Does one receive Jesus if the host is not consecrated?

[Sir_Knight]

While reading another thread here on Holy Communion, a thought entered my mind …

Every Sunday I see a ciborium of hosts being brought up to the Altar for consecration. Then during communion, I see several more ciboriums being taken out of the Tabernacle filled, supposedly, with Consecrated Hosts for distribution to the faithful during communion. Afterwards, all of the remaining Consecrated Hosts are placed into one ciborium and placed back into the Tabernacle.

It would appear that more hosts are distributed than are concecrated. Thus, my question, where are all of these Consecrated Hosts coming from? Is it possible that some of the hosts being distributed during communion are not consecrated? Does one receive Jesus if the host is not consecrated?

 

[Marauder]

The hosts that are coming out of the Tabernacle were consecrated at a previous Mass and not used.

Due to the fact that unless the same exact number of people attend Mass every week, determining the proper number of hosts before Mass is a guessing game. You try to guess high so that you don’t have to break the hosts or have people go without.

After communion the remaining hosts are put in the tabernacle. Usually the person (Priest/Deacon, etc.) that prepares for the next Mass usually looks in the tabernacle to or the message is passed from priest to priest on the number in the tabernacle and the number of unconsecrated hosts used is based on how many already consecrated hosts are in the tabernacle.

The only way there can be a problem is if a priest notices a shortage will happen and someone goes and gets more unconsecrated hosts from the sacristy after “This is my body”. This almost happened at my church, because a well thinking but misinformed altar boy did this, but the priest caught the mistake.

And no a person doesn’t receive Jesus in the same form of communion if the host is not consecrated. Of course a person can always “receive Jesus” but not his full body, blood, and divinity as it is in the Eucharist if the hosts were not properly consecrated.

 

[Michael_C]

Marauder:

The only way there can be a problem is if a priest notices a shortage will happen and someone goes and gets more unconsecrated hosts from the sacristy after “This is my body”. This almost happened at my church, because a well thinking but misinformed altar boy did this, but the priest caught the mistake.
QUOTE]
Hi Marauder, You’re correct. As far as almost running out I asked my priest about this. He told me if it looks like you may run short they will break up the host they have.