Tabernacle Signification Question

[GenericGuy]

Hello, I am an altar server at my college, I recently just got scolded, after 2 pieces of consecrated hosts were accidentally somehow in the folded corporal and were not placed in the tabernacle with the rest of the hosts. I didn’t realize this until after mass, but the mass coordinator was so furious that I wasn’t even given a proper explanation. I think the tabernacle symbolizes mary and the consecrated host is Jesus, but I still don’t understand why it had to be done during the mass, since sometimes after mass they take it out to give host to the people who distribute it to the sick. I know I made a mistake, I’m not trying to justify my actions, I just need clarification, because I got yelled at pretty badly(threatened to fire me, when I volunteer there).
Thanks,
Confused Kentucky Catholic (18)

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Losing track of consecrated Hosts is kinda like losing track of the security key in a secured classified closed area.

It’s irreverent. Jesus could end up on the floor. Or in the laundry if the corporal was going to get washed.
Someone could steal Jesus for bad purposes.
Also you violated USCCB Norms for Holy Communion, Norm 51 which states “Care should be taken with any fragments remaining on the corporal”.
You need to keep good track of all the hosts and pieces of hosts, and make sure they go back in the tabernacle after Communion, not later.

 

[JohnLilburne]

From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) from the section “Mass Without a Deacon”:

“163. When the distribution of Communion is over, the Priest himself immediately and completely consumes at the altar any remaining consecrated wine that happens to remain; as for any consecrated hosts that are left, he either consumes them at the altar or carries them to the place designated for the reservation of the Eucharist.”

The Ceremonial of Bishops has in the Chapter “Stational Mass of the Diocesan Bishop”:

“165 … Another deacon or one of the concelebrants takes any remaining particles to the tabernacle, …”.

So the task of taking the remaining consecrated host to the tabernacle should be done by a Priest or Deacon.

The purification of the vessels can be done during Mass or immediately after Mass (GIRM 163, 183). The corporal should not be on the altar after the vessels are purified. This is indicated by this part of the GIRM:

“306. For only what is required for the celebration of the Mass may be placed on the altar table: namely, from the beginning of the celebration until the proclamation of the Gospel, the Book of the Gospels; then from the Presentation of the Gifts until the purification of the vessels, the chalice with the paten, a ciborium, if necessary, and, finally, the corporal, the purificator, the pall, and the Missal.”

[Excerpts from the English translation of Ceremonial of Bishops © 1989, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation and The Roman Missal © 2010 ICEL. All rights reserved.]

 

[poche]

I think the mass coordinator was wrong. If there were consecrated hosts left accidentally on the corporal after mass that would have been an oversight of the priest, not the altar server.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

That’s my impression as well. At the end of our Masses, the priest or deacon is the one who folds the corporal and removes it from the altar. If for some reason the corporal is left on the altar, the sacristan folds and removes it after Mass. Under no circumstances would an altar server be charged with this task (but our servers are all children).

I’m sorry you got yelled at, OP. Tongue lashing is not a productive way of dealing with adults, no matter how serious the situation is.

Jesus could end up […] in the laundry if the corporal was going to get washed.

I would hope no one is tossing corporals into the wash without unfolding and inspecting them first. I do this during the first rinse (plunging the linen several times into plain water then pouring the water on the ground in the rectory garden; we don’t have a sacrarium).

 

[TK421]

@GenericGuy

You were treated rudely and I’m sorry that happened to you. Thank you for your service to the Lord.

Remember that ultimately if you are there for any good reason, it is because you are there for the Lord. I’m sure you will do better in the future with what happened.

 

[Vico]

… after 2 pieces of consecrated hosts were accidentally somehow in the folded corporal and were not placed in the tabernacle with the rest of the hosts. …

The priest, deacon, or instituted acolyte should purify the vessels, so there should be no hosts remaining.

Any apparent consecrated particles that remain on the corporal should be consumed in the course of the purification of the sacred vessels. (In some places the corporal is stored in a burse.) It was clarified by Cardinal Arinze (Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship) Oct 12, 2006, that an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion may not assist in the purification of sacred vessels.

 

[InThePew]

I think the tabernacle symbolizes mary and the consecrated host is Jesus

Yeah sure, the theology works - I’ve heard something similar elsewhere (also Mary as the Ark) but I’m not sure off of the top of my head of the exact origin. More appropriate is the link back to the ark of the covenant in the OT which served as a reminder of the presence of the Lord.

I still don’t understand why it had to be done during the mass, since sometimes after mass they take it out to give host to the people who distribute it to the sick.

