Bishops publish guidelines for swine flu and the liturgy

[47of74]

The Bishops published some guidelines on their web site regarding swine flu and the liturgy;

http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/swineflu.shtml

[hedgehog]

1. We're caught by our need to prove how precious the blood of Christ is.

We keep the consecrated wine in a gold lined chalice only because it can't be touched by anything less precious. In many Protestant churches, the wine is poured into little glass cups about half the size of a shot glass. Everyone takes an individual glass, no problem!

After all, we add individual hosts to the main host which is held up at Consecration.


BTW - I would think the apostles had more than one glass at the Last Supper!

[47of74]

2. I've wondered about that

I've wondered why there were no Catholic parishes with these trays that had the little glass cups instead of insisting that everyone drink out of a germ factory that the larger cups would be before too long. You might get more people to drink the wine if they didn't have to share. And it seems to me that a parish can give all the friendly reminders it wants but some people still take the cup no matter how sick they are.

[Matilda]

3. Many people at our church take the wine by Intinction.

The rules say that if intinction is practised, it should be given on the tongue only, but we don't do that. Each
communicant intincts the Host him/herself from the chalice.

As a Eucharistic Minister, I'd estimate that no more than 50% of communicants take the wine anyway, perhaps even
fewer than that, and of those, a majority use Intinction. If I'm giving Communion I drink from the cup, because
it's handed directly to me on the altar; but if I'm just receiving, I use Intinction.

It's probably a healthier practice than drinking the wine.

[tjwmason]

4. Intinction is what the Orthodox do

They use leavened bread, which once consecrated is placed into the chalice in small pieces - the Priest then takes a piece on a spoon and puts it in each communicant's mouth.

[pnwmom]

6. And what happens to people who are allergic to wheat or gluten? n/t

[pnwmom]

5. People who dip their hosts prevent those with allergies to wheat or gluten

from receiving any Communion at all.

If you don't like the idea of drinking out of the cup, please don't contaminate the wine for those who don't have the option of receiving a host.

[Matilda]

7. In Victoria, which has about two-thirds of all Australian swine-flu victims,

the chalice has been withdrawn from Holy Communiion.

No such directive has been issued in New South Wales, but today those of
us giving Communion had to wash our hands with an anti-bacterial hand-
wash. Slowed the process down a bit, but it's a good idea.

I was giving the wine, and I did notice that it seemed that not many
people were taking it, and only about three drank from the cup. There
was a lot left for me to drink at the end.

[47of74]

8. We've use hand-sanitizer for the past couple years now

We have several bottles of hand sanitizer sitting behind the screen at church which those distributing communion use just prior to giving out communion. We've been doing that for the past couple years now.

I remember one time at mass where only the big glass picture was available to put wine in - the regular one had gone missing. I miscalculated the amount needed so there was a lot of wine left over after communion to be consumed.