Communion for Alcoholics

[Nowhere_Man]

That just proof that a number of people with the disease are afraid of a reaction to communion- not that they have experienced one. If this is a real need in your Church why not just give them the precious blood and not the body? What’s the need for a low gluten host? Please forgive me for wondering why your soon to be Church’s Eucharist is harming people. I have never heard this come up in the Orthodox Church, and I’m positive we have members with the same disease who partake of communion.

I’m sure if you ask a few people on here who have Celiac Disease if they’ve had a negative reaction to receiving the Eucharist because of gluten content, they will say yes, but I haven’t dedicated a lot of time looking around for people that have; so it could all just be speculation and an assumed reaction. However, I don’t have celiac disease so I don’t know for sure . Ask around if you want a definitive answer.

As for just having them receive just the Precious Blood, they would have to be the first to receive from the Chalice because for many that have Celiac Disease they can get a reaction from just the small amount of the Host left on the Chalice from others drinking from it.

As for Orthodox members that have Celiac disease, well, I don’t know. I don’t know of any Orthodox forums or else I’d look around, but I don’t really know.

 

[josephdaniel29]

Sure. Celiac Disease is a high sensitivity to gluten, and even a small amount of it can result in intense diarrhea and other symptoms like ulcers; the intensity of the reaction, of course, depends on how intense the person’s sensitivity to gluten is.

As for documentation, there are many people on this forum who have Celiac disease, and as such there are a lot of threads from Celiacs who are looking for a way to receive Communion (here and here for instance). Also, if you type in “Celiacs and Communion” or some variant there of into google you’ll find a lot of offers for low-gluten hosts and people who need them.

I’ve heard of Orthodox with celiac communing with no problem. As to why Catholics have such issues with their Eucharist I don’t know. Perhaps we just approach the chalice with different expectations and God gives us precisely what we expect.

In Christ
Joe

 

[adstrinity]

There was a woman on here, oh, maybe two years ago(?) who said either she was a Coeliac or her priest was (Orthodox) and HE HAD NO PROBLEM DIGESTING OUR LORD.

Just thought I’d throw that out there.

 

[Aramis]

That just proof that a number of people with the disease are afraid of a reaction to communion- not that they have experienced one. If this is a real need in your Church why not just give them the precious blood and not the body? What’s the need for a low gluten host? Please forgive me for wondering why your soon to be Church’s Eucharist is harming people. I have never heard this come up in the Orthodox Church, and I’m positive we have members with the same disease who partake of communion.

My mother, who suffers from celiac, can not receive the body, because the accidents of wheat remain and result in crippling diarrhea. Even the particle in the primary chalice is sufficient to trigger this result some of the time. Even the low gluten host triggers this. While she enjoys the Byzantine liturgy, she suffers greatly if she receives at one.

Some celiac sufferers will get a reaction from others’ lipstick (many brands have wheat gluten).

Roman canon law (CIC) provides that a separate chalice may be prepared and consecrated for those with celiac. It also provides that at a mass for alcoholics, mustum may be used in the general chalice, and that when the priest is an alcoholic and the people are not, the main chalice gets mustum, and the faithful do not receive or receive from separate chalices with wine.

The CCEO doesn’t have these provisions… so such provisions require the bishop’s permission.

 

[ciero]

Sure. Celiac Disease is a high sensitivity to gluten, and even a small amount of it can result in intense diarrhea and other symptoms like ulcers; the intensity of the reaction, of course, depends on how intense the person’s sensitivity to gluten is.

As for documentation, there are many people on this forum who have Celiac disease, and as such there are a lot of threads from Celiacs who are looking for a way to receive Communion (here and here for instance). Also, if you type in “Celiacs and Communion” or some variant there of into google you’ll find a lot of offers for low-gluten hosts and people who need them.

In the parish I attend there are 3 folks with Celiac disease, all 3 receive communion just like everyone else with no ill effects.

 

[Aramis]

In the parish I attend there are 3 folks with Celiac disease, all 3 receive communion just like everyone else with no ill effects.

Their cases are fairly mild, then. For some, even the celebration chalice’s tiny particle in the blood causes them too much gluten.

 

[countertenor]

I have a friend whose response to gluten is so intense (due to celiac disease) that even a crumb of the curst of bread touching something is enough to affect her for over a week. It is not something to mess with.

 

[Miserys_Fence]

An example from the life of St John Maximovitch:

“He served the Holy Mysteries to a woman dying of rabies, and immediately after doing so, she had a fit, foaming at the mouth, and spitting up the Holy Gifts. Knowing that the Holy Gifts cannot be thrown away, St. John immediately picked them up and swallowed them, himself, even though rabies is extremely contagious and routinely fatal. He said, “Nothing with happen; these are the Holy Gifts!” and he spoke the truth.” allsaintsofamerica.org/orthodoxy/john.html

I like the story, and I don’t mean to detract from it–but Trivia Fact of the Day: Infected animals do not continuously excrete the rabies virus in their saliva. You’ve got as much chance of not contracting the disease as you do of being infected.

Miz

 

[trophybearer]

I like the story, and I don’t mean to detract from it–but Trivia Fact of the Day: Infected animals do not continuously excrete the rabies virus in their saliva. You’ve got as much chance of not contracting the disease as you do of being infected.

Miz

Interesting fact! Doesn’t seem related to the story but interesting still.