How long is the Eucharist present in your body?

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Cousin_Vinny

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Hello All…
In a Sunday missal from 1952 that I unearthed inside my Dorm’s library, it mentions in its index that after receiving Communion, Christ is present inside a person for fifteen minutes. Has anyone ever heard of this before? (And yes, the missal is imprimatur)
 
The Catechism says that the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist remains as long as the accidents of bread and wine subsist. Accidents are the observable qualities such as taste, appearance, smell, etc. Fifteen minutes is an estimate based on how long it would take the digestive juices in the stomach to work on the Host before it no longer was recognizable as bread.

Many people choose to remain in prayer and thanksgiving for this period. That usually involves staying a few minutes after Mass.

Betsy
 
Cousin_Vinny said:
Hello All…
In a Sunday missal from 1952 that I unearthed inside my Dorm’s library, it mentions in its index that after receiving Communion, Christ is present inside a person for fifteen minutes. Has anyone ever heard of this before? (And yes, the missal is imprimatur)
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Yes, Fr. Shaugnessy mentioned that too, when visiting our parish for a Lenten Mission. It’s 15-30 minutes. So, I guess 15 minutes is a good average number - maybe a bit longer, maybe a bit shorter. Now, that’s just in the stomach…
 
The accidents cease to subsist when saliva from our mouth mixes with the bread…Those of us who chew on cause this cessation to happen almost immediately.

the digestive process begins when the host hits our tongue…I have heard a theologian say that the Accidents cease to exist when digestion begins…which is when the host lands in our mouth.
 
THurifer2 said:
The accidents cease to subsist when saliva from our mouth mixes with the bread…Those of us who chew on cause this cessation to happen almost immediately.
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That sounds silly. When I swallow the Host, I am very sure it still appears to be bread, just like when I swallow the Precious Blood, I am very sure it still appears to be wine.
 
japhy said:
That sounds silly. When I swallow the Host, I am very sure it still appears to be bread, just like when I swallow the Precious Blood, I am very sure it still appears to be wine.
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I am sorry you think it sounds silly.

The word consume means to destroy. We consume the host the digestive process begins immediately…The real presence then becomes SPIRITUAL FOOD and NOURISHMENT…

You may swallow all you want but I chew and it when I consume I can guarantee you that it doesn’t look like a piece of bread.

Like I said I heard it from a theologian who I can say is extremely orthodox in his thought…I will make sure next time I see him that some think his explaination of the matter seems silly.
 
THurifer2 said:
I am sorry you think it sounds silly.
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Perhaps I need to be convinced.
THurifer2 said:
The word consume means to destroy. We consume the host the digestive process begins immediately…The real presence then becomes SPIRITUAL FOOD and NOURISHMENT… You may swallow all you want but I chew and it when I consume I can guarantee you that it doesn’t look like a piece of bread.
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For that matter, does bread look like a piece of bread by the time we swallow it?
THurifer2 said:
Like I said I heard it from a theologian who I can say is extremely orthodox in his thought…I will make sure next time I see him that some think his explaination of the matter seems silly.
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This isn’t about a theologian, no matter how orthodox. This is about an explanation that I think doesn’t do justice to the Blessed Sacrament. If the accidents disappear as soon as saliva touches the Host, then there would be no cause for alarm over those who spit the Host out of their mouths (whether because of displeasure at the taste or consistency, or desire to profane the Host). There would be no reason to reverently consume an expelled Host.
 
Explanations of such things often get to be a fine line because people seem always to then want to go to rediculous lengths. If you answer a long time then people say oh my, when I go to the bathroom then that would be bad because I don’t want to flush God into the sewer. If the answer is short it’s another problem.

Anyway, theologically, the answer is really forever. In that effectively you become the element. Why are we all one body, it’s because of the one bread, well just bread can’t do such a thing. So it’s the presence of Jesus that unites us into one body, his body, the church. You aren’t just a member of the church for a few moments and then you aren’t again until you partake again. And the blood, well lot’s and lot’s of the bible is dedicated to teaching you that the life is in the blood. When you receive the blood of Christ you receive his life. Really eternal life. Again wine cannot do such things, it is because it is Christ. And that life isn’t just there for a moment and then gone again, it remains forever.

The bread, the wine, they are gone eventually, some incorporated into one’s body but basically gone just like any other bread and wine. But Christ is not then fundamentally gone because the bread and wine are gone. Christ remains in you. If he doesn’t you are in big trouble.

JJ
 
These 15 min. are such a beautiful time when we are closest to Our Lord. It is a time to pray, give thanks, and spend time with Jesus.
 
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