Posted on 05/24/2005 3:50:36 PM PDT by NYer
ROME, MAY 24, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University.
Q: What is the proper procedure when a consecrated Host falls on the floor when distributing Communion? We were told to leave the consecrated Host on the floor till the Communion procession is over, then pick up the Host and put it in a bowl of water to dissolve and then pour the contents on a plant in the church or down the sacristy sink. Is the dissolved Host still the Body of Christ? Is this a new directive to be followed? -- M.B., Upper Sackville, Nova Scotia
A: This subject is addressed in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 280:
"If a host or any particle should fall, it is to be picked up reverently. If any of the Precious Blood is spilled, the area where the spill occurred should be washed with water, and this water should then be poured into the sacrarium in the sacristy."
There is no mention of leaving the host on the floor, and in fact it should be picked up immediately, both out of respect for the Lord and lest it be trampled by unwary communicants.
Nor is there any indication about dissolving the host. I would say that, if the host remains clean, then either the minister or the communicant should consume it directly.
The process of dissolving the host in water may be used in special conditions if a host had been seriously soiled. Once the host is dissolved, the water may be poured directly upon the earth or down the sacrarium -- the special sacristy sink that leads to the earth, not to a drain.
It should not be poured down a common sink.
With respect to the presence of Christ, most theologians would hold that, although the host externally remains intact for several days, the real presence would cease as soon as the host is fully soaked with water as from that moment the species is no longer exclusively that of bread.
It is necessary to wait for the host to dissolve, out of respect for what once contained the presence of Christ and in order to avoid any danger or appearance of a host being discarded or profaned.
As many of you know, an incident of this nature occured at my RC parish last year. The EEM, unsure of how to handle it, turned towards the pastor. He met her gaze then averted his eyes. Left to her own devices, she bent over, picked it up and redeposited it in her Pyrex glass communion bowl. It was the last time I attended Mass at that parish.
I am quite surprised by Father's response and fully expect he will be receiving plenty of email on this topic, including one from me.
Have any of you experienced this in your parish?
A small child dropped a host at our parish a few weeks ago. Father immediately bent down, picked it up and consumed it, without blinking an eye then went back to his work of distributing. He is very serious about reverence to the Eucharist...
I don't understand the surprise. This is the way a dropped host has always been handled. In the old days, the priest would cover the spot where the host was dropped with a purificator, then come out after Mass and wipe the spot with water.
I haven't seen that done in 40 years. If there are no obvious particles of the host on the floor, then there is no Real Presence there.
Anytime I've seen a consecrated host hit the floor while I've been in line for communion I've consumed it myself. The information posted above will be a good reference in case I ever see it happen again.
My wife's mother died and we came into possesion her Crucifix set that was used for Last Rights of her time. We discovered upon opening the cross (it normally held holy water and candles)several Eucharists.
We spoke with our priest and he said to bury them in the garden, which we did.
Good thing it feel into your hands and not someone else's. I know that set very well! My grandparents had one on the wall in their bedroom. When my grandmother passed away, her son donated it to the local church -- no hosts included. How do you suppose they got there?
Dear NYer,
I've seen this twice over the past 27 years, and in both cases, the individual distributing the Blessed Sacrament immediately bent down, carefully picked up the Host, and immediately consumed it. Without any fuss, without any scene.
sitetest
The incident I cited above was the final straw; it drove me from that parish. This being Albany (Howard Hubbard country), there's slim pickings when it comes to orthodox teaching. Rather than toss it all away, I compiled a list of several other parishes nearby and attended each one over the next several weeks. Another freeper suggested that I include any Eastern Catholic Churches. There were 2 - Maronite and Ukrainian.
Three weeks later, the Maronite Church surfaced. Having read up on their liturgy, I went in prepared. I came away with a sense of 'Peace' unlike anything I had ever felt before. The following week I returned and once again was drawn into the reverence of their liturgy. When week 3 arrived, I tossed the list, returned to the Maronite Catholic Church and made it my parish.
