Gluten free Host

[InThePew]

Does this happen? I mean, pouring from the priest’s chalice to the people’s cups?

Hopefully not - it’s fraught with risk of spillage!

There are many people who eat “gluten free” with NO diagnosis and it is most definitely a fad. I know a lot of people who have gone “gluten free” for no reason other than it’s the popular thing right now. They have NO diagnosis and no allergy (and are miraculously not gluten free when cake is involved).

That does not mean that there are not **also **people with allergies and other medical conditions that benefit from no gluten, there most certainly are, which I stated in my prior post. My family has several such individuals, not with celiac but with ulcerative colitis.

Direct your anger at those who have made gluten free a fad.

There are some people who do feel better following a gluten free diet but who aren’t diagnosed with any particular medical condition - science doesn’t have an answer for everything! Much like whatsmyname and AnneElizabeth this is anything but a fad for me but I also have to be thankful for the “fadders” since it’s becuase of them that gluten free food is more widely available (particularly in the more well heeled areas!).

As far as hosts are concerned, it would be a rare individual who would not be able to receive a low-gluten host (with approximately 0.01% gluten content or 37 micrograms). More understanding around this issue is needed however along with more education of priests and laity alike. As a an example, low gluten hosts should be available in every parish and those seeking to receive low gluten hosts should not need to apply for “permission” in advance.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

There are some people who do feel better following a gluten free diet but who aren’t diagnosed with any particular medical condition - science doesn’t have an answer for everything! Much like whatsmyname and AnneElizabeth this is anything but a fad for me but I also have to be thankful for the “fadders” since it’s becuase of them that gluten free food is more widely available (particularly in the more well heeled areas!).

As far as hosts are concerned, it would be a rare individual who would not be able to receive a low-gluten host (with approximately 0.01% gluten content or 37 micrograms). More understanding around this issue is needed however along with more education of priests and laity alike. As a an example, low gluten hosts should be available in every parish and those seeking to receive low gluten hosts should not need to apply for “permission” in advance.

Speaking as a priest, no one ever has to tell me their diagnosis or give me any sort of medical documentation when it comes to issues of Communion. If a person finds, from whatever source, that they are helped by not consuming gluten, I am happy to accommodate them with no question asked.

On the other hand, I am not sure how to understand your last sentence. Low gluten hosts, in my experience, are very expensive and so a supply is kept for those who need them. In that sense, one would need to advise that they needed one – not in the sense of getting permission but in the sense that one needed to be consecrated since they are kept sealed and completely apart and are consecrated in a pyx.

As I said earlier, if someone is simply needing to receive uniquely from the chalice, they are free just to approach it. If they are so sensitive that we must either have a cup uniquely for them or make some provision so that they are the first one to drink from the cup, again it is not a matter of permission but of putting in place the necessary provision, so that it happens in the way it needs to happen. This latter circumstance is not just for those with celiac or other gluten related issues but also for those with severely compromised immune conditions or other conditions requiring special protocol.

 

[MissRose73]

Low gluten hosts are allowed. Completely gluten free hosts are not allowed as they do not meet the requirement of being valid matter for the consecration, not being wheat bread.

A few churches have them in my diocese but people who need them need to ask someone ahead of time to receive the low gluten. My aunt is a celiac, and does not consume the host at all, only the precious blood.

 

[Deditus_Domina]

I am a celiac. I can handle the low gluten host made by the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration. The churches in our area are just introducing low gluten hosts. It was a beautiful thing for me to receive the body of Christ from a priest for the first time!

At my home church I could always receive from a specially designated chalice (we have 7 celiacs!), but when I went to mass elsewhere I often couldn’t receive as our bishop is promoting reception under one kind.

I have never received communion at the TLM mass near me though as there is no way for a woman to communicate with the priest or altar server before mass without emailing days ahead of time.

*BTW - did you ever realize that a person with celiac disease or gluten intolerance couldn’t be a priest before this? * Low gluten presider hosts are a thing now. There are still a number of religious orders that won’t accept celiacs, alas…

Mattp0625 - Nope no gray area. The accidents of the host stay the same. Looks like bread and wine, taste like bread and wine, chews like bread and wine, digests like bread and wine.