When it comes to hygiene, the kids worry me much more. Some of them don’t seem to know what a little sip is! I can well imagine what other childhood incompetencies come into play…but, so far, no evidence of “back wash”, either.
When I wonder, I look. If it ever looked even a little bad, I guess I’d take the cup to the altar, finish the remainder myself, and that would be that. At least, that’s what I’d want the deacon or EMHC to do for me, if I were the next in line. I have never thought about what I would do that if I ever saw a mustache come up dripping, though.
The truth is, I look to make sure things are OK, but I’ve never given much thought to what I’d do if the contents of the cup looked bad, until now. I guess I’ll have to ask our deacon about this one. I’m guessing I’d have permission to consume the remainder myself, but I’m sure it would not be expected. I think he’d just expect that I take the cup out of circulation, and let him take care of what to do with the remainder, if needed. He’s not the kind that would expect somebody to consume a child’s backwash.
QUESTION: If I am not mistaken, if there was ever anything that was really awful, then the Precious Blood, having lost the appearance of wine, would no longer retain identity as the Precious Blood, so it could be diluted by the deacon or priest, and could then be disposed of during ritual purification at a sacrarium, just as if it had been cleaned up with a purificator after an accidental spill on the floor.
Is this correct?
It didn’t even occur to me! I guess that most men with a mustache either know how to take a small sip from a communal cup without getting their whiskers wet or else don’t share drinks with anyone else. These are full-grown men, not apes. Besides, from an epidemiological standpoint, are whiskers worse than lips? Has anyone ever heard of whiskered men posing some particular community health hazard? As far as I am aware, “clean” shaving is a figure of speech, not a medical term.
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