No, I don't bow to the Precious Blood

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Spiller

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When not engaged in a liturgical ministry I typically receive under one kind. Not for any theological reason – receiving the Precious Blood via a chalice makes me seriously ravenous!

I was told by our liturgical coordinator that I should reverence the Precious Blood in the chalice as I walk past it. I said no – at that instance I have His Body, Blood Soul and Divinity sacramentally present inside of my own body and that It should be my sole focus.

I remember reading an essay from someone I respected on this matter – it largely formed my own understanding and practice, but I’ll be darned if I can remember who it is.

What are your thoughts?
 
Spiller said:
When not engaged in a liturgical ministry I typically receive under one kind. Not for any theological reason – receiving the Precious Blood via a chalice makes me seriously ravenous!

I was told by our liturgical coordinator that I should reverence the Precious Blood in the chalice as I walk past it. I said no – at that instance I have His Body, Blood Soul and Divinity sacramentally present inside of my own body and that It should be my sole focus.

I remember reading an essay from someone I respected on this matter – it largely formed my own understanding and practice, but I’ll be darned if I can remember who it is.

What are your thoughts?
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Even if I’m not receiving the blood (usually due to having a cold or something…) I will bow. I think I’d have a hard time walking past Jesus without doing so. That’s just me, though. 🤷
 
kristie_m said:
Even if I’m not receiving the blood (usually due to having a cold or something…) I will bow. I think I’d have a hard time walking past Jesus without doing so. That’s just me, though. 🤷
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Same here.
 
I still genuflect before the tabernacle after I have received communion. Whether I receive the Precious Blood or not, the Blood is still Jesus. I will give the reverence that is due.
 
nicolep said:
I still genuflect before the tabernacle after I have received communion. Whether I receive the Precious Blood or not, the Blood is still Jesus. I will give the reverence that is due.
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Well said. 🙂
 
Also Spiller, Wasn’t Jesus, at the Last Supper, both Sacramentally Present and Physically present to the Apostles? So, wouldn’t it be alright to think that even though He is Sacramentally with us, He is still physically present in front of us in the Precious Blood also? Does that help you think of it a little differently?
 
nicolep said:
I still genuflect before the tabernacle after I have received communion. Whether I receive the Precious Blood or not, the Blood is still Jesus. I will give the reverence that is due.
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I too agree with this. In the past I never even gave it much thought, but then I went to a Holy Saturday Mass where the RCIA were received into the Church. When some of them would bypass the cup, choosing only to receive the Consecrated Host, the director told them to at least reverence the cup of the Precious Blood as they went by. “Let us all see that you know Who is being bypassed.” I thought about it, and it makes sense to me!
 
The whole idea about not genuflecting or bowing (or in the East, making a prostration) after Communion is that YOU become the Tabernacle at that point.
 
nicolep said:
I still genuflect before the tabernacle after I have received communion. Whether I receive the Precious Blood or not, the Blood is still Jesus. I will give the reverence that is due.
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That makes absolutely no sense at all. For someone to genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament reposed in a tabernacle is perfectly fine of course.

To do so while Jesus Christ is sacramentally reposed inside of themselves as He is in the tabernacle seem quite wrong. It’s not simply you genuflecting…
 
bpbasilphx said:
The whole idea about not genuflecting or bowing (or in the East, making a prostration) after Communion is that YOU become the Tabernacle at that point.
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Nu-uh. Jesus in that Host and Chalice - and for that matter in that Tabernacle - is present perfectly, completely, ALL His Body, ALL His blood, ALL His soul, ALL his Divinity in their infinite entirety.

He is not ever present in you or any other human perfectly, completely, in all His infinity - not even after you or I receive Him. No human being could possibly contain everything that the Eucharist contains, except Mary and that’s because she was given unique graces from God to prepare her to do so. You and I cannot contain within ourselves what the Tabernacle contains when He is within.

The opposite of what you think is what happens in fact - by receiving Him you and I become absorbed into and contained WITHIN Him, we become a part of Him. Not He in His entirety becoming a part of us being contained within us. We don’t literally become a Tabernacle, except in a very restricted and inferior sense.

That’s why, for example, we wouldn’t bow to other people who were coming back down the aisle in our direction after having received Him (at least I hope you wouldn’t, it would be very wrong). So bow to the chalice. Please.
 
Spiller said:
That makes absolutely no sense at all. For someone to genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament reposed in a tabernacle is perfectly fine of course.

To do so while Jesus Christ is sacramentally reposed inside of themselves as He is in the tabernacle seem quite wrong. It’s not simply you genuflecting…
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Sooo…by your logic, if I run into you coming out of Mass after having received the Sacrament, and I have not received, I should do an obeisance to your tummy, since you are now the Tabernacle?
 
Spiller said:
To do so while Jesus Christ is sacramentally reposed inside of themselves as He is in the tabernacle seem quite wrong. It’s not simply you genuflecting…
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It is still recognizing and honoring Jesus as He is the Precious Blood.
 
Ghoti said:
Sooo…by your logic, if I run into you coming out of Mass after having received the Sacrament, and I have not received, I should do an obeisance to your tummy, since you are now the Tabernacle?
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Using your logic if I am carrying a ciborium full of consecrated hosts I should still genuflect when I pass a tabernacle?
 
Spiller said:
Using your logic if I am carrying a ciborium full of consecrated hosts I should still genuflect when I pass a tabernacle?
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I’m not an EMHC; I don’t know, should(n’t) you?

YOU are the one who made the statement that you shouldn’t reverence the Tabernacle or the Precious Blood because YOU are now the Tabernacle.

Personally, I’d like to see a Church document on this; pardon me if I don’t defer to the pronouncement of the posters here, since without some official backup, this seems to be all opinion.

I genuflect to the tabernacle when I leave the pew to go after Mass; I’d rather be wrong in terms of too much respect rather than not enough – at least until informed otherwise by competent authority.

I didn’t even know it was an issue till I came to this thread.
 
Spiller said:
Using your logic if I am carrying a ciborium full of consecrated hosts I should still genuflect when I pass a tabernacle?
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Well, you probably couldn’t do so without spilling em, so no.

But if you pass someone with a full ciborium of consecrated Hosts AND a tabernacle with consecrated Hosts inside then absolutely genuflect to both.
 
Ghoti said:
I’m not an EMHC; I don’t know, should(n’t) you?

YOU are the one who made the statement that you shouldn’t reverence the Tabernacle or the Precious Blood because YOU are now the Tabernacle.

Personally, I’d like to see a Church document on this; pardon me if I don’t defer to the pronouncement of the posters here, since without some official backup, this seems to be all opinion.

I genuflect to the tabernacle when I leave the pew to go after Mass; I’d rather be wrong in terms of too much respect rather than not enough – at least until informed otherwise by competent authority.

I didn’t even know it was an issue till I came to this thread.
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NOPE!
 
LilyM said:
If there are still consecrated Hosts inside it, absolutely.
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NO!!

If I am carrying a ciborium full of consecrated hosts I bow/genuflect/kneel to NO ONE – as God does not bow/genuflect/kneel to anyone!! ARGH!!
 
LilyM said:
Well, you probably couldn’t do so without spilling em, so no.

But if you pass someone with a full ciborium of consecrated Hosts AND a tabernacle with consecrated Hosts inside then absolutely genuflect to both.
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One would NEVER bow while holding a ciborium containing the Blessed Sacrament.
 
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