What crust!

Have we lost our minds? This may be old news by now, but the misadventure of the cheese-sandwich-that-looked-like-Mary deserves a closer look.

Secular media had great fun with the story of the 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich up for auction on the Internet site Ebay. And who could blame them? Because right there in the seared crust was an image that, to some, looked like the Virgin Mary.

The sandwich sold—to a company that runs a casino, no less—for $28,000.

Have we lost our minds?

OK, I’ve worked for newspapers all of my life. No one has to persuade me that there are people … how can I put this gently? … goofy people in this world. And people beyond goofy.

But I’ve also watched over the years as people of deep faith (and sometimes great imagination) have perceived the divine in everything from gnarled tree trunks to foggy windows to misshapen zucchini. That a Marian grilled cheese should surface, even one (whew!) 10 years old, doesn’t shock me.

But when the bidding hit around $20,000 and kept on going …

Have we lost our minds?

I don’t really want to impugn the sandwich’s former owner, Diana Duyser, a 52-year-old Florida jewelry designer who, by all counts, is a faithful person. She says she got hungry one day a decade ago and fixed the sandwich. After one bite, she said, she spied the image of Mary staring out at her, stopped eating and placed the piece of triangular toasted bread in a plastic container by her bedside. Where it’s been since, she said, and never, never grew a speck of mold.

She told the media who descended on her that “I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. This is my solemn belief. … I have had blessings since she has been in my home.”

The high bidder, an Internet casino on the Caribbean island of Antigua, calls the sandwich “a slice of heaven” and vows to make it a focal point of charity, obviously betting on the publicity it will garner. (It also may say something that Duyser met the media wearing a T-shirt with the legend: “The Passion of the Toast.”)

Have we lost our minds?

I began writing this over Thanksgiving, when many Americans, even while gorging themselves with turkey and trimmings, generally at least acknowledge the less fortunate around them.

The media also will have stories of parishes and church organizations of all faiths making an extra effort to feed the hungry (perhaps you’ve heard that Gospel invocation) during the holiday season. Newspapers and TV will be alive with stories of caring and pleas for help for children and families.

Many of our parishes are conducting food drives (a good thing); Catholic Charities is deep into its annual Celebration of Giving, which encompasses the Toy Shower and Sponsor-a-Family; even the U.S. Marines are pushing the Toys for Tots program.

And through it all, some deeply religious yahoos were willing to part with thousands of dollars for a cheese sandwich that no one would—or should—eat.

Have we lost out minds?

Before I work myself up into a righteous frenzy here, I’d better take a deep breath and step back.

Icons and statues and even events perceived to be miraculous are fine. They can be reminders which sharpen and deepen faith, perhaps especially important in a world which today looks down on faith (which I think cheese-sandwich stories encourage). So this shouldn’t be about faith, but about balance: Seek God in life, but don’t lose perspective.

Besides, I have a hard time seeing the Virgin Mary as shill for a casino.

PS: To help with Catholic Charities’ Toy Shower, call (312) 655-7912; for the Sponsor-a-Family program, call (312) 948-6797. You’ll be glad you did.

Tom Sheridan
Editor and General Manager

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