Spilled Eucharist, what happens?

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Carmelite1983

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I’ve always wondered what would happen if the consecrated host was ever spilled or dropped.
Would the Blood just be mopped up and thrown out? Would the Body still have to be eaten?

It would be awful if they would have to be just disposed of, but I’ve seen some pretty elderly and shaky Priests up at the altar… just curious.
 
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If it fell on the floor, and someone caught it right away, they should pick it up and consume it. If it were the case that someone one day discovered a host on the floor in a hidden location, and they didn’t know how long it’s been there, they should take it, out it in a cup of water, put it in the tabernacle, wait for the host to dissolve in the water, and then dispose of the water in the sacrarium.
 
Where does the doctrine of putting the eucharist in water come from?🤔

Sad question but what happens if the Chalice spills and it falls on the carpet leaving a stain? For anyone who knows.
 
Guest1 said:
Where does the doctrine of putting the eucharist in water come from?🤔
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The Eucharist remains the Eucharist so long as the host looks like bread and the blood looks like wine. When the host is dissolved in water, it is no longer the Eucharist since it no longer appears to be bread.
 
Guest1 said:
Sad question but what happens if the Chalice spills and it falls on the carpet leaving a stain? For anyone who knows.
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Once the area has been cleaned as described above, you have stained carpet. Nothing more.
 
I don’t know where it comes from.

The carpet should be ripped out and replaced.
 
semper_catholicus said:
The carpet should be ripped out and replaced.
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This isn’t necessary. Once the Precious Blood can no longer be consumed, the place needs to be reverently cleaned and that water properly disposed, but the Real Presence is gone from the carpet.
 
You really think so? Then why did it used to be the practice for an altar server to hold a paten under each person’s chin, if there was little danger of the Host falling?
 
You actually confirmed what (name removed by moderator) said. The Communion Plate is held under the chin to prevent the Eucharist falling on the ground. If in my frailty Jesus slips out of my hands, I will like Him to fall on a golden (or gold plated) vessel.
 
If the Blood of Christ is spilled on the floor or carpet it would first be dried with a purificator, then with water and dried with a clean cloth. If people are going to be walking in that area then a clean dry cloth would be placed on top until the floor or carpet is completely dried.

If the Blood of Christ is spilled on the altar cloth it would be first be soaked in water until the next day usually. If there are still marks on the cloth I have used salt to take the stain away. The water would be poured into the sacrarium or into the flower beds outdoors. The cloth would be soaked again and the water poured as before. Then the altar cloth would be washed as normal. The same goes for the cloths used for cleaning the floor/carpet and also the purifiers.

Others have already given good answers for what to do if the Body of Christ falls on the floor.

If I notice that there are stains from wine on the altar cloth and if the parish priest doesn’t know if it is consecrated into the Blood of Christ or not then I treat it as if it is the Blood of Christ. This has happened after we had a visiting priest celebrate Mass. A little written note left in the sacristy would help.
 

The Church mandates that the place be washed with water, diluting the precious blood so that it no longer has the appearance of wine and so that Christ ceases to be present, and then the water is to be poured into the sacrarium. It is not permitted simply to leave a spill alone until it dries. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states: “If any of the precious blood spills, the area should be washed and the water poured into the sacrarium” (239).

It is not permissible to pour the precious blood itself into the sacrarium; only the water that was used to wash and dissolve the species under which the precious blood was present may be poured into it. The U.S. bishops’ document This Holy and Living Sacrifice forcefully states, “It is strictly prohibited to pour the precious blood into the ground or into the sacrarium” (38).
 
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