Cracker and grape juice vs. unleaven (leaven) bread and ordinary Wine.

[christcnection1]

I am Catholic…

I like the idea of the little cups instead of everyone drinking from one cup. I am concerned about catching the viruses from every member of the congregation who share the one cup. Now that we know how deceases are spread. Why doesn’t the CC do this?

For people who are immune compromised this is a very scary thing.

If I get sick from sharing the cup of the blood of Christ, that is one illness I would be happy to embrace as being from the Lord.

"Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which will be shed for man.” (Mark 14:23-24)

If our Lord wanted little cuppies, I suspect he would have instituted that at the Last Supper. After all, He knew all things, and wasn’t terribly concerned about some germs. On a symbolic level, receiving from a shared cup is more power.

If someone has a bad immune system, as well as little faith, they do not have to participate in receiving the cup.

Hey, that’s just my take. I highly doubt it’s liturgically acceptable either. That being said, we use multiple large cups during distribution, and one could make the argument that using more than one is heading in the direction of cuppies anyway. However, I think that has more to do with shuffling the hordes through the rows. (…Same with having Eucharistic ministers.)

 

[Brian_C]

As for the germs on the cup, we’ve discussed this many times. IIRC, one person posted an article that stated that lipstick left of the cup was not easily wiped and made a convenient “glue” that collected bacteria and viruses.

Regarding Southern Baptists and alcohol, here’s a quote from the list of qualifications for deacon listed on an election ballot I found in my wife’s old NIV Bible from our Baptist days.

1. Sober-opposes the sale and use of alcohol

 

[Yerusalyim]

I know more than one SB Pastor who can drink me under the table…German beer or Irish whiskey. He introduces himself by saying, “I’m a Southrn Baptist preacher, but not the scary kind.”

The individual cups for communion kind of goes against the whole idea behind the word “communion” and becomes a more commercial prospect.

JESUS was a good Jew…HE DRANK WINE…PERIOD!

 

[Gardening_Mommy]

About a year after my husband’s conversion, we attended church at his parents’ “non-denominational” church (after mass on Saturday night… which really confused his parents). The elders were called forward, gold-looking plates were pulled out from under velvet covers, and the wafers and little cups of grape juice were passed around very solemnly. At least the girl in front of us took her gum out long enough to swallow her juice and cracker before she started smacking her gum again.

And, after having had to hash all of this out, and deciding that the Protestant understanding of communion as some sort of memorial meal or reenactment was inadequate and nowhere close to the glorious gift that the Catholic Church ministers to us… we just had to try not to laugh, since the non-denoms’ behavior certainly didn’t jibe with their theology!

 

[Kevan]

Gardening Mommy:

we just had to try not to laugh, since the non-denoms’ behavior certainly didn’t jibe with their theology!

Are you referring to the girl with the gum when you say “the non-denoms’ behavior”?

 

[Gardening_Mommy]

Are you referring to the girl with the gum when you say “the non-denoms’ behavior”?

The teenager with the gum was just the icing on the cake.

If, as this non-denominational church’s theology said, this was just grape juice and crackers, then why the gold? Why the elders? Why the fuss? If it was really just a reenactment because Jesus said so, why not wooden or ceramic cups (because poor, itinerant preachers don’t generally have gold plates and cups)?

If, as Catholics would say, the Eucharist deserves the gold, the fuss, the specially appointed ministers, then it must be something more than a “bare memorial”. We put the “trappings” around the Eucharist because it IS Jesus, not just bread and wine.

That is what we found sadly amusing about this non-denom service: here were all the trappings of a belief in the Real Presence, but no belief. It was like they felt or intuited that their celebration of the Lord’s Supper should be something more, but couldn’t even begin to admit that the Catholics might be right.

 

[Anthony02]

I am Catholic…

I like the idea of the little cups instead of everyone drinking from one cup. I am concerned about catching the viruses from every member of the congregation who share the one cup. Now that we know how deceases are spread. Why doesn’t the CC do this?

For people who are immune compromised this is a very scary thing.

The reason the Catholic Church does not use little plastic cups is because the Church explicitly says that the precious vessels have to made of precious metal that is non pourous. Most vessels if not all are gold. Many diocese don’t even distribute the Precious blood out of concern of spilling. We as Catholics recieve the fullness of the Sacrament when we recieve either the Sacred Body or Precious Blood. If we recieve under either species, we recieve both. Besides, The Precious Blood under the form of wine is alcohol. Doesn’t alcohol kill viruses?