I once had a fly fall into the precious blood as I was about to consume it. I looked at it a moment, considered my options … and swallowed it, so this story about St. Norbert resonates:
At a later date, worn out with fasting and vigils, Norbert celebrated Mass in a crypt. After the Lord’s Body and Blood had been consecrated, a large [poisonous] spider fell into the chalice. When the priest saw it he was shocked. Life and death hovered before his eyes. But lest the sacrifice suffer any loss he chose rather to undergo the danger and consumed whatever was in the chalice. When the service was finished, believing he was going to die, he remained before the altar and commended his awaited end to the Lord in prayer. Then he was disturbed by an itching in his nose. He scratched it, and soon the spider was expelled by a sudden fit of sneezing. Through this event both his faith in both God and God’s goodness to him became evident.
Vita Norberti A
Ther…