What would happen?

[Nelka]

During Mass on Sunday we always have small children bringing the gifts up to the altar.

What happens if the children dropped the bread and wine on the floor? Would they just clean it up and get new ones from the back?

Another question on this theme.

What happens to the Body and Blood if they are dropped onto the floor after they have been Consecrated? Would they have to Consecrate new ones? How would they (dispose?) of the dropped/split Body and Blood?

Thanks.

 

[FrDavid96]

During Mass on Sunday we always have small children bringing the gifts up to the altar.

What happens if the children dropped the bread and wine on the floor? Would they just clean it up and get new ones from the back?

Yes. That would be the proper and polite thing to do–although not strictly-speaking required. It would not be appropriate to consecrate bread that has fallen onto the floor, nor would it be appropriate to distribute those Hosts to the faithful for consumption. Think of it this way, if have guests over the house and the food falls on the floor, would you still serve it? Maybe. But the polite thing (if that’s possible) would be to replace it with something else.

Another question on this theme.

What happens to the Body and Blood if they are dropped onto the floor after they have been Consecrated? Would they have to Consecrate new ones? How would they (dispose?) of the dropped/split Body and Blood?

Thanks.

Again, it’s not strictly forbidden, but it would not be appropriate to distribute those consecrated Hosts. The proper thing would be to set them aside and the priest would consume them later (one or two, consume immediately; a large number, later). The Consecration can’t be repeated within the same Mass (not in this case), so there would not be another Consecration. If this happens, the priest would then distribute the consecrated Hosts from the other vessels, and/or from the tabernacle; or even break the remaining Hosts. As a last resort, the priest could distribute those that fell–but only after the other options have been exhausted.

 

[dochawk]

Eastern practice uses leavened bread, generally added to the chalice and administered by spoon into an open mouth (the Melkites being a notable exception), with servers holding a cloth beneath to catch. Some parishes, though, have the cloth held in the priest’s fingers with the other end held by the communicant, leading to . . .

A year or two before I met him, my son in law was holding the Cherubicon off to the side, when one went tottering and falling. He dropped the Cherubicon (pushing it towards his brother, I think, who would have been holding a candle), and made a diving catch . . .

hawk