Curious about avoiding the wine/blood and being a server

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whipp711

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For health reasons, I always avoid drinking the wine/blood sacrament. I don’t care how careful, the threat of nisserria meningititis is all too real. The wife almost died of it. Kids in college spread it through sharing drinks, so I’m not being paranoid here. Comments in these forums and my priest said that the body/bread is all that is needed.

My parish makes a big deal of having the blood of Christ available. I would like to train to be a server, but I’m wondering if my position on the practice would exclude me?

By the way, in all my world travel, only the priest drinks the blood of Christ at masses.
 
whipp711 said:
For health reasons, I always avoid drinking the wine/blood sacrament. I don’t care how careful, the threat of nisserria meningititis is all too real. The wife almost died of it. Kids in college spread it through sharing drinks, so I’m not being paranoid here. Comments in these forums and my priest said that the body/bread is all that is needed.

My parish makes a big deal of having the blood of Christ available. I would like to train to be a server, but I’m wondering if my position on the practice would exclude me?

By the way, in all my world travel, only the priest drinks the blood of Christ at masses.
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If it helps, they do wipe the chalice after each person drinks from it.

You are correct – the Body, Blood. Soul, and Divinity are all present in the host. Drinking from the chalice is not required.

As far as being a server I don’t think your position should exclude you. Would you be unwilling to offer the wine to some one who wanted it? If so explain your views to the co-ordinator of communion distributors. They should be able to assign you to distributing the hosts only.
 
Assuming that you would be receiving directly from the priest-celebrant, you could easily ask him before Mass not to offer you the cup at all, explaining your concerns. That way he could move past you without any attention being drawn to you, if that’s your concern.

There are any number of reasons why a person would choose not to receive from the cup that are perfectly reasonable and acceptable.
 
peresieh said:
The Blood of Christ brings healing, not sickness!
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The ability of wine to carry germs is an accidental property of the wine. In the Holy Eucharist, all the accidental properties of the species are retained ( color, density, taste, temperature, and yes, the abilty to carry and transmit germs) are retained, while the Substance change.

The species of wine, therefore, by definition, has the same ability to transmit germs as any ordinary wine in the same circumstance

To deny that is to deny the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist and to engage in faulty superstition.
 
I just trust that the bread and wine is the real body and blood of Christ, this means I have to put all my faith in God when I take the wine. I never think about the state of health of the people taking the cup before me, they may or may not know of any condition they might have.

Blessings

Eric
 
I don’t know about all that but I just received Holy Communion for the first time this weekend. I am allergic to wine. I took the blood regardless. I won’t be taking it again (because of my allergy) but for my First Communion I was so thirsty I had to partake of the Blood as well as the Body.

Now, I’m not encouraging those allergic to partake! I’m just saying I don’t think not taking from the Blood should exempt you from being a server. You will be serving, not partaking. Why should it matter? IF you were allergic and not partaking I’m sure no one would bat an eyelash so why should it matter if your reasons are personal and not medical?

Why not ask your Priest just to make sure?
 
As a server, you do not have to take of the blood. You just gave a slight nod or shake of your head as the EM/Deacon/Priest approached you to let them know your intention. Also, if you do partake, you only need to let it brush your lips. No need to swallow. I usually chose to only partake on major Holidays/Holy Days, or if I was feeling a need. If you are worried, talk to a priest or deacon at your parish.

On a non-religious note, but rather medical, you may also want to go talk to your doctor about the meningitis vaccine with it’s spread across the U.S. My family has all been vaccinated, especially since I still am in college and that is where it is often contracted. Just an idea to help you with easing your worries. 🙂
 
Good (name removed by moderator)ut folks.
The Blood of Christ brings healing, not sickness!
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I’ll trust in God, but I have some distrust of fellow humans.

The simple wiping of the cup will not decontaminate the edge of the cup. Folks, I’m not one of those germ free, white glove people who never leave the house. I’m just a witness to an opportunistic bacteria that almost killed my wife that is easily transferred by sharing drink and drink containers. As a public service, there is a vaccine for this bug. People sending kids off to college are wised to take this precaution.

I will talk to the coordinator or Priest about this. Should be a workaround for me to be of service.
 
I do not usually receive from the cup unless I am first in line or serving as cantor. In our parish, the priest and the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion receive from the priest’s chalice, and the cantor is the first to receive from the common cup. If for some reason (like having a contagious illness myself) I do not wish to receive from the cup when I am cantor, I just shake my head when the minister approaches and he passes me by. No problem; no one even notices.
 
In the Malankara Catholic Church the priest intincts the Host a bit in the Precious Blood before giving it to the faithful. Nobody drinks from the Chalice. The priest takes Communion by intinction too. His lips touch the chalice only after Mass.
 
In the Byzantine Rite the priest uses a spoon to serve the intincted Hosts. Now, some priests are sloppy some are very skillful. But even with the skillful ones its not uncommon for them to touch the teeth or lips of the communicant. And when they are giving Communion to infants, the infant will put the spoon in their mouth the same way when you feed them regular food. So if you have an infant or a number of infants in front of you, they would have had the spoon in their mouths. And the priest doesn’t wipe the spoon until after the Liturgy.
 
We even have EMHCs who don’t receive from the chalice so I don’t think it will be an obstacle to you being an altar server.
 
foundmyfaith said:
See that person sitting next to you with the cold sore? They are drinking from the chalice right before you. Good Luck! 😃
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It is nothing to do with luck, we trust it is the body and blood of Christ. I felt a great sadness at our loss of faith in Christ when flu was prevalent, and the wine was withdrawn.

Blessings

Eric
 
Eric_Hyom said:
It is nothing to do with luck, we trust it is the body and blood of Christ. I felt a great sadness at our loss of faith in Christ when flu was prevalent, and the wine was withdrawn.

Blessings

Eric
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It IS the blood of Christ. The chalice is not the blood of Christ. It is a man-made cup that 125 people drank out of before you did. There are viruses and bacteria on it.

I am in no way trying to start a ‘don’t drink from the chalice’ mutiny. I was just explaining my reasons for not doing so.

Peace
 
whipp711 said:
For health reasons, I always avoid drinking the wine/blood sacrament. I don’t care how careful, the threat of nisserria meningititis is all too real. The wife almost died of it. Kids in college spread it through sharing drinks, so I’m not being paranoid here. Comments in these forums and my priest said that the body/bread is all that is needed.

My parish makes a big deal of having the blood of Christ available. I would like to train to be a server, but I’m wondering if my position on the practice would exclude me?

By the way, in all my world travel, only the priest drinks the blood of Christ at masses.
Click to expand...
Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are commissioned by a pastor to help him distribute Holy Communion. People’s opinions aside, it would be up to your pastor to determine whether or not your setting conditions on your involvement in this ministry would be helpful enough to him, or practical.

When members of the congregation witness an EMHC not receiving from the cup, they may wonder whether that person has a cold or something contagious (which would mean they shouldn’t be distributing the host either). Your pastor would want an EMHC to be as enthusiastic about distributing the Precious Blood as the Host. You obviously wouldn’t be equally enthusiastic about serving the Eucharist under both species. Your not receiving from the cup, in other words, might be a distraction to the assembly, and thus not practical.

I would suggest you discuss this with your pastor, and only your pastor, since it would be his policy.
 
Lets set the record straight here. Even the Church doesn’t teach that the accidents of the Body and Blood of Christ, which is the appearance of bread and wine, can prevent or cure diseases. Its not about loss of faith. We even have special low-gluten hosts for those who have issues with gluten. Its just the reality of things.
 
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