Monstrance madness--at least silliness

These are the kinds of things I just don't get. The U.S. church is still trying to get out from under the sex-abuse scandal and improve the church's public image, and what do the bishops do? For the Year of the Eucharist, they get a monstrance blessed by the pope (one of six, one for each continent) so people can adore the Blessed Sacrament for vocations (to the priesthood and religious life, that is).

This is what I mean by "ritual fetish." So what's getting "adored" here, Jesus' presence in the eucharist, or the celebrity monstrance?

I have a better idea for the Year of the Eucharist. How about every eucharistic community starts a food pantry this year, or a homeless shelter, or takes part in a refugee resettlement program? Why not make this a year of being transformed by the eucharist, to become bread broken for the world, a people poured out in service of others? After all, Jesus never said, "Worship me." He said, "Follow me."

If I was thinking about ordained ministry, I think I'd be more attracted to service in a community that looked beyond itself than to one committed to navel-gazing. Making a big deal about a monstrance blessed by the pope is just that.