Can the Sacrarium be used as a place to clean the vessels with soap?

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harinanga101

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Hello there and God Bless!

I guess the title mostly says it all. I work as a lay server in the University I’m at, and in our chapel, there’s only one sink, the sacrarium. I’ve noticed that the sacrarium is used both to rinse the chalice and the paten, but also, though less frequently, to clean these vessels with soap and sponge. When we clean the vessels, the soap residue goes down the sacrarium. So my question is, is such a practice alright? Or should the sacrarium be reserved to just rinsing the vessels? Thank you, I appreciate any feedback :).
 
I think the important thing is that it is drained directly into the ground and into the sewer system.
 
A true Sacrarium does not drain into the sewer system and should be limited in its use.

So, IMHO, no a Sacrarium should not be used when cleaning with soap. I think there might even be issues with the local municipality with doing something like this.
 
The sacrarium could look like a double sink where one bay goes directly to the ground and it has a specific cover to show that it is a sacrarium and the other bay goes into the sewage system and it can be used for disposal of the soapy water used to wash the sacred vessels after purification.

In your case where you have only the sacrarium you should be careful in not using it for regular sewage disposal (gray water).
 
After the Purification, which is supposed to be done at the end of every Mass, there will be no more consecrated Host or Blood particles, so when washing, there should be nothing there that needs be poured down the Sacrarium. In addition, many modern commercial soaps contain ingredients that are best not poured directly onto the ground.
 
harinanga101 said:
Hello there and God Bless!

I guess the title mostly says it all. I work as a lay server in the University I’m at, and in our chapel, there’s only one sink, the sacrarium. I’ve noticed that the sacrarium is used both to rinse the chalice and the paten, but also, though less frequently, to clean these vessels with soap and sponge. When we clean the vessels, the soap residue goes down the sacrarium. So my question is, is such a practice alright? Or should the sacrarium be reserved to just rinsing the vessels? Thank you, I appreciate any feedback :).
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Are you sure it is a sacrarium? Our sacrarium does not have a faucet. The water from the purification of the vessels is usually drank by the priest or deacon. So it would be OK to wash or rinse them in the sink.
 
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