Dropped Eucahrist, what happens to it?

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Keith_W_OR_USA

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At mass today a lady dropped the Eucharist. An altar boy came out and took it away. What does the Church do with the Eucharist in this case?
:confused:
 
It’s supposed to be consumed. (not necessarily right then, but that is the proper thing to do.)
 
If the Eucharist is dropped and the alter boy came and retrieved it, he took it into the sacristy and placed it in water to be dissolved. After that it is poored down a special sink (can’ t think of the name of it off my head) that goes directly to the ground under the church. which apart from burning something is the proper way to dispose of it. If it is not dirty and gets droped the priest may consume it.

Pax,
Blake
 
GunnerQuick said:
If the Eucharist is dropped and the alter boy came and retrieved it, he took it into the sacristy and placed it in water to be dissolved. After that it is poored down a special sink (can’ t think of the name of it off my head) that goes directly to the ground under the church. which apart from burning something is the proper way to dispose of it. If it is not dirty and gets droped the priest may consume it.

Pax,
Blake
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I have been trying to wrap my brain around this since I foung out what the T word meant a couple years ago, since I always thought we were taking the Eucharist spiritually.

Now if Jesus can put himself, physical body into a host, do we not think he can take himself out of it? so the alter boy decides he can help Jeusus escape by drowning him and disolving him, and then pour him down the drain?

this sounds just so unrealistic.(for lack of a better word right now).
 
Keith_W_OR_USA said:
At mass today a lady dropped the Eucharist. An altar boy came out and took it away. What does the Church do with the Eucharist in this case?
:confused:
Click to expand...
Some of the more common scenarios of dealing with this accident are mentioned on this recent CAF thread .

Here is a link to an informative article provided in post # 4 of that same thread : When a Consecrated Host Falls ; Zenit ; EWTN .

( *Note: Just to clarify , burning was mentioned in a previous post. Burning is a way of disposing of blessed objects- of sacramentals only. Consecrated Hosts, if they have fallen, are not supposed to be burned - that is an error : Where a good intention is absent, burning a Host is tantamount to desecration.)
 
GunnerQuick said:
If the Eucharist is dropped and the alter boy came and retrieved it, he took it into the sacristy and placed it in water to be dissolved. After that it is poored down a special sink (can’ t think of the name of it off my head) that goes directly to the ground under the church. which apart from burning something is the proper way to dispose of it. If it is not dirty and gets droped the priest may consume it.

Pax,
Blake
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The special sink is known as the sacrarium.
 
Both my son and daughter are alter servers, the Priest would usually just consume the Host in the sacristy.
 
The Priest will either consume the host or dissolve it in water i believe and pour it down the sink that leads to the ground. but never into the sewer ]
 
Luvtosew said:
I have been trying to wrap my brain around this since I foung out what the T word meant a couple years ago, since I always thought we were taking the Eucharist spiritually.

Now if Jesus can put himself, physical body into a host, do we not think he can take himself out of it? so the alter boy decides he can help Jeusus escape by drowning him and disolving him, and then pour him down the drain?

this sounds just so unrealistic.(for lack of a better word right now).
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We do not know that. It is best for us to play safe, and to treat it with utmost respect as though Christ still resided in it. The same goes for any particles of the Host, within the bounds of practicality and good sense. 👍

I don’t think it counts as drowning though. It’s not like Our Lord suffocates simply because we immerse his flesh in water. 😉

The idea is to break it up so that it no longer retains the integrity of bread, and so that it no longer remains the Body and Blood of Christ. The mixture is then emptied onto the ground for good measure, for it is better to let the Eucharist decompose naturally than it is to profane Him with our sewage. 🙂
 
I have been taught that Jesus’ presence in the bread remains only so long as it retains the form of bread. When I made first communion we were taught that it took only about ten minutes for the form to change during the normal reception of communion.

If the host is dissolved, it no longer retains the form of bread, and is, therefore, no longer the body of Christ. It is still holy, however, having touched, or been touched by the body of Christ. Therefore it must be disposed of reverently. Pouring it into the ground is similar to burial and considered reverent.
 
The special sink is called a ‘piscina’. Its dra(name removed by moderator)ipe goes directly into the ground, so it is the equivalent of burying it.

It’s a little like the ‘three-second rule’ with children’s snacks. A host that falls to the floor should be consumed, unless it lies there for a period of time where it would be potentially unhealthy to consume, or falls into a soiled area.

The spilled Precious Blood is a more difficult problem. It needs to be cleaned-up reverently with a purificator, which is then cleansed in the prescribed manner.

The GIRM covers both contingencies.
 
Every time this question comes up, I am reminded of a story told by my grandmother.

She was an Eastern Catholic, so bear in mind that the Holy Eucharist is administered in both forms.

Her parish then recently had carpeting installed in the sanctuary area of the church, up to and including the step where the priest would normally stand when administering the Holy Eucharist.

The parish priest of that era was regarded as a tough and conservative type, yet one who exuded true respect for the Lord and the Holy Church at all times.

Just a week after this carpeting was installed, the Holy Eucharist was dropped while administering the sacrament to an elderly parishioner.

Given his normal demeanor and much to the surprise of the parishioners, the priest was reduced to tears by this. The very next day, he had the new carpeting removed and burned.

While there may be more modern and accepted ways for handling such an unfortunate event, the story still reminds me vividly of our belief in the True and Real Presence, as well as the reverence with which we should approach the Blessed Sacrament. :crossrc:
 
I would pick it up and receive my Lord in the Eucharist. It’s His Body Blood Soul and Divinity. Why wouldn’t I?🙂
 
I think if I dropped a host I would just natually bend down, pick it up and put it in my mouth.
 
Luvtosew said:
I think if I dropped a host I would just natually bend down, pick it up and put it in my mouth.
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As I recall, the Priest is supposed to retrieve it and consume it himself. The area is to be covered with a cloth and after Mass, thouroughly scoured for particles that may have dropped and then cleaned with water.
 
Mike30 said:
As I recall, the Priest is supposed to retrieve it and consume it himself. The area is to be covered with a cloth and after Mass, thouroughly scoured for particles that may have dropped and then cleaned with water.
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Oh, so we should let the Priest retrieve it, ok didn’t realize that. Thank you.😉
 
In my parish the priest would pick it up and consume it. The altar boy would bring a purificator to cover the area until after Mass. Then the floor would be cleaned and the dirty purificator, which might contain particles of the consecrated host, would be soaked. The soaking water is poured in the sacarium (with a drain directly to the ground) and the purificator washed as usual.
 
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