Tuesday, 7th July 2009
Now that swine flu has reached our shores (2)
With regard to the Holy Communion directive issued by the Church authorities in Malta and Gozo, may I please draw attention to another important fact that may have been overlooked by the Church? When giving the sign of peace during Mass, certain people opt for a hand-shake.
Prudence forbids me from giving certain graphic details; suffice to say that most children are quite innocent and, thus, oblivious to the hygiene regimen one has to observe when coughing or sneezing) and then there are quite a few adults that have a habit of putting their garbage bags outside and bolt their front doors before proceeding to church for their daily participation in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. So would it not be helpful to the public if the Church authorities or even the medical authorities clarify their position on this matter? It would set people's minds at rest while avoiding any possible embarrassment.
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Comments
Putting the garbage outdoor then returning inside and wash your hands that's a normal habit not just now because of the swine flu.
As for shaking hands that's a daily experience. Perhaps the swine flu is the least severe ailment to contact when shaking hands.
Even eating in a restaurant is not always safe. Happily we don't frequent the kitchen or the washing room.
And what can we say of those that dring beer or any other drink from the bottle. The bottles are stacked away in some remote dark corner and brought over little by little. One does not know whether some rodent passed by the bottle when inside or at night. Hygene is a personal matter that we think everybody takes care of it. But do they do we?
When young, the girlfriend of a friend of mine once opened her heart to me and said that she would never marry him, for he always smelt so clinical, and so pharmacy like, always using artificial deodorants and aftershave lotions and spraysand other antibacterial moisturising antisceptic tissues and so on. I built up courage and asked her what she wanted in a man. To my surprise she took a deep breath and said, " I WANT A MAN TO SMELL LIKE A MAN ! She qualified that statement by going deeply in the manner a man and a woman get attracted to each other. It was a rather interesting education about how far should one go in being clinically clean, for other natural human characteristics may suffer.
This is a subject not to be taken lightly , one may laugh or smile a little at first but when one thinks deeply about it, even a new born child seeks his mother by her smell, he would not find the milk source if the natural odour was replaced with antibacterial stuff.
Perhaps their Excellencies the Bishops may oblige and give instructions not to shake hands?
You never know what the other person may have touched and not washed his/her hands afterward.