Question:
My friend was talking about drinking in church, and when I joked that Catholics drink wine in the open, she said I was being blasphemous. I wasn’t disrespecting our sacrament, nor was I misbehaving while taking the sacraments, so how is this blasphemy?
Answer:
We Catholics believe that what we receive from the chalice, despite its wine-like appearance, is actually the blood of Christ. The Church teaches that at the words of the priest “This is my blood,” the wine becomes Christ’s blood and is no longer wine.
While you intended no disrespect, you referred to the Lord’s precious blood as mere wine. Merriam-Webster defines blasphemy as “irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable.” It’s understandable your friend thought you had blasphemed.
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