[Alex Murphy]

It does seem rather weird that the priest suggested the person buy his own hosts, our parish has low gluten hosts for people with this problem.

I agree that it sounds odd, maybe even crass. The part that I found weird was this:

"...with so many faithful receiving Holy Communion during Holy Week services, the consecrated wine runs out before Communicants do. During packed Holy Thursday and Easter Masses, as many as a third of the congregation may miss out on lifting the chalice.

Couldn't the priest consecrate more wine during mass? Are there instances where the consecrated wafers have also run out? What does the priest say to the laity during mass, when this occurs?

[Legatus]

Couldn't the priest consecrate more wine during mass? Are there instances where the consecrated wafers have also run out? What does the priest say to the laity during mass, when this occurs?

Yes the priest could consecrate more wine in the first place but during Holy Week your average parish shouldn't be distributing the Precious Blood to begin with. But that's my own hobby horse.

I used to work for a priest who was a retired US Marine lt. col.. He would have the number of hosts to consecrate for Mass down to an exacting science, sometimes though he'd get it wrong and I'd know by the sound of the cracking of the Hosts as the last few people went through the line. I'm fine with priests or deacons breaking Hosts so that there are enough for everyone who wishes to Communicate... not too happy about extraordinary ministers doing that, but then I'm not too happy about extraordinary ministers period. Yet another of my little hobby horses.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Ordinarily there's a ciborium (gold dish) in the Tabernacle with plenty of the consecrated hosts in it. When somebdy has to take Communion to the people in the hospital or nursing home or wherever, that's where they come from and the Church is responsible to make sure there are plenty.

Our church has two tabernacles (one in the main church and one in the day chapel) and they both contain ciboria with hosts. And if the priest doesn't feel like sending a deacon trotting over to the day chapel or wherever to get some more, he can just start breaking them in half or even into littler pieces.

This really shouldn't be a problem. The whole entire Christ is contained in even the smallest particle of either or both of the Consecrated Elements: the smallest drop from the chalice, the smallest crumb of the Host.