May I make a recommendation? The Catholic Church is both Western and Eastern. As most of us realize, the Church began in the East. Our Lord lived and died and resurrected in the Holy Land. The Church spread from Jerusalem throughout the known world. As the Church spread, it encountered different cultures and adapted, retaining from each culture what was consistent with the Gospel. In the city of Alexandria, the Church became very Egyptian; in Antioch it remained very Jewish; in Rome it took on an Italian appearance and in the Constantinople it took on the trappings of the Roman imperial court. All the churches which developed this way were Eastern, except Rome. Most Catholics in the United States have their roots in Western Europe where the Roman rite predominated. It has been said that the Eastern Catholic Churches are "the best kept secret in the Catholic Church."
The Vatican II Council declared that "all should realize it is of supreme importance to understand, venerate, preserve, and foster the exceedingly rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern churches, in order faithfully to preserve the fullness of Christian tradition" (Unitatis Redintegrato, 15). Pope John Paul II said that "the Catholic Church is both Eastern and Western."
Check your local community at the following link and look into attending an Eastern Catholic Liturgy (not to be confused with the Orthodox Church).
Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.
The Eastern Catholic Rites retain the rich heritage of our church, without the "novelties" introduced into the Novus Ordo liturgy. Incense is used throughout.
In the Maronite Catholic Church, the Consecration is in Aramaic, using the words and language of our Lord at the Last Supper. Communion is ONLY distributed by the priest. It is by intinction (the priest dips the consecrated host into the Precious Blood) and is ONLY received on the tongue. The priest administers communion with the words: "The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is given to you for the remission of sin and eternal salvation".
A Roman Catholic may attend the Divine Liturgy at any Eastern Catholic Church. You can learn more about the 22 different liturgies at this link:
All those experiences you cited, which I once endured, are now finished. We gather silently to pray and then have refreshments afterwards to share conversation. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Just remember, you must attend the same liturgy for 3 weeks.
The Orthodox do the same thing.
Yes, the young man (a seminarian as it turns out), saw the host fall to the floor. He very carefully picked it up and consumed it.
If you are in Boston, you are in real trouble. Seek out an Eastern-rite liturgy parish or the Traditional Latin Mass if you are serious about worshipping God in a respectful and fitting manner.
At least since the late 60's. You must not have been to a Mass in America for quite a while. It's an indult, not a universal practice in the Church.
I served as an Altar Boy for many years, before Communion in the hand was permitted. I witnessed several dropped Body of Christ incidents. All but one I caught with my paten ... the priest simply picked the Sacred Host up and gave it to the communicant.
Then there was "The Disaster": Father dropped the Ciborium! That, I couldn't catch ... He picked up all the Hosts, told me not to move, went to the Altar and picked up a purificator, with which he covered the spot on the floor. We went on, being careful where we stepped. I suppose after Mass, he cleaned the floor ... I had to go to class.
I believe you. But I saw it less than a month ago.
In my altar boy days I had one dropped Host. I caught It (deftly, I thought), and Father retrieved It and gave It to the communicant. That was in the days just after VII, when Catholics still received at the rail, on the tongue.
Much more recently, when I was a communicant (at the same -- Jesuit! -- church, as it happened) presenting myself for Communion (standing this time), the priest fumbled his placement of the Host on my tongue, and It fell to the floor. I looked at him. "Well, pick it up", he said. So I did, and consumed It. I very much regret this now. When I related the incident to a friend who's an Episcopalian priest, he scolded me: "You screwed up. You should have answered him, 'NO. YOU pick It up.' That's his job." He was right, and I pass on his advice to this thread at large.
Wow. I've been in many parishes throughout the country since the 60's and it was rare to see many people receiving on the tongue. A few still do it at every Mass at my current parish.
Good luck investigating the other Rites. NYer seems to be very happy with the Maronite Rite.
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