E
EasterJoy
Guest
Does there need to be a cloth kept under the sacred vessels used at Mass after communion but before they are purified?
We have a credence table where the ordinary minister purifies the vessels during Mass. This is also the table where unconsecrated wine is distributed into the common cups (not the main chalice), before Mass begins. During the pre-Mass preparations, the people preparing for Mass have a tendency to spill wine, which does not please the people who clean the linens, because the wine stains are not pleasant to remove. The people who clean the linens would like to put the cloth covering this side table under a pane of glass. This is just my opinion, but that seems to defeat the reason that the table had a cloth on it in the first place.
FWIW, the deacon who usually does the purification has no problem with the glass, because he says the ministers (whether ordinary or extraordinary) always consume the last of the Precious Blood before returning those vessels to the table. The transfer of the Blessed Sacrament to the ciborium used for storage in the tabernacle is always done over the corporal at the altar. He thinks there is no chance for a spill until he has already added the water to the vessels and by that point the consecrated species no longer remain.
My question: Is there any liturgical reason that vessels not yet purifed must be set onto a place with an appropriate cloth or that the purification of the vessels may not be done over a hard surface with no cloth? If there is, please be specific about where the liturgical rule exists. If not, and the cloth on this side table is just for show, then I don’t see where I have room to object.
Thank you!
We have a credence table where the ordinary minister purifies the vessels during Mass. This is also the table where unconsecrated wine is distributed into the common cups (not the main chalice), before Mass begins. During the pre-Mass preparations, the people preparing for Mass have a tendency to spill wine, which does not please the people who clean the linens, because the wine stains are not pleasant to remove. The people who clean the linens would like to put the cloth covering this side table under a pane of glass. This is just my opinion, but that seems to defeat the reason that the table had a cloth on it in the first place.
FWIW, the deacon who usually does the purification has no problem with the glass, because he says the ministers (whether ordinary or extraordinary) always consume the last of the Precious Blood before returning those vessels to the table. The transfer of the Blessed Sacrament to the ciborium used for storage in the tabernacle is always done over the corporal at the altar. He thinks there is no chance for a spill until he has already added the water to the vessels and by that point the consecrated species no longer remain.
My question: Is there any liturgical reason that vessels not yet purifed must be set onto a place with an appropriate cloth or that the purification of the vessels may not be done over a hard surface with no cloth? If there is, please be specific about where the liturgical rule exists. If not, and the cloth on this side table is just for show, then I don’t see where I have room to object.
Thank you!
