Unususal heat from chalice

[saveusfromhell]

i am a echaristic minister, or an extraordianary minister, i forget which is the correct term.
i usually take the eucharist to the choir at back of chappel and up on a gallery. everytime i do this i am over whelmed by the heat coming from inside the chailce, having my hand over the chalice so none of the species comes out while i’m walking.
at first i thought maybe lights had been shining on the chalice but this is not the case.
has anyone else ever noticed this. also it’s everytime not occasionaly and the holy communion never feels warm while i’m distributating it

 

[TheMc]

i am a echaristic minister, or an extraordianary minister, i forget which is the correct term.
i usually take the eucharist to the choir at back of chappel and up on a gallery. everytime i do this i am over whelmed by the heat coming from inside the chailce, having my hand over the chalice so none of the species comes out while i’m walking.
at first i thought maybe lights had been shining on the chalice but this is not the case.
has anyone else ever noticed this. also it’s everytime not occasionaly and the holy communion never feels warm while i’m distributating it

Maybe it’s because you are holding it, and the precious blood warms up from the heat in your hand.

 

[Bearontherun]

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing this. I am eager to hear if others may have observed something similar.

 

[purplesunshine]

Gold is conductor, which very well means that it would feel hot after touching your hands, your priests hands. You’re body heat is 98.6 the medal would conduct and while the oils on your skin are semi-conductive for the most part you’re insulated. Retouching the warm metal would feel even warmer.

Just like when you sit next to someone and it feels like they must be radiating heat. They’re the same tempature as you, just about 25 degrees hotter than the ambient air.

 

[svid2]

Strange! If you can prove there’s something more than your body heat at work, it would make an unusual Eucharistic miracle.

Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, by the way.

 

[promethius]

i am a echaristic minister, or an extraordianary minister, i forget which is the correct term.

Fraternally, the correct term is extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.

i usually take the eucharist to the choir at back of chappel and up on a gallery. everytime i do this i am over whelmed by the heat coming from inside the chailce, having my hand over the chalice so none of the species comes out while i’m walking.
at first i thought maybe lights had been shining on the chalice but this is not the case.
has anyone else ever noticed this. also it’s everytime not occasionaly and the holy communion never feels warm while i’m distributating it

What is the intensity of this heat? Is it a 98.6 degree heat, or is it an ongoing temperature higher than that?

 

[ardis3958]

i am a echaristic minister, or an extraordianary minister, i forget which is the correct term.
i usually take the eucharist to the choir at back of chappel and up on a gallery. everytime i do this i am over whelmed by the heat coming from inside the chailce, having my hand over the chalice so none of the species comes out while i’m walking.
at first i thought maybe lights had been shining on the chalice but this is not the case.
has anyone else ever noticed this. also it’s everytime not occasionaly and the holy communion never feels warm while i’m distributating it

What if you trip on the stairs and spill the precious blood? In our church the choir comes down, nobody goes up to them. And what if you splash up onto your covering hand while you’re walking around with the chalice? Do you just lick it off or wipe it with the purificator? Wow, you’re toting around the blood that redeemed us like it was a pitcher of lemonade at a picnic. It’s just a surprise to me that other parishes allow the elements to be treated that way. Anyways…

If the chalice is solid gold or at least gold-lined then the “heat” is not a miracle but simple physics. Gold is an excellent reflector of infrared radiation, also known as heat.

In fact, in the early days of space exploration they used to wrap gold foil around heat-sensitive parts of spacecraft (like here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo16LM.jpg) and also used a thin layer of gold coating on the visors of the space helmets of astronauts (like here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aldrin_Apollo_11.jpg) to guard against exposure to the sun in outer space without the protection of earth’s atmosphere.

The interior of the cup reflects and focuses the heat of your hand back up to your hand, so it feels unexpectedly warm, but it’s only your own body heat that is being reflected back.

 

[promethius]

Wow, you’re toting around the blood that redeemed us like it was a pitcher of lemonade at a picnic. It’s just a surprise to me that other parishes allow the elements to be treated that way.

Where did you come up with the idea that the OP shows such a basic lack of respect for the Eucharist? This baseless assertion lacks charity and violates forum rules of mutual respect.

 

[ardis3958]

Where did you come up with the idea that the OP shows such a basic lack of respect for the Eucharist? This baseless assertion lacks charity and violates forum rules of mutual respect.

Such a thing would be unheard of in our parish. Funny how you accused me of directing it against her as an individual when obviously she is not the one making the decisions about how it is being distributed. It’s easy to hurl accusations of uncharitableness in an anonymous online discussion group, but we’re talking about the precious blood here. There’s a reason why we are careful about handling and dispensing it. Unless of course you don’t really believe it’s his body blood soul and divinity. What sort of respect do you show to the precious blood?

 

[promethius]

Such a thing would be unheard of in our parish. Funny how you accused me of directing it against her as an individual when obviously she is not the one making the decisions about how it is being distributed. It’s easy to hurl accusations of uncharitableness in an anonymous online discussion group, but we’re talking about the precious blood here. There’s a reason why we are careful about handling and dispensing it.

I have no qualms about stating that we should be careful in how we handle the precious Sacrament… however, that is a far cry different from stating: “Wow, you’re toting around the blood that redeemed us like it was a pitcher of lemonade at a picnic”, which targets an individual and their behavior/attitude.

Unless of course you don’t really believe it’s his body blood soul and divinity. What sort of respect do you show to the precious blood?

I hope you are aware that questioning the sincerity of faith or belief of individuals is likewise against forum rules.

I can assure you that I have no limit of respect and reverence for the Eucharist… to the very extent that I refuse to even consider becoming an EMHC out of respect for the concept that profane hands should not handle the Eucharist. However, I do not need to assure you of that because you have NO authority whatsoever to question me in that manner.

