Does the priest concecrate spillage?

[forthright]

OK, so this may not be the most pressing issue we face today, but I’ve always wondered about this. . .

The priest pours the wine into the chalices or cups prior to concecration. Supposedly, this is done in order to decrease the chance of spillage. If poured after the concecration, if even 1 drop splatter out of the chalice, we would be obligated to clean the linen thoroughly and carefully in the sacrarium.

After pouring, the the pitcher that held the wine is taken to the credence table. Again, supposedly this is done so that it doesn’t get consecrated, creating one more vessel to purify. It is not sufficient to move the pitcher to the edge of the altar, because everything on the altar get consecrated.

So my question is this: If, when pouring the wine, a drop or two splashes out onto the altar, does that wine too get consecrated because it is left on the altar? If so, aren’t we obligated to thoroughly and carefully clean in the sacrarium the linen covering the altar after every mass?

I know - I’m overly scrupulous. Just wondering what everyone else thought?

 

[cameron_lansing]

The classical solution is to say the priest did not intend to consecrate the spillage.

 

[forthright]

cameron_lansing:

The classical solution is to say the priest did not intend to consecrate the spillage.

So is it correct to say that the only things that get consecrated are those portions that the priest intends to consecrate, and not “everything on the altar.” In other words, do the priest’s intentions actually keep the spilled wine from being consecrated?

 

[Brain]

the priest’s intention determies what is concecratyed.

eg 2 bowls of hosts are on altar but priest realizes that he only needs 1. to minimize confusion he might move the second bowl to the side of the altaer but either way, only the bowl he wants to concecrate is concecrated.