Why keep remaining Hosts after Mass?

[Kikupiku]

Hello! The Passover lamb was to be eaten hastily and in full, and any remains were to be burned before the next day, according to Exodus. If Jesus is our Passover Lamb, why do we then keep Hosts for adoration or for later Masses instead of eating them all and/or burning the remaining ones?

 

[Gorgias]

Because Jesus fulfills the Mosaic Law, and is not part of it.

He tells us “I am with you always, unto the end of the age.” And, when present in the Eucharist, He actually is!

 

[Kikupiku]

I like the explanation in the second paragraph. But if the first one is true then why would it be important that Jesus’s bones are not broken just like the Old Testament passover lamb’s?

 

[Gorgias]

But if the first one is true then why would it be important that Jesus’s bones are not broken just like the Old Testament passover lamb’s?

It fulfills an OT prophecy (“Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all. He watches over all his bones; not one of them shall be broken”). See Psalm 34.

There’s also an allusion to Jesus’ sacrificial death, but again, there was no prescription in the Mosaic Law against breaking the bones of a condemned person. You’re kinda conflating a couple unrelated things here.

 

[JerryZ]

Jesus fulfills ALL the prophesies of the Old Testament with regards to the Messiah. And HE is the New and Everlasting Covenant. His name is also “Emmanuel” which means literally “GOD is with us” both in Spiritual and Physical senses.
Finally the Bread was never disposed of in the time of the Apostles. They had Deacons that would be charged to take some of it to the churches or people who did not have someone who could not officiate the Eucharist. We read in the Acts of the Apostles how this is what happened to the first martyr of Christianity. St Stephen.
Also many people can sense Jesus presence when they enter a Catholic church where there precious body is reserved.
And also look at the language the Church uses. She does not “put away” the hosts that are not consumed or “keep them”. The precious Body is “reserved” precisely as it has always been done since the beginning.
Peace!

 

[ricmat]

“Give us this day our daily bread”.

Sometimes a priest is not available to consecrate the bread into the body and blood of Christ. But there is still a need for this divine daily bread.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Because people need viaticum quickly. A priest does not have time to go celebrate a Mass every time there is a death call.

 

[Kikupiku]

I don’t think I’m conflating facts. Exodus 12:46 says that the passover lamb’s bones are not to be broken, and 1 Corinthians 5:7 calls Jesus our Passover, and John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God in John 1:29. The psalm you quote simply adds to that, I think. Or do you think the bone part in Exodus is simply coincidence?

 

[Kikupiku]

@JerryZ, thank you! That bit from Acts really puts a new perspective on it for me.
Peace!

 

[Gorgias]

I don’t think I’m conflating facts. Exodus 12:46 says that the passover lamb’s bones are not to be broken, and 1 Corinthians 5:7 calls Jesus our Passover, and John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God in John 1:29. The psalm you quote simply adds to that, I think.

Except that the crucifixion narrative of John explicitly quotes the Psalm. There’s your direct correlation. The evangelist literally tells us that the psalm was a prophecy that was fulfilled at the cross.

Or do you think the bone part in Exodus is simply coincidence?

I think that, looking back, Christians have gleaned a spiritual meaning from that text. (The Psalm reference in John 19, on the other hand, is part of the literal meaning of that passage. The literal meanings are generally primary. YMMV? )

 

[Kikupiku]

One more question, @JerryZ. Can you tell ke the verse in Acts where St Stephen was administered the Eucharist? I cannot seem to find it.