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To: OLD REGGIE
Would you be brave enough eat the host if you knew some rat poison was mixed in the batter?

Interesting question. Do you think I should? Do you understand the notions of substance and accidents?

If a communion host which contained poision was consecrated into the Body and Blood of Jesus, then the poision would still be there. The substance of it would change, but the accidents, the outward appearances would remain. Therefore, just as consecrated wine still tastes like wine and will give you a buzz if you drink enough of it, so would consecrated rat poision taste like rat poison and kill me just like regular rat poison.

That's if the consecration would be valid, which it probably wouldn't be. In which case I would not be eating the Body and Blood of Christ at all, but rather some poisoned bread.

This level of question is really below you, Reggie. I thought you understood better than that.

SD

23,925 posted on 02/04/2002 12:17:00 PM PST by SoothingDave
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To: SoothingDave
If a communion host which contained poision was consecrated into the Body and Blood of Jesus, then the poision would still be there.

Technically speaking, if there were some other substance (i.e. the poison) in the host, the consecration would not be valid.

1. The priest who is to celebrate Mass should take every precaution to make sure that none of the things required for celebrating the Sacrament of the Eucharist is missing. A defect may occur with regard to the matter to be consecrated, with regard to the form to be observed and with regard to the consecrating minister. There is no Sacrament if any of these is missing: the proper matter, the form, including the intention, and the priestly ordination of the celebrant. If these things are present, the Sacrament is valid, no matter what else is lacking. There are other defects, however, which may involve sin or scandal, even if they do not impair the validity of the Sacrament.

2. Defects on the part of the matter may arise from some lack in the materials required. What is required is this: bread made from wheat flour, wine from grapes, and the presence of these materials before the priest at the time of the Consecration.

3. If the bread is not made of wheat flour, or if so much other grain is mixed with the wheat that it is no longer wheat bread, or if it is adulterated in some other way, there is no Sacrament.

(Pope Pius V, Papal Bull De Defectibus)

23,950 posted on 02/04/2002 12:37:13 PM PST by malakhi
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