Stack of Hosts on a Table near the Door

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Saints_Alive

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I attended a funeral Mass this past week and as I was leaving after Mass was over, I noticed a stack of Hosts sitting on a piece of paper that read " 24 extra".

I asked a person who was there helping with things before and during Mass about them and she said they were not consecrated.

It just struck me as odd that they were sitting there. She offered no other info, so I didn’t ask. I just can’t figure a good reason for it. Bread goes stale quickly 🤷

Any ideas ?
 
They probably didn’t know how many people would be receiving since it was a funeral Mass that would have non Catholics in attendance as well. Maybe you missed it, but someone at the entrance would have asked people coming in if they were receiving Holy Communion and then placed an unconsecrated host into the vessel for each person who said yes.

They were “just sitting there” because no one had packaged them up yet.
 
Possible, but I was standing in the vestibule for quite a while before Mass and no one was asking anyone questions as they entered.

The priest informed everyone that only Catholics could receive Communion after the Homily though.
 
Saints_Alive said:
Possible, but I was standing in the vestibule for quite a while before Mass and no one was asking anyone questions as they entered.

The priest informed everyone that only Catholics could receive Communion after the Homily though.
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Oh, sorry for the assumption! Maybe the lady in charge then placed unconsecrated hosts in the vessel for the number of people (plus - hopefully - some extras) she estimated would be receiving.

When I sometimes attend Catholic Mass in a shared Church building (Anglican) nearby, this is how they decide how many hosts need to be consecrated.
 
grasscutter said:
Oh, sorry for the assumption! Maybe the lady in charge then placed unconsecrated hosts in the vessel for the number of people (plus - hopefully - some extras) she estimated would be receiving.

When I sometimes attend Catholic Mass in a shared Church building (Anglican) nearby, this is how they decide how many hosts need to be consecrated.
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No biggie. I did ask for possible reasons 🙂

Who knows ? Just seems odd they were not taken to the sacristy.
 
Or maybe some who was carrying them from/to the sacristy was afflicted, as I am, with CRS (Can’t Remember Stuff), saw something that needed to be picked up or stopped to exchange a few words with someone they knew, etc., put them down and that was the last they thought of it.

Unfortunately, this happens with amazing frequency.
 
Book_Worm said:
Or maybe some who was carrying them from/to the sacristy was afflicted, as I am, with CRS (Can’t Remember Stuff), saw something that needed to be picked up or stopped to exchange a few words with someone they knew, etc., put them down and that was the last they thought of it.

Unfortunately, this happens with amazing frequency.
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Oh, my gosh, I have that too!!!

I can be walking down the hall at church and stop 5 different times before I reach my appointed destination and actually take care of the original problem.
 
Hey, I have that CRS too! Otherwise known in my house as having the attention span of a gnat.

I start doing housework and pick up something that needs to go upstairs. Up I go and 50 minutes later I remember that I was actually doing something downstairs that needs to be finished but on my way down I see something else that needs doing…
 
Book_Worm said:
Or maybe some who was carrying them from/to the sacristy was afflicted, as I am, with CRS (Can’t Remember Stuff), saw something that needed to be picked up or stopped to exchange a few words with someone they knew, etc., put them down and that was the last they thought of it.

Unfortunately, this happens with amazing frequency.
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:rotfl::rotfl: I thought that I was only one this happened to!!! Sometimes I forget what I’m posting, in the middle of writing it! :D:D:D
 
grasscutter said:
They probably didn’t know how many people would be receiving since it was a funeral Mass that would have non Catholics in attendance as well. Maybe you missed it, but someone at the entrance would have asked people coming in if they were receiving Holy Communion and then placed an unconsecrated host into the vessel for each person who said yes.

They were “just sitting there” because no one had packaged them up yet.
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Non Catholics cannot receive Communion.
 
I have been to parishes where they have the host at the entrance and you are supposed to know you have to put one in if you are receiving. Sometimes there is a sign to tell and sometime there isn’t.🤷
 
:hey_bud::hey_bud:Many years ago (the 70s) there was a bowl of hosts and a ciborium on a table. Those who intended to communicate took a pair of tongs and moved a host from the bowl to the ciborium. Then the ciborium was brought forward in the offertory procession. That was phased out long ago.

Keep showing me age!
 
I hate to keep derailing this thread, but I’m totally going to be using CRS from now on! 😃
 
andrewstx said:
:hey_bud::hey_bud:Many years ago (the 70s) there was a bowl of hosts and a ciborium on a table. Those who intended to communicate took a pair of tongs and moved a host from the bowl to the ciborium. Then the ciborium was brought forward in the offertory procession. That was phased out long ago.

Keep showing me age!
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That’s practice was recently resurrected in my parish. The new Pastor doesn’t want to have more than 6 or 7 Hosts reserved in the Tabernacle so he only wants to consecrate what we need at any given Mass.
 
grasscutter said:
I hate to keep derailing this thread, but I’m totally going to be using CRS from now on! 😃
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Yeah, go Catholic Relief Services!

But, seriously, did anyone besides me first think of Catholic Relief Services first when they first saw CRS in this thread? It took me a couple of moments to realize that we’re talking about Can’t Remember Stuff syndrome, not Catholic Relief Services.
 
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