Church offering only bread for Eucharist

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I have a question about whether it’s valid for a church to offer only bread, not wine also, for the Eucharist. A ltitle background–I have celiac disease, and while I’ve tried to recieve the bread at Communion, even that once a week causes my symptoms to recur. Even once a month is too much for my body. For the past two years we’ve been attending an Eastern Rite Church, where both forms are present, and I’ve been able to tell the priest to give me the wine only.

Normally what I do at a Roman Catholic parish is simply go up to the person administering the Blood, and recieve there. We have been attending the church where our youngest son will be baptized, and I’ve been frustrated because we’ve been to two of their Masses (they offer Mass at 9 am, 11 am, 12:30 pm and 6 pm) and at neither Mass has the Cup been offered. I’ve seen the priest sanctify wine, and he and the deacon both drink from it, but then the deacon drains the cup and they do not offer the Cup to the congregation.

I know that Jesus is present fully in either form. However, I have never seen a church where the Cup is (apparently) NEVER offered. It’s frustrating to me, as a Catholic with celiac disease, to not have an unobtrusive way to receive Jesus. I know most would say, “Just call the church and make special arrangments”, or to get a low-gluten host, but frankly, I was just wondering if this is a liturgical abuse or something that is new? If the cup were offered at every Mass, as it was when I was growig up (post Vatican II, even), then I could just simply recieve without pestering the priest or making a nuisance of myself. It is against my nature to call up a parish office and demand special treatment! 😊
 
The Chalice MAY be offered, it doesn’t have to be. There are many parishes where it never is just as there are parishes where it always is. Some only offer it on certain feast days.

Contact the pastor and explain that you have celiac. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to accommodate your needs.
 
[user]Phemie[/user] has given a fine answer, but I thought it worth saying this part out loud:
samcarter said:
frankly, I was just wondering if this is a liturgical abuse or something that is new?
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No, this practice is not at all an abuse (nor is it anything new). The decision whether to offer both species is completely within the competence of the priest celebrant.

tee
 
Sorry to read about your allergy. I’d contact the priest and explain your need to celebrate the Eucharist using wine. Our Masses include both, at the main Mass and on the daily.
 
samcarter said:
I have a question about whether it’s valid for a church to offer only bread, not wine also, for the Eucharist. A ltitle background–I have celiac disease, and while I’ve tried to recieve the bread at Communion, even that once a week causes my symptoms to recur. Even once a month is too much for my body. For the past two years we’ve been attending an Eastern Rite Church, where both forms are present, and I’ve been able to tell the priest to give me the wine only.

Normally what I do at a Roman Catholic parish is simply go up to the person administering the Blood, and recieve there. We have been attending the church where our youngest son will be baptized, and I’ve been frustrated because we’ve been to two of their Masses (they offer Mass at 9 am, 11 am, 12:30 pm and 6 pm) and at neither Mass has the Cup been offered. I’ve seen the priest sanctify wine, and he and the deacon both drink from it, but then the deacon drains the cup and they do not offer the Cup to the congregation.

I know that Jesus is present fully in either form. However, I have never seen a church where the Cup is (apparently) NEVER offered. It’s frustrating to me, as a Catholic with celiac disease, to not have an unobtrusive way to receive Jesus. I know most would say, “Just call the church and make special arrangments”, or to get a low-gluten host, but frankly, I was just wondering if this is a liturgical abuse or something that is new? If the cup were offered at every Mass, as it was when I was growig up (post Vatican II, even), then I could just simply recieve without pestering the priest or making a nuisance of myself. It is against my nature to call up a parish office and demand special treatment! 😊
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most defiantly not an abuse, before VII the cup was NEVER given to the people…
 
At my sons school there are 5/6 children that receive gluton free hosts.There should be no problem at mass to reserve a seperate host for you. We are Entitled to receive!
 
samcarter said:
It is against my nature to call up a parish office and demand special treatment! 😊
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Well, then don’t call them and demand special treatment. Call them, explain the situation, and ask what if anything can be done. It’s a false dichotomy to say “I must do nothing or I must demand accomodation.”
 
They have to be advised of your condition before they can fill it. As the other poster stated, there are .99% gluten free hosts.

catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=1340

Partial on article, page 1 of 2.

"One fairly easy solution is to receive only under the species of wine. This usually requires the use of a second, smaller chalice as even the particle of host that the priest places in the chalice can have adverse effects on sufferers.

This is the solution I adopted for a sufferer in my own parish, with no great difficulty. It is even easier to apply in those countries where Communion is habitually offered under both species and the host fragment is placed only in the principal chalice.

**Recently, however, another solution has been found thanks to the patience and perseverance of two nuns, Sisters Jane Heschmeyer and Lynn Marie D’Souza, of the Benedictine convent in Clyde, Missouri. Over two years of experiments they have developed a Communion wafer that has been approved as valid material for the Eucharist by the Holy See.

With a level of gluten content of 0.01% it is safe enough for consumption by almost all celiac suffers, according to Dr. Alessio Fasano of the University of Maryland and other medical experts.

The U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy has deemed the sisters’ bread “the only true, low-gluten altar bread approved for use at Mass in the United States.” **

Fasano called the sisters’ accomplishment “very wonderful news,” but added that celiac …"
 
Yes, it’s not an abuse, but–as others have said–you should definitely bring it up to the priest. He should be more than happy to accomodate your needs. But he won’t know if you don’t tell him!
 
