastoral issue in the future. JOHN LAFFERTY Silver Spring, Md. |
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