By Paul Dion, STL
“Our faith tells us the germs and bacteria that affects those who administer the body and blood of our Lord cannot possibly be shared with others due to the protective forces that surrounds those sacred species.”
I do not accept that the Body and Blood of Christ can communicate anything bur the best of health - spiritual, mental, and physical. The lips and hands of sinners, regardless of their state of grace, may well so do; we should take all appropriate steps to prevent such propagation.
minimize the danger of passing on the contagion."
My Opinion
I have to offer an answer to these very daring and interesting statements. They came about because of a meeting in which the leader of the health ministry was asking for awareness with regards the possibility of an epidemic of the bird flu. She was making a point that the church would institute some training for Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist to minimize the danger of passing on the contagion. It didn’t take long before a discussion ensued about the possibility of parishioners being contaminated by coming in contact with the chicken flu germs that might be on the consecrated host and on the chalice containing the consecrated wine. The position above was staunchly expostulated as a matter of Dogma and was never really refuted. The discussion came to an end only when the pastor mentioned that the practices that would be followed in the parish would be mandated by the bishop’s office and that we would follow them in our parish.
Before I go too far down this road, I have to say that I may have to use some words that are not really common, every day words. I will do my best to keep everything within the bounds of familiar vocabulary.
The Eucharist
Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the consecrated host and the consecrated wine. This Real Presence is called the Sacramental Presence. It takes place at the moment of consecration when the priest pronounces the words of the Institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist: “This is my Body”, followed by: “This is my Blood, the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant which will be given up for you. Do this in memory of me.”
This is the moment when a miraculous and mysterious conversion called Transubstantiation takes place. This conversion has the effect of changing the bread and the wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This action is dogmatically defined by the Church.
This does not mean that the bread is the body and the wine is the blood. By Church Dogma we believe that Jesus Christ is sacramentally present in body and blood in each “species”, the bread and the wine. Both, the bread and the wine are converted, from their substance to the substance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. It is therefore doctrinally correct to say that the bread and the wine are the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Question: Why does the bread keep its bread flavor? Ditto for the wine?
The conversion from bread and wine to the body and blood of Jesus Christ changes the substance of the two species, bread and wine, but doesn’t take away their qualities - nor their properties of bread and wine. They retain all the appearances, feel, taste, ingredients and yes, alcoholic and sugar content too of bread and wine. They retain the substance of the Real Presence for as long as they retain their pure and true qualities of bread and wine. When they lose their identity as true bread and wine as good, edible food, they also lose the Divine Substance that they had before their natural degeneration.
So what about germs?
Germs, bacteria, viruses, dust, mist, poison, etc. are all substances that can join themselves to the qualities and properties of the bread and wine that have now become substantially body and blood of Jesus Christ. These beings do not change their nature when they come in contact with the sacred, sacramental substance.
These beings can affect us when they enter our bodies, no matter what platform they use as a springboard to get to us. If our immune system is not strong enough to fend them off, we get ill. It is not because they use the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ as a means to get to us that we will be protected against the effects of their attack.
This is easy to understand when we believe in the creation action of God Himself. He is the creator of nature and He does not tamper with the forces of nature that He Himself created.
It is easy to understand that drinking too much of the Sacred Blood from the chalice will have the same effect as that of non-transubstantiated wine. It will inebriate the person who drinks too much of it. There is in fact a law that allows alcoholic priests to get permission from the Vatican to use pure grape juice in the celebration of the Holy Mass. This protects them from the effects of alcohol on them.
The mystery of the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ is a sacramental one. Just as Jesus, true God and true man, was fully susceptible to illness and injury, so are we when we come in contact with germs transferred to us from His glorified presence in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Historic examples of Church conduct about contagious disease and Communion
Bishop Acts to Keep the Flu From the Flock [NYT] November 28, 2004
Bishop Kenneth Angell of Vermont is modifying his services to help stop the spread of this year's deadly flu virus: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is the only one in the country that has formally asked priests to refrain from using the communion chalice and parishioners to avoid the usual handshake, hug or kiss when they make the sign of peace during Mass until the end of flu season, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says.
Other dioceses are taking precautionary measures, like encouraging hand-washing, requesting that sick people refrain from taking communion and encouraging those uncomfortable with shaking hands not to do so, a spokesman for the conference said.
During the SARS epidemic Canadian Catholic churches made similar modifications to Easter services. [CBC]
April 17, 2003 Toronto, Ontario
The news spread, however, and is raising concerns. The Archdiocese of Toronto ordered all of its churches to change customary Holy Communion practices this Easter because of the outbreak among the Catholic group. Delivering Communion from the cup will be suspended, as will kissing the Crucifix on Good Friday and shaking hands for the sign of peace.
