Silly Question

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Chris_LaRock

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Why do Catholics use waffers in communion, rather than bread?
 
The waffers(sic) are a kind of bread, that’s called unleavened bread.

Its a long term tradition to use unleavened bread, and the tradition is practical as unleavened bread, the wafers, hold out better when being reserved in the tabernacle as opposed to ordinary bread.
 
The Churches I’ve been to often times have freshly baked homemade bread at communion. The waffers just seemed strange somehow.
 
Chris LaRock:
The Churches I’ve been to often times have freshly baked homemade bread at communion. The waffers just seemed strange somehow.
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Since the Eucharist is associated with Passover, unleavened bread is used. Hence, wafers. The form is also associated with the manna in the wilderness. I am certain that no small amount of thinking and experimentation has gone into producing a formula that does not easily crumb because Catholics believe that Christ is fully present in the smallest detectable morsel of the consecrated elements. Crumbs are, therefore, problematic.
 
Chris LaRock:
I wasn’t aware of that. Thanks.
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Time to go to bed, Chris! You have to get up for church in the morning! 😉 Come to think of it: :yawn: :sleep: So do I. Don’t forget to say your prayers. 👋 Night, now.
 
Chris LaRock:
Why do Catholics use waffers in communion, rather than bread?
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Chris,

FYI, all of the Eastern and most of the Oriental Catholic Churches, as well as all of the Eastern and most of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, use leavened bread for the Mystery of the Eucharist.

Joe
 
I went to a church that used bread and I didn’t know what to do with it. I never chew the Eucharist (chew Jesus?). Since the wafer is easier to let dissolve or swallow whole, I prefer that. Absolutely no doctrinal reason in this response I know, but that was just my experience.
 
Catholics aren’t the only ones that use wafers - I grew up in small Protestant Churches that in some case literally had just cut regular white bread into small pieces for communion…

Then we went to a big church when I was in middle and highschool and the first time they served Communion with the wafers I had to try my hardest not to laugh because they looked like “tiddly winks” (you know the toy?)

anyway that wasn’t as bad a reaction since as Protestants it was just a symbol (just wanted to make sure everyone is clear that in a Catholic Church with the true presence of Christ I would NOT have been laughing).

Unfortunately that wasn’t our only amusing experience with the wafers - my mom got one stuck to the roof of her mouth once and had to sit there trying to pry it off for quite a while without looking obvious…

Makes me feel really guilty now - but like I said - at the time to us Communion was just a symbol, and while we tried our hardest to always be respectful during it - sometimes amusing things do happen…
 
You can place a peice of bread on your tongue and it will dissolve with no chewing.
 
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