Care always needs to be taken with consecrated hosts since they are, after all, the Body of Christ. As others have noted, leaving the odd hosts (or part of a host) lying on the corporal can lead to it being brushed off of the altar and on to the floor. So consecrated hosts should always be put back into the tabernacle immediately after the distribution of communion and any that fall onto the corporal (or elsewhere) should be immediately placed back into a pyx, ciborium or paten. When a host is given to someone to take to the sick, this should always be in a pyx either before consecration or placed in one after.

Incidentally, treating volunteers badly when they make a mistake is a good way to end up with no volunteers…

 

[paperwight]

You shouldn’t have been put in that position, OP, as others have said. It shouldn’t have been down to you to spot Hosts in the corporal, and it was most unfair that you are shouted at.

It may make you feel a little better to think of it this way, though. Sometimes people speak rashly out of fear of what might have been, rather than at what actually happened. You know how a parent can react when their lost child is found? Initially telling them off angrily for getting lost, but then breaking down? Perhaps the coordinator was so appalled at thinking what could have happened - Host thrown in trash, dropped on floor etc - that he or she reacted like this?

He or she should have apologised to you afterwards, though, if only not to lose you as a volunteer.

 

[Spyridon]

I honestly believe Jesus would be more angry at the person who sinfully yelled at you than you who made an honest mistake.

Sorry you had to experience sinful hypocrisy like this.

Sounds like this person may need God to humble them so they don’t turn into a Pharisee.

 

[Usige]

… I still don’t understand why it had to be done during the mass, since sometimes after mass they take it out to give host to the people who distribute it to the sick.

Leaving aside the way the mistake was pointed out or who’s responsibility it was in the first place, the primary issue is around the respect due the Body of Christ and the very real possibility of the consecrated host accidentally being dumped on the floor, in the laundry, the trash, etc.

Corporals are supposed to be opened with utmost care precisely because there could be consecrated species left in it. Despite that fact I have seen priests, deacons, acolytes and sacristans that spin a corporal in their hands or quickly “flick” corporals open for one reason or another. That means that leaving hosts in a corporal could result in them being flung across the floor or even into the trash (a corporal should never be opened and “shook out” over anything but the sacrarium for that reason).

If I understand you correctly, the question is really about why the Consecrated hosts must be reserved during Mass and in this case the hosts were in a corporal on the credence table. Part of it has to do with protecting the Eucharist. It is why Tabernacles are supposed to have a working lock and key. Another part of it is that the Tabernacle is directly related back to the book of Exodus (chapters 25-30).

God instructed Moses to make him a dwelling place and to place the Ark of the Covenant in it. The design of the tent then is the basis for the Temple in Jerusalem. In that way, the Tabernacle is not representative of Mary (she is actually more rightly associated with the Ark of the Covenant), but it is the dwelling place of God; the Holy of Holies. Out of respect, God should be placed in His dwelling place and not locked on the outside of it.

While you are correct that Hosts are sometimes taken out of the Tabernacle to be distributed to the sick and home bound, they are to be placed in a pyx and the pyx is not supposed to leave a person’s presence. To be entrusted with the Eucharist is a sacred duty. Read the story of St. Tarcisius. He was an altar server entrusted to take the Eucharist to prisoners in 1st century Rome. When a group of young men tried to take the hosts from him he gave up his life to protect the Eucharist.

 

[Usige]

On a more practical note, there is also the issue if the hosts are consecrated or not; not immediately after mass, but maybe if the issue wasn’t found until the next time that corporal was used. If you notice during Mass that the unconsecrated hosts are brought up and consecrated before the reserved hosts are taken from the Tabernacle during the Agnus Dei. Consecrated hosts are not supposed to be on the altar during the consecration. Now lets say someone opened the corporal and while placing a paten they saw these hosts. Are they unconsecrated hosts that fell off the paten or are they consecrated hosts?

Might not seem to make a big difference, but I have seen it throw a priest and deacon off when hosts are not where they should be. In once case at a daily Mass, the priest had a deacon remove a paten with around 15-20 hosts as he had not asked for additional hosts to be consecrated. He briefly stopped Mass to have another deacon and an associate priest consume all of them immediately in the sacristy. He couldn’t “re”-consecrate them if they already were consecrated, but he couldn’t distribute unconsecrated hosts either.

 

[Lee1]

When I first read the OP I thought that his reaction was prompted by fear. When I had a practice run of picking up a host from my priest I picked it up, popped it in my mouth and then rubbed my fingers together to remove any crumbs, a bit like when you pick up a crisp for example. He was horrified! Told me in no uncertain terms never to do that with a consecrated host, because of course it contains Our Lord!

Perhaps the priest was thinking along the same lines.