Hot water doesn’t kill germs unless it is boiling. Is the water boiling?
When I serve, and I have always seen it this way, the paten is stacked on top of the chalice but there is a purificator between the two. Preventing wear is secondary to the fact that the priest needs it at the altar but it does serve this secondary purpose. .
I believe the definition of a “chalice” specifically refers to that knob or knurled portion on the stem between the bowl and the base (Sorry, I forgot the technical name of that knob). If a vessel lacks that knob, it’s a cup, not a chalice. In maiking this distinction that is no intent to disrespect the Precious Blood therein. The presence of the Precious Blood does not, by itself, make the vessel a “chalice” in terms of the multiple vessels used for distribution to the faithful.
Yet in many cases the vessels are chalices. In my parish we use two identical chalices.
Oh, you misunderstand. This isn’t some official thing. It is an in-parish custom that happens to be rather common.
Yes, but pastuerization requires a specific amount of time for a specific temperature. Do you use that in your sacristy?Water does not need to be boiling to kill germs. Water and foods will be pasteurized at 160F–which is why we use meat thermometers, and how water pasteurization indicators work. I have no doubt that our water is 160F! My only concern would be if the rinsing was too quick to heat the surface of the metal to 160F. I am very thorough, so at least on my watch, it’s all clean
Our pastors have done it this way for years, to avoid soap residue on the vessels.
The word chalice is usually cited in dictionaries to particularly mean a goblet set aside for eucharistic use–and they tend to have the form you describe, probably to make it very secure in the hand when elevated–but the term could also be used in a poetic context to refer to a non-sacramental goblet, with or without the wide spot in the stem.
Once you have a system where the last person receives from the same cup that a few dozen other people just drank from, the amount of risk added by a cup that was only visibly cleaned since the last Mass, rather than sterilized, is probably not much. Once a cup without any visible contamination has dried overnight, the epidemiological risk probably falls far below that posed by the Sign of Peace.Yes, but pastuerization requires a specific amount of time for a specific temperature. Do you use that in your sacristy?
Here is a quote from the CDC on water safety for travelers:
Common intestinal pathogens are readily inactivated by heat. Microorganisms are killed in a shorter time at higher temperatures, whereas temperatures as low as 140°F (60°C) are effective with a longer contact time. Pasteurization uses this principle to kill foodborne enteric pathogens and spoiling organisms at temperatures between 140°F (60°C) and 158°F (70°C), well below the boiling point of water (212°F [100°C]).
Although boiling is not necessary to kill common intestinal pathogens, it is the only easily recognizable point that doesn’t require a thermometer. All organisms except bacterial spores, which are not usually waterborne enteric pathogens, are killed in seconds at boiling temperature. Therefore, any water that is boiled for 1 minute (to allow for a margin of safety) should be adequately disinfected.
If you have a thermometer and are using a table which tells you how long the surface must be heated for a specific time, then hot water alone would be safe. If you are just using hot water, and no soap, and no thermometer, and no timer, I wonder.
CDC’s last line of advice above is why I said “boiling.” I do a lot of mountaineering and backpacking, and the rule is “to purify water, bring it to a roiling boil.” Add time at altitude. This is the no-brainer method, which will come in handy in our sacristy at least!
Amen.
Not any more she doesn’t. From the first Sunday of Advent this year it will be compulsory throughout the English speaking world to use the word “chalice” in the words of Consecration in all Eucharistic Prayers.
No there’s not. The Church has exactly the same requirements for the chalice which the priest holds in his hands, and for any other chalices which are on the altar whose contents he consecrates at the same time.
The “other vessels” would refer to a small closeable container used to store and transport the Precious Blood in those rare situations where Communion has to be taken to someone who for medical reasons can’t receive the Host. This is the only “other vessel” apart from a chalice which the Church authorises to hold the precious Blood.
How? What else could he possibly mean but “two more of those vessels we use to consecrate the Precious Blood in”?Have you got a citation for that definition? My dictionary defines “chalice” as “a gold or silver cup containing the wine at Mass.”
In my parish the chalice which the priest holds is used to give the precious blood to the people just like the other chalices which were standing on the altar are used.
In our sacristy, there are two regularly used large chalices, plus a set of four which “plug into” a tray for carrying, plus several others that were donated when a Knight of Columbus died, etc. If my pastor asked for another chalice(s), I would assume he meant one of the larger ornate ones, but I would still check, because if he needed more than two large ones, he might be thinking of using the set of four little ones. I certainly agree that they are all chalices, but having a different word for a different size/kind makes communication easier. BTW if he said “small chalice” I would wonder if there was a littler fancy one in the cupboard somewhere. What we call cups are totally plain and small.
No, we cannot. We will call it exactly what Father asks us to call it. We will communicate with our priests in the way they prefer and understand quickly and easily.
The Latin “calix” used in the Mass can be translated either “chalice” or “cup.” Although I prefer “chalice”, as it is the more specific term and more fitting the exalted use of the item, I think we will all find that in everyday language, some people will continue to use pedestrian terms for some sacred items, rather than the exalted language of the liturgy, even once the translation comes in.
I never said it was demeaning. Just a little weird. I have never before heard anyone refer to the chalices as “cups”, and I have been hanging around sacristies for many years.
Try looking in Koley’s on line catalog, even this religious equipment vendor will use the word cup, mostly to discribe a smaller chalice, for example a 10 oz. chalice/cup.