J
John_Hiner
Guest
. . . continued.
The third sentence of the quotation above does not seem to contradict this reading. It condemns the addition of substances “such as fruit or sugar or honey.” These substances would change bread from “wheat bread” in the common estimate to something else, fruit bread, sweet bread, or honey wheat bread. The addition of a small amount of salt, however, would not change the “common estimate” of the bread as “wheat bread.” In fact, salt is almost as common and understood an addition to wheat flour as water, if one is making bread. Here, for example, is a recipe for kosher matzo:
2 cups matzo meal or matzo cake meal
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
(angelfire.com/pa2/passover/recipes-pesach/matzo-recipe-fat-free.html))
All of this leads me to conclude that a fair reading of the quoted paragraph from Redemptionis Sacramentum does not disallow the use of salt, in addition to wheat flour, and water in making bread for the Eucharistic host.
All of that said, there is one thing that gives me caution about the addition of salt. In the same article from which the quotation from Dominus Salvatr Noster was taken, the following quotation is alleged to be taken from a letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:
It may be helpful to note that recipes sent to the Sacred Congregation over the past several years vary greatly in the matter of “additions”; where there is question of slight additions (e.g., salt, condiments) the matter will be valid but illicit; where there is substitution of all or a large quantity of water by other liquids (e.g., milk, honey, etc.) the matter will be invalid. (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to the NCCB President, June 4, 1979, in Canon Law Digest, vol. 9, 578-80, quoted at cuf.org/faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=45.)
This confirms that salt would not invalidate the matter, but suggests that it would be contrary to the applicable laws in place at the time of the writing. I note that this comment is from a letter written before either the revision of the Canon Law in 1983 or the current edition of the GIRM from 2000. However, the provision regarding the bread used in communion in the 1917 Code of Canon Law seems to be identical to the current provision.
This would suggest that the addition of salt is theologically valid, but that the current discipline of the Church may rule against is use. I cannot judge this, because I have not been able to review the entire texts of either Dominus Salvator Noster or the 1979 letter to the NCCP President to determine whether some other rule or consideration is determinative in the matter.
The comment in the 1979 letter seems to be the strongest indication that there is a restriction on the addition of a small amount of salt to the bread recipe – however, this conclusion is not fairly based solely on the texts of Redemptionis Sacramentum, the present or former Canon Law, or the current GIRM.
It would be interesting to read the 1979 letter and to learn if there are any other documents that might be helpful in this matter.
Tangentially, I have been told that previously the confection of holy water required the addition of a small amount of salt, presumably in recognition of the text of Leviticus, but that the present provision for holy water makes the addition of salt optional. I have not yet been able to verify this. If it is true, it seems to parallel the issues relating to salt used to make Eucharistic hosts. Though one must admit that the host is an infinitely more serious matter than holy water, and therefore more uniformity might be required and the “option” of salt restricted.
To conclude, one might say that to be “safe” one should not include salt in making hosts for Mass; however, when one is asked, “why does the Eucharist taste so bland,” one should remember the texts of Leviticus and of the Gospel of St. Matthew and say something to the effect of, “because you yourself must be the salt which makes the sacrifice pleasing to the Lord.” Further, if the rule ever changes and salt is allowed or required in the host, one should not be surprised or dismayed.
Pax Christi nobiscum.
John Hiner
The third sentence of the quotation above does not seem to contradict this reading. It condemns the addition of substances “such as fruit or sugar or honey.” These substances would change bread from “wheat bread” in the common estimate to something else, fruit bread, sweet bread, or honey wheat bread. The addition of a small amount of salt, however, would not change the “common estimate” of the bread as “wheat bread.” In fact, salt is almost as common and understood an addition to wheat flour as water, if one is making bread. Here, for example, is a recipe for kosher matzo:
2 cups matzo meal or matzo cake meal
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
(angelfire.com/pa2/passover/recipes-pesach/matzo-recipe-fat-free.html))
All of this leads me to conclude that a fair reading of the quoted paragraph from Redemptionis Sacramentum does not disallow the use of salt, in addition to wheat flour, and water in making bread for the Eucharistic host.
All of that said, there is one thing that gives me caution about the addition of salt. In the same article from which the quotation from Dominus Salvatr Noster was taken, the following quotation is alleged to be taken from a letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:
It may be helpful to note that recipes sent to the Sacred Congregation over the past several years vary greatly in the matter of “additions”; where there is question of slight additions (e.g., salt, condiments) the matter will be valid but illicit; where there is substitution of all or a large quantity of water by other liquids (e.g., milk, honey, etc.) the matter will be invalid. (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to the NCCB President, June 4, 1979, in Canon Law Digest, vol. 9, 578-80, quoted at cuf.org/faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=45.)
This confirms that salt would not invalidate the matter, but suggests that it would be contrary to the applicable laws in place at the time of the writing. I note that this comment is from a letter written before either the revision of the Canon Law in 1983 or the current edition of the GIRM from 2000. However, the provision regarding the bread used in communion in the 1917 Code of Canon Law seems to be identical to the current provision.
This would suggest that the addition of salt is theologically valid, but that the current discipline of the Church may rule against is use. I cannot judge this, because I have not been able to review the entire texts of either Dominus Salvator Noster or the 1979 letter to the NCCP President to determine whether some other rule or consideration is determinative in the matter.
The comment in the 1979 letter seems to be the strongest indication that there is a restriction on the addition of a small amount of salt to the bread recipe – however, this conclusion is not fairly based solely on the texts of Redemptionis Sacramentum, the present or former Canon Law, or the current GIRM.
It would be interesting to read the 1979 letter and to learn if there are any other documents that might be helpful in this matter.
Tangentially, I have been told that previously the confection of holy water required the addition of a small amount of salt, presumably in recognition of the text of Leviticus, but that the present provision for holy water makes the addition of salt optional. I have not yet been able to verify this. If it is true, it seems to parallel the issues relating to salt used to make Eucharistic hosts. Though one must admit that the host is an infinitely more serious matter than holy water, and therefore more uniformity might be required and the “option” of salt restricted.
To conclude, one might say that to be “safe” one should not include salt in making hosts for Mass; however, when one is asked, “why does the Eucharist taste so bland,” one should remember the texts of Leviticus and of the Gospel of St. Matthew and say something to the effect of, “because you yourself must be the salt which makes the sacrifice pleasing to the Lord.” Further, if the rule ever changes and salt is allowed or required in the host, one should not be surprised or dismayed.
Pax Christi nobiscum.
John Hiner
My sister-in-law is a discalced Carmelite whose community makes communion bread.