Question about the Eucharist

[Binary]

After the bread is broken and the gifts are consecrated, priests will elevate the chalice, holding a host over it. Most of the time (in my experience), the host is a circle that has been broken in half. On a few rare occassions, I’ve seen the priest hold up an unbroken host. At the chapel I’ve started attending recently, the priests will use a host broken in half, and they also appear to break off the top “corner” of it. Here are my questions:

I’m guessing that the broken host, whether just in half or also missing that top corner, is meant to call to mind Christ’s broken body, sacrificed for us. Is that right?

Also, is it a mistake for the priest to use an unbroken host?

I looked in the GIRM, but couldn’t find answers there.

 

[puzzleannie]

unclear if you are speaking of the elevation immediately after the Consecration, or the minor elevation after the fraction of the host (just before distribution of communion).
the host is broken to symbolize the crucifixion and a small piece broken off and placed in the chalice, so at the minor elevation the priest holds up the broken host, or a piece of it for the “Behold the Lamb of God . . .”

 

[japhy]

At the chapel I’ve started attending recently, the priests will use a host broken in half, and they also appear to break off the top “corner” of it.

The Host is broken during the Fraction Rite. It is broken for a number of reasons. Jesus broke the Eucharistic bread at the Last Supper, and so the Eucharistic bread in all Catholic liturgies (not just the Roman Rite) is somehow broken or “fractioned” before Communion. (The fractioning of the Eucharistic bread in the Byzantine Rite is very complex compared to how it is done in the Roman Rite.) The ancient liturgical practice was that a single piece of bread was consecrated, and thus it would need to be divided in order to distribute it to the faithful. (This is less evident in the Roman Rite, where there tends to be many hosts consecrated, not just one.) But as is the case with virtually every facet of the liturgy, a functional act like the Fraction soon acquired a wealth of symbolic meanings.

The earliest meaning had to do with the unity of the faithful in the one mystical Body of Christ, as St. Paul taught the Corinthians: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Cor. 10:17; cf. GIRM 83) Around the end of the fourth century, Theodore of Mopsuestia (modern Turkey) interpreted the fraction as pertaining to the multiple appearances of the Lord after His Resurrection. (Jungmann, The Mass, p. 207) Eventually, the breaking of the Host came to represent the violence of Christ’s Passion and death, the “bruising” of the Suffering Servant, the chastisement that makes us whole. (cf. Isa. 53:5; Summa Theologiae III, 83, 5) St. John Chrysostom explained that “what He suffered not on the cross, this He suffers in the oblation for your sake, and submits to be broken, that He may fill all men.” (Homily on First Corinthians XXIV)

The gesture also has to do with the Eucharist as spiritual food, for it is by the “breaking of the bread” that it is prepared for distribution to the faithful. And finally, it is related to the Eucharist as the sacrament of peace, because the phrase “to break bread” implies that there is a peace between people.

The small portion which is “missing” from the Host you see the priest holding has been dropp into the Chalice and mixed with the consecrated wine in the “commingling” rite which happens immediately after the Fraction. That too is rich with symbolism (which I could go into if you’d like).

After the bread is broken and the gifts are consecrated, priests will elevate the chalice, holding a host over it. …] On a few rare occassions, I’ve seen the priest hold up an unbroken host. …] is it a mistake for the priest to use an unbroken host?

I think the GIRM implies that the Host which the priest holds up when he says Ecce Agnus Dei… (“This is the Lamb of God…”) is the same Host which he just broke during the Fraction Rite:
155. The priest then takes the host and breaks it over the paten. …]

1. Postea sacerdos accipit hostiam, eamque super patenam frangit …]
2. When the prayer is concluded, the priest genuflects, takes the host consecrated in the same Mass, and, holding it slightly raised above the paten or above the chalice, while facing the people, says, Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God). …]
3. Oratione conclusa, sacerdos genuflectit, accipit hostiam, eamque aliquantulum elevatam super patenam vel super calicem tenens, versus ad populum, dicit: Ecce Agnus Dei …]
   Now, the Latin does not say “a host” or “the host” – Latin has no articles, so it simply says “host” (hostiam). But I got the strong sense that the priest is to take the Host he has just broken and replaced onto the paten, and hold that Host up.

In the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (the “Traditional Latin Mass”), the priest holds the principal Host, the one he has just broken. I cannot think of a good reason that would necessitate holding up an unbroken Host.

 

[Binary]

Thank you for such a scholarly answer, japhy. I really appreciate your taking the time to explain. I’ll take you up on your offer of explaining the commingling rite, if you don’t mind.

