Celiac...

[nkelly]

Greetings and blessings all,

I was at mass this morning and heard something that surprised me
a bit.

The priest said that our Lord’s blood was available for anyone who had Celiac’s (disease). This shocked me a bit because it seemed to indicate that the Eucharist was mere bread and wasn’t really our Lord’s body.

I thought the host retained only the appearance of bread??

Any thoughts/clarification would be welcome.

Noel.

 

[puzzleannie]

the bread and the wine are consecrated and become the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, who is truly, sacramentally present in both species, while they retain the accidents (molecular structure, appearance and physical properties) of bread and wine. The doctrine is transubstantiation, which means that the substance changes, the accidents remain the same.

If I describe you by your “accidents” I reduce you to the physical image people see when they look at you, and your physical properties - about 98 cents worth of various chemical elements and a lot of water. That is not the substance of who you are which encompasses your body, soul, intellect, memory, will–who you are ontologically.

The physical properties of wheat bread -gluten or whatever causes a harmful reaction (not allergy) in people with celiac disease- remain, the substance has been sacramentally transformed so that Christ is truly present in the consecrated host, as well as the consecrated wine, the precious Body and Blood of the Lord.

 

[mercygate]

nkelly:

Greetings and blessings all,

I was at mass this morning and heard something that surprised me
a bit.

The priest said that our Lord’s blood was available for anyone who had Celiac’s (disease). This shocked me a bit because it seemed to indicate that the Eucharist was mere bread and wasn’t really our Lord’s body.

I thought the host retained only the appearance of bread??

Any thoughts/clarification would be welcome.

Noel.

The appearance and all the “accidents” of bread. In other words, if you do a chemical analysis of it, the wafer will be determined to be bread. The SUBSTANCE (that is the true essence of it) is the Body of Christ. This is a mystical transformation, and a challenge to faith. Did Jesus mean what he said or didn’t he? In faith, Catholics believe Jesus. When Jesus says to Peter:

"Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Peter replies: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Nota bene: Peter does NOT say, “We understand exactly what you mean, and it’s so clear that nobody could possibly doubt it.” Peter says: “we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

In other words, the disciples do not understand this, but they trust the person whom they “have come to know.”

 

[Joseph_Bilodeau]

nkelly:

Greetings and blessings all,

I was at mass this morning and heard something that surprised me
a bit.

The priest said that our Lord’s blood was available for anyone who had Celiac’s (disease). This shocked me a bit because it seemed to indicate that the Eucharist was mere bread and wasn’t really our Lord’s body.

I thought the host retained only the appearance of bread??

Any thoughts/clarification would be welcome.

Noel.

This is correct, but “appearance” means more then visual appearance. It also means any manner in which the human senses can perceive the Eucharist. For example, the Sacred Host also has the tactile “appearance” of bread because the Sacred Host feels like bread to the touch and the gustatory “appearance” of bread because the Sacred Host tastes like bread.

The Sacred Host also has every other possible physical “appearance” as bread, including chemical properties, so persons with specific physical sensitivities to bread may have the same physical sensitivities to the Sacred Host. More information about Celiac Sprue Disease and the Eucharist may be seen here.

 

[nkelly]

Thanks folks for the responses.

 

[JimG]

nkelly:

I thought the host retained only the appearance of bread??

That’s correct. But the appearances of bread (and wine) include all the physical properties of bread and wine–anything that is perceptible to the senses or any scientific instrument–which is an extension of the senses.

 

[batteddy]

molecular structure, appearance and physical properties

Well, I would specify that the APPEARENCE of the molecular structure (under a microscope or whatever) is the same.

But in substantial objective reality, all the molecules of bread and wine have gone…and have been replaced by Jesus.

 

[DavidFilmer]

My 14-year old son is a Celiac. This is an immune system disorder (it is NOT an allergy of any kind) which adversely reacts to the protein gluten (found in wheat and some other grains). It causes the celia (the “hairs” lining the intestines which absorb nutrients) to become stunted and ineffective.

There are varying degrees of sensitivity. The small amount of gluten contained in a typical Host may be of no consequence to someone who lightly suffers from the disorder. But, for others, this small amount of gluten can cause severe pain and behavioral disorders.

Many priests are becoming more aware of this disorder, and in Parishes where the Cup is not generally offered, it is made available to those who request it (under the doctrine of concomitance, reception of *either *the consecrated Bread or Wine constitutes *full *Communion, so this is not really an issue at a Mass where the Cup is offered to the laity).

However, it is possible for a Celiac to receive the Host… the Benedictine Sisters of the Perputeual Adoration in Clyde, Missouri have developed a Host which conforms to Church requirements but has also been certified as safe for all but the absolute most severe celiacs (see This Article). FWIW, these Hosts look *awful *(my son’s first impression was, “yuck!”) but they taste pretty good!

But the logistics of administering such a specialized Host can be difficlut. We furnish these hosts to our Parish, and our priest knows our son and is aware of the situation and knows what to do (and it helps when our son is serving at the Altar).

Otherwise, our son receives just the Cup (which is fine). When that is not available, he “receives spiritually” (not as good, but acceptable under the circumstances).