Bug in the prescious blood

[churchsecretary]

I am a lay person. I am not sure if you are sad because a lay person is distributing communion or if a bug fell into the chalice in the first place.
If if is because I am a lay person - then welcome to post Vatican 2 - I worship in a church that seats over 1000 with one priest. It is the call of the laity to participate fully in the Mass and my volunteering as an extraordinary minister is a beautiful expression of my love for God and the church.
If you are sad that the bug ended up in the chalice - well I assume that in this Universal Church that we are a part of - where Mass sometimes is celebrated on the back of a jeep or on a makeshift alter in Africa or South America - this kind of thing happens. We live in a messy world - God made it that way!

I am just sorry that you were put into a position of having to decide what to do! Our EMHC’s are called up to the altar at Communion time, and after distributing, bring the empty chalice and/or ciborium back up to the altar. They are not even asked to go into the Tabernacle–only Father or Deacon does that. The only time a EMHC opens the Tabernacle is when they are making a visit to the nursing home, in order to get Hosts for the pyx to take along. They also don’t go into the sacristy after Mass. Fr. or Deacon takes care of washing up the sacred vessels. I hope you don’t have this challenge again. I am thankful for all the EMHC’s in our parish who gladly help out in the distribution of Communion. And darn that bug anyway!

 

[PAboy57]

thanks Nicole!!!

 

[yablabo]

thanks Nicole!!!

I really don’t know what you’re thanking me for…

– Nicole

 

[Reuben_J]

The consecrated wine would be diluted until it no longer resembles wine and then poured down the sacrarium.

Goodness, it is hard for me to think that the sacristant actually does this. The consecrated wine is the blood of the Lord. There is no way that one should pour it down the sacrarium. A diluted wine is still blood; pouring it away is throwing the blood.

As for the bug, I think this would fall into the same category as wine-stained altar cloths. You rinse it out as much as possible and then dispose of it. A respectful burial?

In the first place this can be prevented - that’s the purpose of the pall, to cover the chalice. Should any bug accidently fell and stuck in the chalice, in all reverence for the blood and in faith, the blood still has to be drunk, with or without the bug. A more realistic action would be to throw away the bug and drink the blood all the same. The poor priest … or otherwise any of the extraordinary ministers can do it.

 

[Brooklyn]

A priest in a bible study told a story in which he went into the empty church where he was serving, and noticed a bunch of flies around the Tabernacle. He opened it and found that a full chalice of the Precious Blood had been put back in the Tabernacle. Evidently the priest who had said Mass earlier had not drank the leftover Precious Blood as he was suppose to, but instead put it back in the Tabernacle. The priest telling the story said the he swatted away the flies as best he could and drank the Precious Blood, that there was no other choice. I’m sure he must have swallowed a couple of flies doing that.

Based on this story, I would say that the Precious Blood should have been consumed with the bug in it by someone willing to do it. I know that the priest at my Bible Study would have done it, and I would hope that the priest presiding at the Mass would do the same. We are talking about the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Creator. This just can’t be messed with.

I’m told that we all eat a pound of bugs before we die. This would just be part of it.