The Body of Christ.
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GEddie
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Not only is “normal” bread acceptable, it is often used even in “normal” times (provided unleavened, IMS).
The circular Host is easier to make in huge quantities, but our LORD didn’t use such for His sacramental body the first time
ICXC NIKA
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FrDavid96
Guest
Same answer as your question about wine.
Only bread made from pure wheat and flour (and leavening) is valid matter for the Eucharist. In the West, unleavened bread is used. In the East, leavened. Both are valid matter.
If there’s no wheat bread, then there’s no Eucharist. It’s that simple.
If by “normal loaf of bread” you mean the typical bread that takes up most of the space in a typical grocery store (like “sandwich white” or “butter top wheat” etc. etc.) the answer is no. Those are not valid matter for the Eucharist because they contain too many other ingredients beyond just wheat-flour and water. They have milk, oils, sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and all kinds of other ingredients added to them. They are not valid matter for the Eucharist.
On the other hand, if one were to go to some kind of specialty bread (maybe from a specialty bakery) that makes a bread from pure wheat flour and water (again, some leavening) without adding anything else, then that would be valid matter.
For example:
The popular “Wonder Bread”
Wheat Flour Enriched ( Flour , Barley Malt , Ferrous Sulfate Iron ] , Vitamin B Niacin Vitamin B3 , Thiamine Mononitrate Vitamin B1 { Thiamin Vitamin B1 } , Riboflavin Vitamin B2 { Riboflavin Vitamin B2 } , Folic Acid Vitamin B9 ] ) , Water , Corn Syrup High Fructose , Contains 22% or less , Wheat Gluten , Salt , Soybeans Oil , Yeast , Calcium Sulphate , Vinegar , Monoglyceride , Dough Conditioners ( Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate , Calcium Dioxide ) , Soy Flour , Diammonium Phosphate , Dicalcium Phosphate , Monocalcium Phosphate , Yeast Nutrients ( Ammonium Sulfate ) , Calcium Propionate , To Retain Freshness
source: foodfacts.com/ci/nutritionfacts/Bread-and-Flour-Products/Wonder-Classic-White-Bread–oz/30443
Only bread made from pure wheat and flour (and leavening) is valid matter for the Eucharist. In the West, unleavened bread is used. In the East, leavened. Both are valid matter.
If there’s no wheat bread, then there’s no Eucharist. It’s that simple.
If by “normal loaf of bread” you mean the typical bread that takes up most of the space in a typical grocery store (like “sandwich white” or “butter top wheat” etc. etc.) the answer is no. Those are not valid matter for the Eucharist because they contain too many other ingredients beyond just wheat-flour and water. They have milk, oils, sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and all kinds of other ingredients added to them. They are not valid matter for the Eucharist.
On the other hand, if one were to go to some kind of specialty bread (maybe from a specialty bakery) that makes a bread from pure wheat flour and water (again, some leavening) without adding anything else, then that would be valid matter.
For example:
The popular “Wonder Bread”
Wheat Flour Enriched ( Flour , Barley Malt , Ferrous Sulfate Iron ] , Vitamin B Niacin Vitamin B3 , Thiamine Mononitrate Vitamin B1 { Thiamin Vitamin B1 } , Riboflavin Vitamin B2 { Riboflavin Vitamin B2 } , Folic Acid Vitamin B9 ] ) , Water , Corn Syrup High Fructose , Contains 22% or less , Wheat Gluten , Salt , Soybeans Oil , Yeast , Calcium Sulphate , Vinegar , Monoglyceride , Dough Conditioners ( Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate , Calcium Dioxide ) , Soy Flour , Diammonium Phosphate , Dicalcium Phosphate , Monocalcium Phosphate , Yeast Nutrients ( Ammonium Sulfate ) , Calcium Propionate , To Retain Freshness
source: foodfacts.com/ci/nutritionfacts/Bread-and-Flour-Products/Wonder-Classic-White-Bread–oz/30443
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Tantum_ergo
Guest
well, provided it is not unleavened with additives (honey, milk, vegetables, fruits, etc). Wheat flour and water only please. (Western). Eastern – wheat flour, water, yeast alone.Not only is “normal” bread acceptable, it is often used even in “normal” times (provided unleavened, IMS).
The circular Host is easier to make in huge quantities, but our LORD didn’t use such for His sacramental body the first time
ICXC NIKA
I mean, to a lot of people “normal bread” is white bread from the supermarket (which would NOT be acceptable), and to many, something like Joseph’s pita bread (hey, it’s unleavened, right?) would seem fine (but many if not most varieties of these and similar ‘bakery’ unleavened breads do have additions that would invalidate it for Eucharistic use).
The kind of bread Jesus would have had didn’t contain the additives for bread that have become ubiquitous in modern bakeries.
That being said, a ‘secret’ member of the Church could definitely make loaves for her (or his) family out of simple wheat flour and water, and lay by ‘extra’ to take along for use by the priest at Mass, and that would be, as GEddie notes, much like the ‘original’ bread used for the Eucharist.
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