Small particles of the host - why no concern?

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I might be a little late here so apologies if this has been already discussed.

My brother is an altar server at a traditional mass. Hosts do get dropped from the tongue occasionally and they take the appropraite steps. He does claim that the elderly in particular often have it fall.

I attend the NO and have never witnessed a dropped host.
So by OPs reasoning receiving on the hand has a less likelehood of having to save a consecrated host.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
I would note, though, that this was never a problem when the host was received only on the tongue, and when patens were used. I have served more Masses than I can remember, both OF and EF, and I can tell you that particles do sometimes fall onto the paten. They are visible; they are basically little crumbs.
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Is it not possible that even with COTT that particles could fall off during reception and not be noticed or caught by the patent or get stuck to the priest’s or EMHC’s fingers and fall to the floor? COTT and a paten is not fool-proof and trying to be perfect in protecting every particle is not only impossible but ridiculous. God asks we be reverent but not so much that we become overly worried to the point of insanity. We are imperfect, our world is imperfect, we do what is reasonable and leave the rest to God. He can take care of Himself. No need to worry there.

Just one (scrupulous) man’s opinion.
 
Well, the Scriptures and Missal from the USCCB needs to be corrected then, for all say, Jesus said “take and eat.”

It’s what I grew up with.

As far as the Apostles not receiving in the hand, well the history of the Church, the when and why for receiving on the tongue became the norm before Vatican II, must’ve been for nothing.

Jim
 
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I recommend you listen to your Bishop, he’s the authority in your dioceses.

Jim
 
HomeschoolDad said:
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Emeraldlady:
Did the Vaticans response not put your worries to rest?
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In answer to Emeraldlady, no. If you will read carefully what the Vatican official said, he did not say “the particles in the picture, despite anything you have been told, don’t really have the appearance of bread”. Rather, he said, among other things, “both the priest offering communion and the recipient are responsible only for the particles which are visible without the use of optical instruments”. No quarrel there. But the particles in the picture do not meet those criteria. They are clearly crumbs of bread. It’s entirely visible.
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Following along the process that the gentlemen described, it’s entirely likely and probable that the particles he is referring to are particles that had attached to a host in the ciborium prior to consecration and then simple fell away into the recipients hand. They would not have been subject to consecration since they were incidental particles that didn’t constitute the body of the host. Hosts are specifically made to be sealed and solid until they go into the mouth.

The optional use of the paten among other things is an antidote to things like the extreme anxiety that some people are experiencing that detracts from the whole meaning of the Eucharist.
 
I grew up going to Catholic School before Vatican II and all we had was the TLM

The nuns taught us Jesus words of Consecration and it has always been, "take and eat, " not “receive.”

As a former EMHC, when I’ve given communion to those who wish to receive on the tongue, it’s awkward trying not to touch their tongue, especially where they’re not kneeling, but standing often at the same height or taller than myself.

The Church allows us to receive in the hand, which to me is the more natural way of following Jesus words, “take and eat.”

Jim
 
Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Greek

Also, Mass was said in the homes and hiding places of the first century Church. They ate with their hands and certainly received the Eucharist in their hands.

Jim
 
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Ask A Franciscan: Receiving the Host in the Hand

The oldest reference to the Eucharist in the New Testament occurs in chapters 11 and 12 of the First Letter to the Corinthians, which has no reference to receiving Holy Communion on the tongue.

The Eastern Churches have long followed the custom of intinction, using a spoon to dip the consecrated bread into the Precious Blood and then dropping them onto the communicant’s tongue.

In the fourth century, St. Cyril of Jerusalem instructed those preparing for Baptism that, when they received Holy Communion, they should place one hand on top of the other (palms up) in order to make a throne to “receive the King.”

In time, some Christians felt that receiving Holy Communion on the tongue showed greater reverence. By 900 A.D., that practice had become universal in the West. Around the same time, only the ministers at the altar received from the chalice. That, too, was gradually restored as an option in most countries after 1965.

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/ask-a-franciscan-receiving-the-host-in-the-hand/
 
A Deacon is an ordinary minister of the Eucharist, his hands are not consecrated.
 
So, let me see if I understand correctly.
You are presumming that the people who disagree with you on this thread do not believe in the Real Presence?
Or did you mean something else with this comment?
 
CilladeRoma said:
So, let me see if I understand correctly.
You are presumming that the people who disagree with you on this thread do not believe in the Real Presence?
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I am presuming nothing.
It seems readily apparent to me that we are seeing the fruits of this unbelief.

Consider the following:
So, God lacks the power to remove Christ body from the accidently dropped particle ?
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It is obvious that this is a reference to consubstantiation. Not the Real Presence as is known in the Catholic Church.
 
JMMJ said:
Dont you believe God can and will take care of this concern?
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What exactly do you expect God to do?
We are there. We should act.

I believe God wants us to take every precaution to prevent the situation and that, should the worst happen, we do everything possible to insure not a single drop or crumb is left to be trampled upon.
 
JoeFreedom said:
Yay! Again this! This is common sense. This is being respectful honor Lord without being overly legalistic.
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Where I attend, the servers are prepared for the eventuality.
I have watched. The previous Body is dropped. The server retrieved it and placed it on the pateen. The server the dropped a cloth where the piece had landed to prevent anyone stepping directly there, and then everyone moved slightly forward to cut off traffic there.
Then they cleaned the area thoroughly.

This does not seem at all overly legalistic or scrupulous. But it does seem a sensible act considering who is involved.
 
I used to attend Mass at a Paulist chapel where the priest broke apart unleavened bread and distributed it. I always enjoyed this, as the bread was fresh and seemingly like something that Christ may have had available. But looking back, I can imagine that many crumbs were disposed of carelessly throughout the breaking and distribution of it. Surely not everyone today throughout the world is given manufactured hosts, right?
 
vz71 said:
What exactly do you expect God to do?
We are there. We should act.

I believe God wants us to take every precaution to prevent the situation and that, should the worst happen, we do everything possible to insure not a single drop or crumb is left to be trampled upon.
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When the priest breaks the host, I promise you microscopic particles fly all over the place. You can’t see it, but it happens. This isn’t a problem for God. We shouldn’t make it a problem, since it isn’t one.
 
JMMJ said:
When the priest breaks the host, I promise you microscopic particles fly all over the place. You can’t see it, but it happens. This isn’t a problem for God. We shouldn’t make it a problem, since it isn’t one.
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It is very obvious through this thread that what I have been discussing are visible crumbs.

This is at best a straw man.
 
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I don’t think it is obvious at all. We have several posters who are concerned about particles that can’t be seen.
 
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