 

[Lutgardis]

The answer to your question is found in the General Instructions for the Roman Missal,83

The Fraction

1. The priest breaks the Eucharistic Bread, assisted, if the case calls for it, by the deacon or a concelebrant. Christ’s gesture of breaking bread at the Last Supper, which gave the entire Eucharistic Action its name in apostolic times, signifies that the many faithful are made one body (1 Cor 10:17) by receiving Communion from the one Bread of Life which is Christ, who died and rose for the salvation of the world. The fraction or breaking of bread is begun after the sign of peace and is carried out with proper reverence, though it should not be unnecessarily prolonged, nor should it be accorded undue importance. This rite is reserved to the priest and the deacon.

The priest breaks the Bread and puts a piece of the host into the chalice to signify the unity of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation, namely, of the living and glorious Body of Jesus Christ. The supplication Agnus Dei, is, as a rule, sung by the choir or cantor with the congregation responding; or it is, at least, recited aloud. This invocation accompanies the fraction and, for this reason, may be repeated as many times as necessary until the rite has reached its conclusion, the last time ending with the words dona nobis pacem (grant us peace).

---

Historically, the background regarding the breaking off a small portion of the Host and placing it in the chalice is, as I understand it, as follows: In the early Church, there was only one celebration of the Eucharist in each city. The whole Church community gathered together in this place. But as Christianity grew it was no longer feasible for all to be together in one place. In order to maintain a connection between the churches and the bishop’s liturgy, a presider was appointed to take a small portion of the host, which was consecrated by the bishop, to the many places where the Eucharistic celebration was taking place. This rite today is called “commingling” and symbolizes the unity of the Church.

 

[japhy]

Closely related to the Fraction Rite is the mingling of the Body with the Blood in the chalice. (GIRM 83) The priest quietly says these words:

Hæc commíxtio Córporis et Sánguinis Dómini nostri Iesu Christi
fiat accipiéntibus nobis in vitam ætérnam.
May this mingling of the Body and Blood [John 6:55; 1 Cor. 10:16]
of our Lord Jesus Christ
bring eternal life to us who receive it. [John 6:27,54; Rom. 6:22; 1 John 5:11]

By these words, the priest prays that the Eucharist might be effective in our lives as the “medicine of immortality,” as it was called by St. Ignatius of Antioch in the early second century. (Catechism 1331, 1405) A simple but profound action accompanies this prayer: the priest takes a small piece of the Host and places it in the chalice, thus mingling the two species of bread and wine.

Although the faithful in the congregation are singing while all this is taking place, everyone should be aware of what is happening and of its great significance. The priest is praying not only for himself but for all who partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord. He is, in effect, praying that we have properly prepared ourselves for Holy Communion; he will pray specifically for himself in a moment.

This mingling has accrued several interpretations over the centuries, seven of which we will consider, each derived from the physical action of uniting the two species of the Eucharist (bread and wine) in the chalice.

The Unity of the Sacrament
The earliest documents that explain the meaning of this union describe it as a declaration that these two species constitute a single whole, that it is one sacrament (Jungmann, The Mass, p. 208), signifying “the unity of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation.” (GIRM 83) This point of doctrine has been made by many commentators on the liturgy. Theodore of Mopsuestia explains three times in his liturgical commentary that “although these elements are two, they are nevertheless one in power.” St. Thomas Aquinas addresses the question of “whether the Eucharist is one sacrament or several” in his Summa Theologica, and states that because the Eucharist is the sacrament of the Church’s unity and a sacrament “bears the likeness of the reality of which it is the sacrament,” thus the Eucharist is one sacrament, as the Church is one. He concludes that although “the bread and wine are materially several signs,” the sacrament Itself is “formally and perfectively one.” (Summa Theologiae III, 73, 2) To put it plainly, the Eucharist is not two sacraments, but one sacrament made present under two forms.

This interpretation does not challenge the doctrine of concomitance (which states that the whole Christ is received under the form of bread or under the form of wine). Instead, it confirms this doctrine by physically displaying the inherent unity of the two forms.

A Symbol of the Resurrection
It was only a short theological step from that first meaning to this second one. If the consecrated bread is a sign of the Body of the Lord, and the consecrated wine is a sign of His Blood, and the separate consecration of both was a sign of His death… what event is represented by their union? His Resurrection, of course! This makes the mingling the continuation of the liturgical re-presentation of the Paschal mystery. Having witnessed His Passion and death in the Offertory and Consecration, we now behold His Resurrection. This union is hidden from our view by the chalice, for no one witnessed the very moment of that glorious and ineffable mystery of the Resurrection.