 

[saveusfromhell]

i obviously was unclear. it is the host i’m taking to the choir not the blood of christ. i carry it with my hand over it to stop any of the hosts falling out.
it’s not my body heat, from my hand on the chailce that creates the heat, as i can feel the heat nearly as soon as i put my hand over the chailce.
it’s not coming from the chalice but from the eucharist within the chalice at least that’s what it seems.
lol please don’t ask me to guess the exact heat. tangible enough to notice without it being uncomfortable.

could well be my heat being reflected, although i just tried it there with a gold sporum, i was given, but no effect of my heat being reflected.
anyway just thought i’d mention it.

 

[zab]

What if you trip on the stairs and spill the precious blood? In our church the choir comes down, nobody goes up to them. And what if you splash up onto your covering hand while you’re walking around with the chalice? Do you just lick it off or wipe it with the purificator? Wow, you’re toting around the blood that redeemed us like it was a pitcher of lemonade at a picnic. It’s just a surprise to me that other parishes allow the elements to be treated that way. Anyways…

If the chalice is solid gold or at least gold-lined then the “heat” is not a miracle but simple physics. Gold is an excellent reflector of infrared radiation, also known as heat.

In fact, in the early days of space exploration they used to wrap gold foil around heat-sensitive parts of spacecraft (like here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo16LM.jpg) and also used a thin layer of gold coating on the visors of the space helmets of astronauts (like here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aldrin_Apollo_11.jpg) to guard against exposure to the sun in outer space without the protection of earth’s atmosphere.

The interior of the cup reflects and focuses the heat of your hand back up to your hand, so it feels unexpectedly warm, but it’s only your own body heat that is being reflected back.

It is a long way for the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion to carry the Precious Blood from the sanctuary up to the choir loft. Any person conscious of what they are doing may be a little nervous or very careful of trying not to spill the Precious Blood. And yet it did happen. We had an EMHC spill the Precious Blood on the choir loft steps. I don’t know what his problem was. But after that- our pastor no longer allows the Precious Blood to be taken taken up to the choir loft. However, we still have an EMHC to take the Hosts there.

 

[promethius]

i obviously was unclear. it is the host i’m taking to the choir not the blood of christ. i carry it with my hand over it to stop any of the hosts falling out.
it’s not my body heat, from my hand on the chailce that creates the heat, as i can feel the heat nearly as soon as i put my hand over the chailce.
it’s not coming from the chalice but from the eucharist within the chalice at least that’s what it seems.
lol please don’t ask me to guess the exact heat. tangible enough to notice without it being uncomfortable

Now that is interesting… I mean, I feel warmth after taking Communion in either or both species (at first, I thought it was the accident of the wine, but then came to realize that it’s a different kind of warmth and… well… wine doesn’t really give me that “warm” feeling when I drink it)… but I’ve never heard of someone feeling radience of heat off the Host when holding it (or being near it). I suppose there is still the possibility that it is heat radiating off of the metal though…

 

[Bearontherun]

could well be my heat being reflected, although i just tried it there with a gold sporum, i was given, but no effect of my heat being reflected.
anyway just thought i’d mention it.

That is quite something! I think it would not hurt to mention it to your priest.

 

[ardis3958]

I have no qualms about stating that we should be careful in how we handle the precious Sacrament… however, that is a far cry different from stating: “Wow, you’re toting around the blood that redeemed us like it was a pitcher of lemonade at a picnic”, which targets an individual and their behavior/attitude.

I hope you are aware that questioning the sincerity of faith or belief of individuals is likewise against forum rules.

I can assure you that I have no limit of respect and reverence for the Eucharist… to the very extent that I refuse to even consider becoming an EMHC out of respect for the concept that profane hands should not handle the Eucharist. However, I do not need to assure you of that because you have NO authority whatsoever to question me in that manner.

That’s not her problem, it is the liturgist’s, the EMHC coordinator’s, the priest’s, and ultimately the bishop’s.

I have noticed not only in Catholic churches but most especially in Protestant churches that do not believe in the real presence, that the way people treat communion is right in step with what they believe or don’t believe about it. What is going on in her parish sends a message. It is imprudent and disrespectful and a sign of poor catechesis.

If you want to argue that point, take it to the standard liturgical sourcetexts available online, if authority is an issue for you. You will see that the utmost care and respect is to be observed with the chalice because of the danger of spillage and contamination. And at this point, the conversation is off-topic.

edit: ok so it was a ciborium of hosts, not a chalice of precious blood

 

[saveusfromhell]

okay ardis 3958, i’m not a girl, it’s not the precious blood and your edit i hope was an accident, because we can all be wrong, but to type a retraction in that small of font would just be wrong
God bless

 

[ardis3958]

okay ardis 3958, i’m not a girl, it’s not the precious blood and your edit i hope was an accident, because we can all be wrong, but to type a retraction in that small of font would just be wrong
God bless

Ok, I retract the “she”. I had already posted when I saw your clarification. I was wrong about that one detail only because you, as an EMHC whose job it is to know the difference between a chalice and a ciborium, said “chalice” once in the title and “chalice” three times in your post, so I figured you meant what you are saying. And so did TheMc and zab, apparently.

 

[saveusfromhell]

Ok, I retract the “she”. I had already posted when I saw your clarification. I was wrong about that one detail only because you, as an EMHC whose job it is to know the difference between a chalice and a ciborium, said “chalice” once in the title and “chalice” three times in your post, so I figured you meant what you are saying. And so did TheMc and zab, apparently.

sorry to all of you who are offended i called it a chalice not a ciborium, 3 times, my bad.