Gluten Free Host at Mass

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It seems arbitrary. Jesus sat at a table, we do not sit with the priest. He wore robes and sandals, which we do not do. He held up bread and said “this is my body”. He did not say “this is my body which can only be conveyed with bread made from wheat”. He served the first communion at supper…we consume it any time of day. He offered his blood to all present…it’s optional for parishes to share it with parishioners.

I know you are correct per church interpretation…question is, why do we narrow in on such a detail? Jesus won’t bless us if we try make it safe?
 
They will not do it. That is my choice…no communion, or poison.
 
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They will not do it. That is my choice…no communion, or poison.
Why not? That is plain, straightforward solution to your problem. What reason were you given for this refusal?

There has to be a backstory to this, and remember priests have bosses too. You can escalate. It cannot possibly be as simplistic as you put it.

 
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It is impractical. And they feel the wine is not proper unless it includes some of the bread, so same issue. I have asked both priests and also the Bishop’s office for a solution. They only offer low gluten hosts, which I still react to.
.given that we are not exacting on so many aspects of Jesus example, this insistence is goofy. In Jesus time, nobody knew what gluten is and Jesus would not have excluded anyone from the blessing over illness. Quite the opposite
 
Further, given the expectation celiac patients expose ourselves to dangerous, life threatening illness and stop making a fuss over communion, why all the discussion over communion and Coronavirus? Take a chance, everyone…stop making issues…we offer what we offer (I don’t really mean that but am making a point).
 
I’m so sorry that your priests and bishop are not more understanding. Can you go to a different parish?

Priests in my diocese frequently prepare a separate chalice for people with celiac disease.
 
why do we narrow in on such a detail
Because transubstantiation takes place using wheat bread. That is the matter used - the form of wheat bread.

All the other things you cited are incidentals and not relevant to what is consecrated and becomes the Body of Christ - all the others do not change and become the body of Christ.

ETA -
He held up bread and said “this is my body”.
That’s right, you’re correct here - he did. He held up bread - not a carrot or a turnip or a handful of seeds or a piece of fruit. HE used unleavened wheat bread.
why do we narrow in on such a detail
Because that is God’s Will in the matter. We have done down through the centuries what He, GOD, commanded.
Jesus won’t bless us if we try make it safe?
Jesus will bless us when we ask. But Transubstantiation will not take place unless there is some amount of gluten. It isn’t wheat bread unless it contains gluten. Jesus Himself chose to use wheat bread to become our Eucharist. Being God he could have chosen any food item that existed.

You’re arguing the substance of the host with God really, not man. And God being infinitely wise knew/knows exactly what He is doing.
 
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Bread is made of other grains too. It happened to be what was on the table. I make bread regularly in my wheat free kitchen.
 
Priests in my diocese frequently prepare a separate chalice for people with celiac disease.
That’s right but only is permitted in the Ordinary Form - it is not permitted in the Extraordinary Form.
 
Bread is made of other grains too.
Bread can be made from other grains now.
It happened to be what was on the table.
Yes, that’s what was commonly know as bread - made from wheat. The most common form of bread that one buys in the supermarket is made from wheat flour, even if other varieties are available to purchase.

From the article I linked in my earlier post
" Defining bread

The reason has to do with the definition of bread. Communion is a rite that traces back to the early Catholic Church. In St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians (in the Bible’s New Testament), which was written around A.D. 53 or 54, Paul lays out the ritual and its roots in the Last Supper, Jesus Christ’s final meal before the Crucifixion:"

“For I have received from the Lord that which also I delivered unto you: that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took break,” reads the King James translation of the passage, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me.”

Under Catholic doctrine, consecrated bread and wine transubstantiate, or become the literal body and blood of Christ. Thus, the purity of the bread and wine are important, said Rev. Andrew Menke, the executive director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Jesus just used wine, and Jesus just used bread, and the basic definition of bread is wheat flour and water,” Menke told Live Science, referring to the unleavened bread that Jesus and his disciplines would have eaten."

n 2004, that Congregation put out a report called the Redemptionis Sacramentum that explained the requirements for the bread:

“The bread used in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharistic Sacrifice must be unleavened, purely of wheat, and recently made so that there is no danger of decomposition. It follows therefore that bread made from another substance, even if it is grain, or if it is mixed with another substance different from wheat to such an extent that it would not commonly be considered wheat bread, does not constitute valid matter for confecting the Sacrifice and the Eucharistic Sacrament.”
 