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August, 2003 My dear People of God,
Due to the SARS epidemic, precautions must be taken to contain its spread. We will appreciate if you can kindly follow the following instructions:
1. If you are suspected of the illness, or have been in contact with people infected with this problem, please refrain from attending Mass on Sundays. 2. Holy Communion is to be received on your palm and not on the tongue.
These instructions are to be observed as long as we are faced with this epidemic. Let’s pray that this epidemic will be contained soon. Let’s take all the necessary precautions and trust in the Lord.
Yours devotedly in Christ, Archbishop Nicholas Chia
CONCLUSION
It is not a matter of faith and our Catholic doctrine that you can’t pass germs through the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament of Holy Communion.
If you can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that I am wrong, I will willingly change my position in public just to make you so happy that you will not have any temptation to cry at my funeral.
7 comments:
Thank you for sharing this aspect. I have listened this coment as a priest so many times. It reflects that we are not really aware of the sacred nature of the sacrament.
I am a eucharistic minister. I am convinced that the host should only be given by hand and the wine in small paper cups. On a regular basis, a communicant's tongue will touch my fore finger, only to have another communicant's tongue touch the same spot, exchanging siliva. In the same way, the towel used with the wine is not a sterilizer and siliva is exchanged. The host and the wine are fully divine and fully earthy. As you state, the reality of germs in siliva has nothing to to with the faith in transubstantiation. I worked at the Catholic Conference of Bishops when the decision was made to give communicants a choice between the tongue and the hand. I'm aware how important this is to many Catholics. However, it is time for the next step. Catholics have to live in reality, both human reality and divine reality, like everyone else.
Thank you for your comments. I am resetting the date of this post because it is the flu season and the cold season. Believe it or not, two people brought up this same topic to me today as I came into the office. Despite the belief of some very devout and pious people, care must be taken not tep spread contagion in the participation in the Eucharist.
Paul Dion, STL
Theology Editor
I don't know about flu or SARS transmission but I do know that receiving on the tongue is the normative way of receiving, and that in my not so humble opinion it is more respectful of OUR LORD's presence. I feel that it is horrible to advise people NOT to receive on the tongue - and I was truly shocked to read it in the article.
Also directed at bobbymagic - the "wine" is really the precious body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ and should be referred to as such. Also the idea that we should administer this most sacred mystery in "small paper cups" is abhorrent. The first reason is that being so sacred it should be treated with the utmost respect this means that the vessels which carry it should be of precious metal (i.e. Gold) - not glass, and most certainly NOT paper. The second reason - apart from being disrespectful to Our Lord paper can become imbued with his precious blood - meaning that when the paper cups are disposed of the most precious body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ - our Lord's living body - would be thrown away in the garbage. An utterly repulsive thought.
Also bobbymagic - as I said before receiving on the tongue is the normal universal way of receiving. I don't care if it's sterile or not - I care about respecting Our Lord. So when I receive I will receive as my ancestors have - on my tongue while kneeling. (the exception being if I visit an eastern parish).
Catholig
While it is true that receiving Holy Communion in the hand is a practice that comes to us by virtue of a decision of the Bishops' Conferences of the United States and many other countries, it is not "horrible" to encourage the faithful to receive the Sacred Body of Christ in the hand, and standing up. There are theological reasons to back up these practices.
The most evident one is the truth that at the rite of communion, we celebrate the unity of the faithful, priest and lay together. It is at this moment of the Eucharist when we all realize that we are equal in baptism. The fact that we all, priest and lay are partaking of the same food, around the same table through the same grace of Baptism brings our shared priesthood, kingship and prophetic grace into tangible reality. The mystery of the Eucharist is that it is not a re-enactment of a past event. It is the practice of a present mystery where Christ Himself is present in us all. At the moment of communion we are all priests, prophets and kings. All the faithful, from the pope down to the least of us on the Church's organizational chart receive the same communion, the exact same food. It is therefore not "horrible" to accept the Divine Food in our hands and participate in the Banquet as graced, baptized participants in the Divine Life of Christ. This is the way that our ancestors, the apostles, did it when they were reclining around the table at the Last Supper.
It is therefore clear that as "normative" as one ritual practice can seem to be, there are strong theological and spiritual arguments that drive the Church to suggest and encourage other ritual practices.
Paul Dion, STL
ParishWorld.net Theology Editor
I didn't say that it is "horrible" to receive in the hand - rather I said it is horrible to discourage people from receiving on the tongue, which is the universal way of receiving. Having clarified that though - maybe the bishop's conference had a point with their directive regarding receiving communion during the SARS epidemic. I honestly don't know too much about all these germs/viruses, and I wouldn't want anyone to contract a fatal or life threatening disease while receiving. It just seems to me, though, that receiving on the tongue is much more respectful - and people survived a long time receiving that way before the 70s.
Catholig
Point well taken.
Thank you.
Paul Dion, STL
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