Terri got a drop of communion wine recently. I’m not going to bother arguing about this case. Everything that needs to be said, has already been said.
However the news that a priest would administer communion on a person who has no concept of reality did make me come to a conclusion. The conclusion is Catholics are more concerned about the ritual itself rather than personal belief. Administering communion on Terri is like administering communion on an infant. The Bible is specific on belief, especially on communion. “This do in rememberance of Me,” something that a person in a vegetative state is unable to do. Religion is empty and ritualistic without true belief. Does simply going to church and singing, bowing your head in prayer, and eating bread and wine make someone a Christian? NO! First and formost it takes personal belief. Something that I’m sure Terri once had, but no longer has. Sure it makes her parents and supporters feel better that she had communion. But was she really worshipping? No! She has no concept of that. Doing something for the sake of the ritual, without belief is wrong and not what God wants.
Another course of action where the ritual itself is more important than belief is infant baptism. Those who practice this are showing this somewhat as a promise of the parents/guardians to raise their child in a Christian environment. Seemingly the baptism ritual is more important than belief. For Catholics this belief will come to the child later in life (hopefully).
Many times we get caught up in the ritual itself rather than worship. Its time to ask ourself do we truly believe or are we just going through empty rituals?