50% wine & 50% water in the Eucharist.

[ConstantineTG]

The water and wine are mixed prior to being consecrated. They are just ordinary water and wine. There is nothing holy about either.

The priest blesses the gifts and prays over them prior to consecration. The would be blessed water and wine at that point.

 

[Linda_Marie]

They aren’t blessed at the point at which the water is added to the wine.

Preparation of the Wine

There is one prayer said to prepare the bread; there are two prayers said to prepare the wine. First the wine is mixed with water, accompanied by a prayer. Then the wine is presented to God in much the same way that the bread was presented.

As the deacon or priest prepares the chalice by pouring in some wine and then adding a few drops of water, he prays quietly:

By the mystery of this water and wine 2 Mc 15:39; Jn 19:34
may we come to share in the divinity of Christ Rom 5:2; 2 Pt 1:4
who humbled himself to share in our humanity. Phil 2:8

The translation of this prayer has not changed, but it is still worthwhile for lay Catholics to be aware of it and its meaning: the wine represents the divinity of the Son, while the water represents His humanity. As the wine and water are joined inseparably in the chalice, so too the Son’s divinity and humanity are joined in His one Person.

Then the priest prays over the chalice:

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,                          Tob 8:5; Rom. 9:5
for through your goodness                                                                2 Cor 9:8
we have received the wine we offer you:                                   Gen 14:18-20
fruit of the vine and work of human hands,                          Ec 3:13; Mt 26:29
it will become our spiritual drink.                                                   1 Cor 10:4

The Liturgy of the Eucharist
usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/roman-missal/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-4.cfm

You can, however, increase the amount of holy water you have by adding ordinary water but a single drop is not sufficient.
Holy Water in Roman Catholicism

Once consecrated, more ordinary water can be added to the supply of holy water, and the entire quantity of water remains consecrated provided that the amount added is less than the amount of water that was there.

I also found this in regards to diluting the Blood of Christ. If the Blood no longer has the appearance of wine, Christ ceases to be present.

catholic.com/quickquestions/was-this-priest-wrong-to-tell-us-to-leave-the-spilled-precious-blood-where-it-was
when the elements no longer have the appearance of bread or wine, Christ ceases to be present. <…>This is historic Catholic teaching. Christ remains present only so long as the species of bread and wine maintain the appearances of bread and wine.

So, no, you cannot add one drop of the Blood to a gallon of water to make a gallon of the Precious Blood.

Priests who have a problem with alcoholism are permitted on a case by case basis, with the approval of their bishop, to use mustum.
The Use of Mustum and Low-Gluten Hosts at Mass

 

[normarhodes]

I have read all of the above and find myself amazed at some of the comments. Surely, when we accept the chalice at Holy Communion, taste, smell or content is totally immaterial as we are being offered the precious blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. How can we be thinking of anything else? I feel sorry for those of you who cannot accept the precious blood with deep faith, devotion and unconditional love; and without question. Norma

 

[ConstantineTG]

I have noticed in my few visits to the Catholic Churches abroad that the Pastor mixes 50% wine with 50% water in the Eucharist.

My question is why that cannot be 1% wine with 99% water or juice, for the following reasons:

1. Solving alcohol addiction issue, (which makes it somehow reasonable practice in front of other religions, specially Islam).

If the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Middle East where there is mostly Muslims do not have this issue or concern, why would we be concerned with it?

1. Consuming less wine bottles per year thus reducing expenses on the Church.

You don’t use that much wine anyway. Plus if you don’t finish the wine in a certain amount of time, it would go bad anyway. Its not like wine will keep for long once the bottle is opened.

 

[jja619]

Same goes for a crumb of the Eucharist, if it is not large enough to be called bread then the Real Presence is unlikely to be there.

I hope this is not serious. Every little particle of the host that has been consecrated contains the full presence of our Lord!

 

[Theophorus]

I have read all of the above and find myself amazed at some of the comments. Surely, when we accept the chalice at Holy Communion, taste, smell or content is totally immaterial as we are being offered the precious blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. How can we be thinking of anything else? I feel sorry for those of you who cannot accept the precious blood with deep faith, devotion and unconditional love; and without question. Norma

What we recieve must conform to what our Lord gave us. We have no power to move away from grape wine or wheat bread. That is why there is such a discussion about the matter used for the Eucharist. The matter must be valid for the sacrament to be valid, simple as that.

The wine used must retain the form of wine to be consecrated, if only a few drops of wine were added to water or ribena etc. then you wouldn’t have wine but water/ribena with a stain of wine which is a completly different thing.

As our Lord leads so we must follow.

 

[Jegudiel]

The rules from the Holy See are rather nebulous on some of this stuff.

Some things are clear – champagne could not be used for instance because it’s a fortified wine – it’s had extra sugar added to it.

It gets more tricky with sherry and port. Both are fortified with distilled spirits and are thus not usable for communion. However there is an old and obscure document floating around from the Holy See where someone asked permission to fortify wine so that it would not spoil. That was done here in Alta California during the Mission Period.

So while fortified wine is clearly forbidden I’m sure some would use this document to allow for port and sherry even though it’s no longer needed to keep wine from spoiling.

It gets even more nebulous when it comes to adding other preservatives to wine like sulfur dioxide. Some would claim it cannot be added yet there is another obscure document out there from the Holy See that allows it.

And with that allowance the notion of “sacramental wine” is made absurd. It’s not different than any other jug wine off the shelf at the local grocery store.

 

[Jegudiel]

Cost isn’t the only reason to be miserly with wine. If the supply wagon only makes it to the village twice a year, and grape wine is not available locally, it may not be practical to keep a large supply of wine on hand.

Not really. a 1/2 teaspoon of wine and a sprinkle of water would make for a valid Mass. A gallon of wine would last a year.

 

[DaveBj]

There’s a curious fact in all this debate that no one has brought up yet – wine, as it comes from the bottle, is mostly water to begin with. I don’t have the exact figures at hand, but the proportion is way more than 50%.