Blood of Christ, Inebriate Me: Sanguis Christi, Inebria Me!

Our cold and flu season gives us a chance to comment on the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass. When I served at a previous parish, Communion was only distributed under what we call “the species of bread.” A neighboring pastor said, “Why are you denying your people the Blood of Christ?” After reading this note, you will be able to answer him yourself.

Let’s first call to mind the words of consecration, “This is my Body” and “This is my Blood.” Once those words are spoken by a priest or bishop over the bread and wine, then bread and wine are no longer present. Jesus is present: truly, really, and sacramentally. The appearances remain: taste and smell and color. These are what are called the accidental properties. But what is present—the substance—is Jesus. He is there, not along with bread and wine. No, he is there wholly: Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. (This is our Catholic doctrine of transubstation.)

Going further, remember it is the resurrected Jesus who comes to us at the Eucharist. Yes, his saving sacrifice of Calvary is made present to us here and now. But it is the Risen Lord who comes to us, the one who has conquered sin and death. So as the priest breaks in half the consecrated Host, Jesus is not split in two. No, by the miracle of the sacrament the whole Jesus is now present in each half of that consecrated host. When we attend Mass and receive Holy Communion, we are not receiving parts of the Body of Christ. We receive the whole Jesus, the living Jesus.

This answers a frequent object, “Are you Catholics cannibals?” The answer is obviously no. Cannibals eat parts of a dead body. Catholics consume the whole and living Jesus. This also reminds us to treat our Lord with great respect. If you receive our Lord in your hand, please take a moment to make sure there are no particles remaining in your hand. Particles that retain the appearance of bread are wholly the Body of Christ. We call this receiving our Lord under the species of bread.

The same is true of receiving our Lord under the species of wine. Each drop poured out from the chalice is truly and wholly the living Jesus. Our Western, Latin rite permits us to distribute Communion either way at our Mass. The Catechism says (1390):

Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species [concomitance], communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. But "the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly." This is the usual form of receiving communion in the Eastern rites.

If the Precious Blood is distributed at Mass, the priest or deacon is responsible for purifying or cleansing the sacred vessels after Communion. This means that after a crowd has drunk from the chalices, he must fill them with water, rinse them, and drink it down. Here we see a practical reason for our practice here, especially during the cold and flu season. Not distributing the Precious Blood from the chalice is a simple and reasonable way to maintain the health of our few clergy who must serve great crowds.

You will most likely see different practices at different parishes, and certainly in different rites. This is another case of not conflict between a good or a bad thing; it is just two different and permitted good ways to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. Which is why I didn’t enter into an argument with the pastor who challenged me. I wanted to give him a big hug. And then say, “Did I hug your body or your blood?”

Let’s be grateful that in the midst of the Eucharist, Jesus himself comes to us. Let us receive him with great respect and adore him. We are united as the Body of Christ. May we live that way.

With my prayers,

Fr. Jerome