Burying the host?

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Caleb.A

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I was at my grandparents today and they had received a small ciborium from a home bound parishioner that contained a consecrated host. For whatever reason, the host was not consumed and he gave it to them. A day later, he was diagnosed with Covid-19, and my grandparents asked me to bury the ciborium since they were afraid to consume the host. I did as they asked since I thought it was a licit practice. Was this wrong to do? If there was no risk of getting sick I would’ve eaten it to prevent desecration. Can someone tell me what I should do about this? Should I dig it up?
 
The parishioner who gave it to them was supposed to have received our lord. Why he did not and instead gave it to my grandparents I do not know. Again, I wouldn’t have done as they instructed if the pyx hadn’t been handled by a sick person. I buried the host inside and I’m seeking help to see if this was the right thing to do.
 
Thanks for the response. I went back to where it was buried, dug it up, and put the host in water so it can dissolve. I’ll have a word with the parish priest at the church from which the host came from. This is a strange practice and I agree that it shouldn’t have been allowed.
 
hopeful3542 said:
If an EMHC brought him the Host, they should have made sure he consumed Our Lord and not left until that happened.
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Beyond leaving it for someone to self-commune, you have a duty to keep custody of the sacred host once it has been entrusted to you. If the person did not want to receive it, the pyx and host should have been returned to the parish. The host to be reverently handled and the pyx to be cleaned. Leaving it buried in the pyx would seem to delay it being returned to the earth.
 
Caleb.A said:
Thanks for the response. I went back to where it was buried, dug it up, and put the host in water so it can dissolve. I’ll have a word with the parish priest at the church from which the host came from. This is a strange practice and I agree that it shouldn’t have been allowed.
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What’s done is done, and you have done nothing wrong because you didn’t realize, but you should have called the priest, told him about the pyx and the host, and taken It to him in the pyx for reverent disposal.

I think we have to assume that everyone — including the eucharistic minister — acted in good faith, or perhaps just an inadvertent mistake was made.
 
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