So given the option…no communion at all vs. communion with host containing no gluten, best not to recieve for the rest of my life?
I think I would approach my pastor and ask about the option to be the first to receive from the chalice.
What is the source on the bread having to contain wheat? I know it is the church interpretation but don’t know where it comes from.
@CRV already posted the source: this document from the Vatican, which cites a couple other Church documents. It quotes one in particular that states:
Hosts that are completely gluten-free are invalid matter for the celebration of the Eucharist. Low-gluten hosts (partially gluten-free) are valid matter, provided they contain a sufficient amount of gluten to obtain the confection of bread without the addition of foreign materials and without the use of procedures that would alter the nature of bread
He held up bread and said “this is my body”. He did not say “this is my body which can only be conveyed with bread made from wheat”
The thing is… He kinda did. He used unleavened bread, which was able to be used specifically because it fit the religious regulations for that meal. In your terms, that’s “arbitrary”, right? And yet, that’s precisely what He did – He made a particular “arbitrary” decision as what the Eucharist would be.
He offered his blood to all present…it’s optional for parishes to share it with parishioners.
Actually, we receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ in any quantity or either of the species of the Eucharist…
And they feel the wine is not proper unless it includes some of the bread, so same issue.
In the main chalice, not in all of the chalices.
Jesus would not have excluded anyone from the blessing over illness. Quite the opposite
He wouldn’t? Are you saying that Jesus didn’t know what celiac is?
Bread is made of other grains too. It happened to be what was on the table.
And, “what happened to be on the table” was itself something that fit the regulations of religious ceremony. So, there’s that…
Bread can be made from other grains now.
No; there were breads of various types back then, too.
 
Jesus did not prepare the food for that meal. He did not create a recipe for bread. We are inexact about many, many things Jesus did and how he did them. He did not speak English…why do we quote him using different words? Our hosts are not made the same as what Jesus served his apostles. .not possible at the time to make such wafers as we use. It was not prepared the same way. In that day it would have been made with animal fat…lard…our hosts are not made with fat. Jesus had a beard and sandals as did his apostles. Those present were the the spiritual forebears of our priests…why do we not limit communion to priests? The point is yes, you can quote endlessly and post but are missing the point. We…modern day people…not Jesus, because he never addressed the topic…decided on an arbitrary percentage of wheat. If a bowl of Peaches were closer at hand to Jesus, we would celebrate communion with peaches.

Jesus tore the bread…it was not in machine-cut circles. Why don’t we tear the bread? If not torn bread is it same enough? Our wheat is genetically modified…is it the same as 2,000 years ago?

We have…not Jesus but modern people…settled on an arbitrary detail, and ignore other details. Perhaps communion should only be offered to 12 people, who must be priests, at a time, only once a year, only the day before we die, only if baked where Jesus’ bread was baked and how it was baked. If it must contain gluten, no other molecule should vary at all.

That is the point. I understand the church position. I also understand Jesus would not poison people on purpose as a condition of including them at the table.

We are not Jesus. We are trying to mimic him and we are called to be prudent in this and all things.
 
We have low-gluten hosts, since not every Catholic is as far along on their faith journey. God excludes no one who is seeking.
 
Low gluten hosts aren’t safe for celiac patients. I use that option now but it makes me sick. No celiac patient should have “low gluten” anything…many of us make an exception only for communion, but it is dangerous.

That is the point of everything I have posted. It can be life threatening… This is no joke.

I guess some people don’t think it matters but communion is important to me and I feel the position of the church to come up with a celiac accimmodation which is life threatening to celiac patients is ill advised.
 
What does where I am at in my faith journey have to do with celiac disease? I have a disease because I am not a good enough Catholic? If I pray harder, wheat won’t make me sick? Goofy and insulting comment on your part.
 
The cup is not available. Spiritual communion is my only option and it is sad. It is exclusion and a setting apart from my Catholic community.

You mention one of four forms of lymphoma celiac causes. It also causes severe malnutrition, severe skin rashes and infections, poor immune function, dehydration, and in my case vision problems and seizures. I once had a seizure getting off a commuter train. I see however many posts of people losing their minds over having to recieve in the hand for a couple weeks, or not being able to shake hands for the sign of peace, but there is this cavelier attitude about not being ng able to recieve communion because the person, having a disease, is apparently not Catholic enough. Never mind that I am among about twenty people who show up for confession and hundreds go to communion.

Instead of worrying about ensuring poisoning people, maybe we should focus on the incessant desecration of the sacrament resulting from it being given to those who are not even trying to present themselves in a state of Grace.
 
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Low gluten hosts aren’t safe for celiac patients.
They may effect you, but in generally they are.

I wouldn’t be able to receive one every day, but can re dive one once a week without issue.

On a separate note, I’m not sure why you took benadryl. That would help an allergy, but not an auto immune reaction.
 
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