Different Eucharistic Shapes?

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Monicathree

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Why sometimes does the priest when he holds the Eucharist up and says says “Behold the Lamb of God…” hold a full circle, sometimes just a triangle, sometimes the circle with a small triangle already broken out of it? Is there some kind of different signifigance for each? Thanks.

peace
 
At the point where this is done in the Mass the host has already been broken and a small portion (called the fermentum) has been placed in the chalice. In teh pre-Vatican II days the priest would hold up the two large pieces of the host with the small piece missing. There are not rubrics that cover this today, so the priest is free to hold up whatever portion he wishes. There is no special symbology in this other than the fact that each and every piece of the host is fully Jesus.

Deacon Ed
 
Deacon Ed:
At the point where this is done in the Mass the host has already been broken and a small portion (called the fermentum) has been placed in the chalice. In teh pre-Vatican II days the priest would hold up the two large pieces of the host with the small piece missing. There are not rubrics that cover this today, so the priest is free to hold up whatever portion he wishes. There is no special symbology in this other than the fact that each and every piece of the host is fully Jesus.

Deacon Ed
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They also didn’t have those Frisbee-sized “communal” hosts prior to V2 where every “minister” gets a Dorito shaped section, including the celebrant.
 
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Inquisitor:
They also didn’t have those Frisbee-sized “communal” hosts prior to V2 where every “minister” gets a Dorito shaped section, including the celebrant.
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No, the largest host I can remember was about 3" in diameter. The larger hosts are to comply with the concept of “one loaf” in which several people can share from the “one loaf” of the large host. And not everybody gets a triangular shaped host (a triangle, BTW, is a traditional sign of the Trinity), some get the outer pieces which are irregular in shape.

Deacon Ed
 
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