Odd question

[DrFloyd]

I teach sociology in high school, and the topic we are currently covering is on religion. The other day one of my students asked me this question:

“What happens if the [consecrated] Eucharist gets all moldy in the [tabernacle] box, and the wine goes bad? How is it disposed of? Does someone still consume it in that state?”

I told him I would post the question here to find out the answer. If anyone has one, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[MarkThompson]

I teach sociology in high school, and the topic we are currently covering is on religion. The other day one of my students asked me this question:

“What happens if the [consecrated] Eucharist gets all moldy in the [tabernacle] box, and the wine goes bad? How is it disposed of? Does someone still consume it in that state?”

I told him I would post the question here to find out the answer. If anyone has one, please let me know. Thank you.

Consecrated wine (i.e., the Precious Blood) is not kept after Mass for this very reason; it must all be consumed at the Mass. If the Eucharistic bread were to become inedible, it would be dissolved in water and then poured into the earth.

 

[zab]

I teach sociology in high school, and the topic we are currently covering is on religion. The other day one of my students asked me this question:

“What happens if the [consecrated] Eucharist gets all moldy in the [tabernacle] box, and the wine goes bad? How is it disposed of? Does someone still consume it in that state?”

I told him I would post the question here to find out the answer. If anyone has one, please let me know. Thank you.

The Hosts in the tabernacle should never be in the tabernacle long enough to get moldy. They get distributed at the next Mass. However, if such an unfortunate situation should ever occur, the old Hosts can be diluted in water and then the water is poured into the sacrarium, a sink that has a line directly into the ground not into the sewer system. If the Church does not have a sacrarium, the diluted Host in water can be poured directly into the ground. Common sense should be used to pour it in a place not likely to be trampled upon. Any of the Precious Blood that remains after Communion is consumed by the priest and if assistance is needed the Extaordinary Ministers of the Eucharist may help to consume what is remaining. Opened bottles of wine do not last long, because Mass is celebrated every day. But in the event that there was ever a situation with the Precious Blood that it could not be consumed, the same proceedure should follow, that is to dilute it with at least an equal or more amound of water and pour down the sacrarium.

 

[Khrystyne]

The hosts and the wine would not go “bad” because they are Christ’s flesh and blood after the consecration.

 

[Elizium23]

The hosts and the wine would not go “bad” because they are Christ’s flesh and blood after the consecration.

It is a fallacy to say that the bread and wine have transmuted completely into true flesh and blood. That’s alchemy, not the Eucharist.

When bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ, the substance is changed by consecration, and the accidents or “appearance” of bread and wine remain. This is why the taste and smell of the stuff is not ordinarily changed (Eucharistic miracles do happen.) This is why the Blessed Sacrament is liable to become stale or moldy if it is left for too long.

 

[srlucado]

(Elizium, I think Khrystyne was making a good theological point, not a chemical one. Consecrated bread and wine can’t go bad because they are truly no longer bread and wine; the body and blood cannot “go bad”–only, as you pointed out, their “accidents” can.)

 

[JerrySeibert]

Mark and Zab answered the question correctly. One key point to remember. The Precious Blood is Consecrated at each and every Mass. So if the wine were to go bad it could be disposed of in any way. The ‘wine’ is just wine until the moment of Consecration.
And all “Precious Blood” is consumed at the end of each Mass, typically the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion consume any extra Blood after all Communicants have been served.