Communion for Gluten Free Individuals

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TotusTuusForever

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I am having a hard time figuring out whether I should receive communion or not. I am gluten free and so far have been receiving communion. But, I am noticing health problems that are probably caused by my gluten intolerance. Since the Host is the only time I ever consume gluten, I am realizing that I may have to cut out communion altogether/ once a year. This is painful for me since receiving our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is one of the few things that bring me joy in life. If I do stop receiving, does a spiritual communion offer the same graces as the actual thing? I am aware of the low gluten host, but I don’t think they will work in my case since they still have a small amount of gluten in them. And, I am not going to one parish regularly right now (since I have to go to the local cathedral often) because of my husband’s work schedule, so I don’t really have the opportunity to speak to a priest about only receiving the precious blood. Any suggestions about this are appreciated.
 
Ask your priest if low gluten hosts are available or if you could just receive communion in the form of the precious Blood.

A celiac sufferer in my parish regularly receives the low gluten hosts and that works for her.

Edited to add, I see you say you don’t have a regular church where you attend. In that case I’d suggest just trying to go to churches where it is in 2 forms regularly so you can receive the Blood.
 
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Only low-gluen hosts are valid matter.
Letter to Bishops on the bread and wine for the Eucharist

There are a couple of options for those with Celiac. Receive a low-gluten host or from a special chalice (these will require you to speak to your pastor and make arrangements. Some large parishes, like your Cathedral, will have low gluten hosts available. Call and find out what the process is. Usually it means you will arrive early and make yourself known in the Sacristy before Mass so they know to consecrate the special host for you.)
 
TotusTuusForever said:
I am aware of the low gluten host, but I don’t think they will work in my case since they still have a small amount of gluten in them.
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I might suggest that you talk to your doctor(s), asking them whether they think a wafer that weighs less than a gram and which has less than 10 parts per million of gluten would be possible for you to consume without side effects.
 
I read an article recently from one of the Catholic news agencies that said Rome recently affirmed that the host had to remain either as is, or maybe low gluten, and that no gluten wafers were not to valid.

Here is one sorcehttps://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur47.htm
 
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The gluten “free” hosts are simply very very low gluten.
There likely are many others in your parish with the similar problem. My parish keeps them in a separate fridge, and the priest consecrated them in a little pyx open on the altar.
That way, they do not touch the other hosts in the ciborium, and he knows in advance whom they go to.
Just talk to him, it’s not a problem or anything to worry about.
 
Gluten free hosts are invalid. LOW gluten hosts, however, are not. I asked this question back when we had "Ask an Apologist’’, Fr. Grondin answered it for me.
 
And in addition to the good advice other posters have given you, please be aware that you are not obligated to receive Communion at every single Mass. A spiritual communion would be sufficient most of the year (though certainly one would prefer if possible to receive communion, please don’t think I am disparaging communion or minimizing suffering due to not receiving–I certainly am not). It is precisely because there are times and situations where Catholics cannot for some reason receive the Eucharist very often that we know exactly how precious it is, how hard it is when we are spiritually able to receive but not physically able for some reason, but how the Church does not demand that we ‘must’ (except once per year during the Easter season.

Hopefully you will be able to receive either through a low-gluten host or through the Precious Blood on a regular basis, but if there is some problem at any time, please know it is ‘all right’ not to receive then, to make a spiritual communion, that your sacrifice may be offered to God, and that all your brothers and sisters deeply sympathize with you and will pray for you always.
 
TotusTuusForever said:
And, I am not going to one parish regularly right now (since I have to go to the local cathedral often) because of my husband’s work schedule
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If you rotate between a few parishes, contact each pastor and ask him if you can make an arrangement to email ahead when you know you will be at a certain mass to have a small, separate chalice available for you. Or some other procedure such as arriving 1/2 hour ahead and telling him you are there, etc.

Talk to your doctor about the low gluten host, and if that is an option you can arrange to have a pyx so no matter which parish you go to you can have a low gluten host consecrated for you. You’ll just need to make yourself known to the priest beforehand.
 
At our parish I know of a couple of people who do not partake of the Host and only the Precious Blood. They present themselves to the priest before Mass to ensure that he knows that they are there. The priest ensures that either a separate chalice is available or that some of the Precious Blood remains in his chalice. These individuals go up to the altar for communion at the same time that the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist go up to receive.
I’m assuming of course that this had been coordinated before hand
 
As a celiac, I only receive from the chalice.
I don’t like to inconvenience a priest with special attention so just hope I’m offered the chalice without the host fragment. If not, I try to dodge the side where the host fragment is floating. Not ideal but one can be enough of a nuisance as a celiac and I try to minimise the effect on anyone else.
 
“so I don’t really have the opportunity to speak to a priest about only receiving the precious blood.”

I would suggest e-mail. Most priests are happy to make any necessary accommodations. You won’t know until you try!
 
Is the Precious Blood offered via the chalice where you attend? If it is, sit near the front and receive only in that form. Done deal.
 
Duesenberg said:
Is the Precious Blood offered via the chalice where you attend? If it is, sit near the front and receive only in that form. Done deal.
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Not necessarily. There is the matter of the piece of the priest’s Host which has been co-mingled with the Precious Blood in the chalice. Not only could that fragment cause some amount of gluten to be leached into the Precious Blood, there is also the possibility that someone receiving from the priest’s chalice could end up swallowing that fragment. Has happened to me numerous times. Would need a separate cup unless the parish routinely offers both Species in dedicated cups for the congregation.
 
Mattapoisett64 said:
There is the matter of the piece of the priest’s Host which has been co-mingled with the Precious Blood in the chalice.
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I suspect if the Precious Blood is offered on Sundays, it’s offered via more than once chalice.
 
Order low gluten hosts and have the priest consecrate yours especially for you.
 
There is a new EMHC at my parish. Her host is held separately in a pyx. After giving all the other EMsHC communion, the priest then gives her communion from the pyx – without first wiping his fingers off. Then she receives from the chalice – the same chalice all the other EMsHC received from. The consensus from many is that she’s simply putting on a show. Sad.
 
Augustinian said:
I don’t understand that, putting a show on for whom? How many people do you think actually notice?
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Well, she’s standing in the sanctuary in front of more than a thousand people when she receives Holy Communion.
 
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