By the same token, what to do in parishes that serve intinctured hosts, those dipped in wine, and one is an alcoholic? That is another touchy problem. There has been much talk as of late regarding serving the species to all people in this form. There always should be exceptions to the rule and an un-embarrasing way out.
 
donanobis said:
By the same token, what to do in parishes that serve intinctured hosts, those dipped in wine, and one is an alcoholic? That is another touchy problem. There has been much talk as of late regarding serving the species to all people in this form. There always should be exceptions to the rule and an un-embarrasing way out.
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I’ve never been in a parish that has only distributed Communion in this way. If this was the case, though, I would suggest the person talk to the priest about their preference. Perhaps the person could make it a point to sit in a place where he will receive Communion from the priest who knows his situation and can discretely not dip the host into the Precious Blood when he comes up in line.

I would always suggest talking to the priest as a first course of action. They are well aware of these issues and likely will have a ready response to help anyone in these kinds of situations.
 
In addition to the low-gluten host suggested by many (there are no valid 100% gluten-free hosts, unfortunately), it may be possible to receive from the chalice even in a parish which does not normally offer it.

One parish I attended had a young woman who would present herself with the EMHCs. She would receive from the chalice only while the EMHCs received. She would then return to her place.

You should talk to the priest before Mass to make sure you can be accommodated. I would advise doing so even if the parish normally offers the chalice and you intend to “skip” the Host at least so he expects your action.
 
samcarter said:
I but frankly, I was just wondering if this is a liturgical abuse or something that is new? If the cup were offered at every Mass, as it was when I was growig up (post Vatican II, even), then I could just simply recieve without pestering the priest or making a nuisance of myself. It is against my nature to call up a parish office and demand special treatment! 😊
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no it is not an abuse. The cup has been offered to the laity routinely only for the last 30 or 40 years in the west, and there is no obligation for anyone other than the celebrant to drink the Precious Blood. Plenty of parishes including mine do not routinely offer the cup to the congregation for many good reasons–lack of ministers etc.

by your own admission you have not approached the pastor of this parish to explain your needs, so it is hardly surprising they have not made arrangements to accommodate you, which they no doubt will gladly do after your conversation.
 
I help prepare children for their 1st HC. Many have allergies to varying degrees. We have a mom that puts a very low gluten host in a pix and places it on the altar before Mass. When they make it up to the front in the Communion line, they step aside, she retrieves the host and gives it to her son.

Many families are wary of their children receiving the Precious Blood because of contamination from other recipients. We have these children receive first. The priest’s chalice would be contaminated at the Fraction Rite.
 
dconklin said:
I help prepare children for their 1st HC. Many have allergies to varying degrees. We have a mom that puts a very low gluten host in a pix and places it on the altar before Mass. When they make it up to the front in the Communion line, they step aside, she retrieves the host and gives it to her son.
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I think I have seen someone bring a low gluten host in pyx before, but the priest or EMHC retrieved it and gave it to the communicant. It seems inappropriate for someone else to do so. In my parish, there is a dedicated ciborium for low-gluten hosts. It is placed on the altar during communion and whenever someone with celiac presents himself, the priest/EMHC retrieves it for that one.
 
donanobis said:
By the same token, what to do in parishes that serve intinctured hosts, those dipped in wine, and one is an alcoholic? That is another touchy problem. There has been much talk as of late regarding serving the species to all people in this form. There always should be exceptions to the rule and an un-embarrasing way out.
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I occasionally attend a daily Mass at a parish where Communion is distributed by intinction. Since with intinction, Communion must be received on the tongue, those who wish to receive only the host put out their hands to receive in the hand. Not a perfect solution but one way of doing what you ask.
 
Our parish (St Peter Volo) has communion only under the species od bread, also there is a woman with celiac disease. Several years ago she shared the chalice with the priest, but when the St John Cantius fathers came over they consecrate for her some special tiny host, and she receive the communion from that.
 
samcarter said:
I have a question about whether it’s valid for a church to offer only bread, not wine also, for the Eucharist. A ltitle background–I have celiac disease, and while I’ve tried to recieve the bread at Communion, even that once a week causes my symptoms to recur. Even once a month is too much for my body. For the past two years we’ve been attending an Eastern Rite Church, where both forms are present, and I’ve been able to tell the priest to give me the wine only.

Normally what I do at a Roman Catholic parish is simply go up to the person administering the Blood, and recieve there. We have been attending the church where our youngest son will be baptized, and I’ve been frustrated because we’ve been to two of their Masses (they offer Mass at 9 am, 11 am, 12:30 pm and 6 pm) and at neither Mass has the Cup been offered. I’ve seen the priest sanctify wine, and he and the deacon both drink from it, but then the deacon drains the cup and they do not offer the Cup to the congregation.

I know that Jesus is present fully in either form. However, I have never seen a church where the Cup is (apparently) NEVER offered. It’s frustrating to me, as a Catholic with celiac disease, to not have an unobtrusive way to receive Jesus. I know most would say, “Just call the church and make special arrangments”, or to get a low-gluten host, but frankly, I was just wondering if this is a liturgical abuse or something that is new? If the cup were offered at every Mass, as it was when I was growig up (post Vatican II, even), then I could just simply recieve without pestering the priest or making a nuisance of myself. It is against my nature to call up a parish office and demand special treatment! 😊
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It is the norm at a lot of parishes for the Eucharist to be offered under only the one species. It’s not an abuse at all. You need to get over your misgivings and speak up. It could be that God is asking you to grow in faith a bit here.

nccbuscc.org/liturgy/celiasprue.shtml

nccbuscc.org/liturgy/innews/1103.shtml
 
Offering the Precious Body of our Lord only has been done from about Trent to Vatican II. It’s been only 40 years since the laity have been allowed to receive the Precious Blood again in the Roman Church.
 
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