I would not describe an act of faith like this as “superstition”. It smacks of calling all of Christian faith “superstition”, though I know that is not what you meant. It is an area where people can legitimately disagree.
One important point that I would like to mention is something that I was taught in RCIA. There have been no recorded cases of disease transmission via the receiving from the Cup.
I am not planning on changing my habits of how I receive Holy Communion. I do not generally receive via the Cup nor do I hold hands during the Our Father and my parish does not generally do the Sign of Peace anyway. I receive on the tongue at an altar rail and plan on continuing to do so.
If a person is gluten-intolerant, then they will still become sick from the accidents that remain after consecration. Therefore, it is not true that nobody ever gets sick from the accidents of the Blessed Sacrament. That is nonsense.
The Church does not teach that consecration confers any innoculation whatsoever against disease germs present in the species beforehand, nor against anything introduced later. That nobody would allow the sacrilege necessary to try to prove by science what the bishops already know and teach by correct theology does not change that.
The truth is, the prevalence of those who believe they can’t make anyone else sick by sharing a common cup at Mass or by having a priest accidently touch their infected tongue while putting a host in their mouths only encourages violation of reasonable rules of hygiene and makes it more likely that the bishops will find that restrictions must be imposed.
If the bishops could trust sick Catholics to STAY HOME, or at least to refrain from modes of reception that could transfer diseases when they are symptomatic, maybe the bishops wouldn’t have to be so quick to put safeguards in place when a possible epidemic looms on the horizon.
Therefore, teaching other Catholics that they can’t make others sick via the species of Holy Communion is not an act of faith. It is a disservice to all of us.
Believe that you **CAN **make the rest of us sick by coming to Mass and especially by sharing Holy Communion with us or touching us when you are sick!! DON’T DO IT!!
(PS THe CDC has not noted a connection between denomination and the lack of any clear association between sharing a common cup at religous services and an increased risk of falling to communicable disease. If it were valid consecration that keeps a common cup from being risky, then denominations without valid consecration should show a higher incidence of disease. To me, that alone is evidence that nothing more than a charitable willingness to abide by the rules of hygiene is responsible for the lack of health consequences that might otherwise be posed by a sharing a common cup.)
