www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Lay Person consuming the Precious Blood after Communion

I have a feeling in my parish, this may become a normalized situation (lay person consuming the precious blood after communion). I am not referencing in any way the above alter girl scenario. I am referencing lay people consuming the precious blood by picking up the chalice and consuming the precious blood. What needs avoided in this case is any sense of normalcy since a person in the parish may view this as being fine when in fact it may not be. There are some comments above indicating 'you're fine', 'don't worry' and these are opinions rather than a depiction of law or cannon.

Christ is Born!!

gepaul,

Welcome to the forum. I hope your time here will be fruitful.

I don't know how this would be a problem in either an Eastern Catholic or Orthodox parish in the case of genuine necessity, as Father Serge Kelleher of thrice blessed memory notes. I would suggest that this probably should be done by someone who is known for his strong faith and personal piety and not be done by everyone who comes along. It is also necessary to be totally focused on what remains in the chalice so that not once drop or one crumb of the Holy Gifts is lost. Somewhere I have a quote by one of the Fathers that says we ought to be more careful with handling the Lord's Holy Gifts than we would if we were given a handful of fine gold powder.

Bob

Holy Resurrection of long dead post, Batman!!

I remember serving one morning when the priest dropped the spoon for communion. The place on the floor was immediately covered with a napkin and the priest handed the spoon to me. I held it in my right hand and cupped my left hand under it. Later, the cantor came to me and thanked me for the care I had shown in taking the spoon back in such a manner.

I so wanted to be a deacon and to be able to administer the Holy Gifts to the faithful. Sadly, that was not to be. The greatest joy of my life in the Church as been to serve at the altar with the priests.

Why is this being done?

Christ is Born!!

Is this an Eastern or Latin Catholic parish?

If I had to guess, the priest is a recovering alcoholic or has stomach problems that prevent him from consuming the remaining Holy Gifts. Priests in this situation can and do receive permission from their hierarch to have assistance in this way if they don’t have a deacon. I judge from gepaul’s posting history he spends a good deal of time worrying about things that he need not worry about. In charity give your priest the benefit of the doubt.

Christ is Born!!

A couple decades ago, I subscribed to a Catholic magazine that contained a section in which people could write to ask questions of the priest editor. One particular month the topic revolved around questions about lay ministers cleansing Eucharistic vessels and consuming the remaining Particles and Precious Blood. One writer related that in his parish the lay ministers tossed the "crumbs" and the "excess wine" (as he put it) out the sacristy window so it would be behind a bush that grew outside. The priest was very adamant that this was not the correct way to treat Our Lord. The following month was filled with horrified reaction. But the topic kept coming back up month after month with stories of pouring the Precious Blood into the sacristy sink's drain. Worse yet, people finding vessels put back into storage with Particles or residual Precious Blood in them.

I would have to ask whether a pious, faith filled layman reverently consuming the Holy Gifts is worse than these practices. It all goes back to Who it is we are receiving and how we approach this Gift beyond all gifts. I, for one, would prefer the Lord to be treated with the utmost respect and very scrupulous care.