What this means is that the Body that we receive in the Eucharist is the “living and glorious” – that is, resurrected and glorified – “Body of Jesus Christ.” (GIRM 83) His Body is not injured or torn apart when we receive Him in Communion, because glorified bodies enjoy impassibility – from the Latin im- (“not”) and passio (“suffer”), meaning “unable to suffer.” (Summa Theologiae III, 81, 3)

Participation in Christ’s Suffering
Although Christ no longer suffers, He certainly did endure great pains in His Passion. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked the Father, “if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me.” (Matt. 26:39; cf. 26:42) The cup is a common Old Testament image symbolizing the wrath of God which is being poured out or drunk. (cf. Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17; Jer. 25:15)

Whatever other symbolism the cup in Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane has, it also represents the great sorrow and suffering that Jesus would bear. To that end, the chalice used at Mass (which contains the Precious Blood that was poured out in the Passion) can be seen as Christ’s “cup of sufferings.” (Douay Catechism, p. 133) Because the mingling (a sign of the Resurrection) takes place in the chalice (a sign of the Passion), the Douay Catechism gives the interpretation that we cannot share in the fruits of the Resurrection unless we are willing to share in His suffering as well, as St. Paul wrote to the Romans. (cf. Rom. 8:17)

(continued…)

 

[japhy]

(continued from previous post)

The Unity of the Church
The fourth interpretation is based upon two ancient (but discontinued) Roman customs, called the sancta and the fermentum, named for the two fragments of the Eucharistic bread used in these rites which attested to the unity of the Church across time and space. (Ordo Romanus Primus, pp. 106-109)

In the sancta (meaning “holy”), the Pope would place in the chalice a portion of consecrated bread, reserved from a previous Mass he had celebrated. This signified that the Eucharist was one sacrifice throughout all time, uniting the communicants at this Mass with those from the previous Mass down through the weeks, months, and years.

In the fermentum (meaning “leavening”), the Pope sent a portion of the consecrated bread to priests throughout the city for them to put into the chalice at their next Mass. Pope St. Innocent I describes this practice in the same letter to Decentius mentioned above. The fermentum signified that the Eucharist is one sacrifice through all space, and that those priests were celebrating the Eucharist in union with the Pope. Union with the local bishop is an important part of the celebration of the Eucharist, as expressed by St. Ignatius of Antioch in two of his letters from the second century: “Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is administered either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it.” (Epistle to the Smyrnaens 8) “There is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to show forth the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants.” (Epistle to the Philadelphians 4)

The Members of the Church
Varying interpretations were given to the traditional three pieces into which the Host was divided: Christ’s Body alive, buried, and resurrected; the piercing of His Body in His hands, feet, and side; the Persons of the Holy Trinity. But a prevailing interpretation was that they stood for the three divisions of the Church: triumphant in Heaven, militant on earth, and suffering in Purgatory. (Summa Theologiae III, 83, 5; The Glories of the Catholic Church, pp. 260-261)

A Guarantor of Peace
In the Extraordinary Form, the mingling comes before the Sign of Peace. Because the mingling represents the Resurrection, and peace was the first gift given by Jesus to His Apostles after He was raised from the dead, the two rites (the mingling and the Sign of Peace) were seen to be mystically connected. (The Glories of the Catholic Church, p. 262) The mingling is then the guarantor of that peace: Christ, being raised, assures us of His lasting peace.

Manifesting the Agnus Dei
Another mystical interpretation of the mingling sees that it corresponds to the three verses of the Agnus Dei. While it is permissible to repeat the first two verses as long as necessary until the Fraction Rite is finished (GIRM 83), its traditional form is two verses ending with “have mercy on us” and one verse ending with “grant us peace.”

As mentioned above, the two Eucharistic species (bread and wine) represent “the unity of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation” which gained us God’s mercy. (GIRM 83) They come together as one in the chalice, representing the Resurrection, which guarantees our peace. Thus the mingling mirrors our sung supplication to the Lamb of God that “appropriately concludes with the twofold cry for mercy and the single cry for peace.” (The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, p. 750)

 

[Binary]

Wow. Thanks again, Japhy. That’s some great information. I’ll keep this symbolism in mind when I go to mass later today.

 

[japhy]

Wow. Thanks again, Japhy. That’s some great information. I’ll keep this symbolism in mind when I go to mass later today.

You’re welcome, Binary. What I posted was from my second book on the Mass, on the priest’s prayers (and actions) at Mass. (See my signature for details.)

And let me say: there is a LOT of symbolism in the Mass, and it can be hard to keep track of it all at the same time. Don’t feel bad if you’re overwhelmed by the symbolism, and don’t feel bad if you can’t remember what everything is supposed to mean: there’s always the next Mass, and there’s always Heaven.