Okay, but what if, when the transubstantiated wafer accidentally falls to the ground, it lands in a puddle of snake venom or plutonium or something? Does the priest have to poison himself?
Regarding snake venom: you’ve got the wrong denomination; we aren’t the snake handlers. (Besides, Phyllis Schafly rarely visits and Cardinal Ratzinger even less frequently.)
Actually, there is (or used to be–I haven’t checked lately) a separate sink in which to wash out the communion vessels that ran directly into the earth rather than tapping into the sewer lines or septic systems. If there was a possibility that the host was poisoned, it could be washed out there. However, in real life, you’re talking about a stone or concrete floor that is not a good place to harbor really nasty germs for any period. (I suppose that in the middle of winter when there is more slush being tracked in it could be worse, but the odds are not that good that the incident presents a health risk.)
There is still a separate sink which drains directly into the ground. The altar vessals are rinsed there, so that any traces of consecrated materials are disposed of properly. I actually once read a very funny account of a young priest at his first parish. Some visiting monks ask if they can use the rectory library to say Mass. After they’ve left he sees all these crumbs everywhere. He’s appaled that the Body of Christ would be treated so casually. He gets out the vacuum cleaner and cleans it up, but then can’t figure out what to do with it. So he buries the brand new vacumm cleaner in the back yard behind the church. The monks come back from their errand and mention that they hope that it was okay that they ate breakfast in the library after they said Mass.:smack:
StG
If the priest drops the wafer is there a prayer that he’s supposed to say at that moment or does he simply pick the wafer up, place it on the side and continue on?
I remembered this after I posted last night.
In the Episcopal church, people can choose to “intinct” which means dip the bread into the wine rather than drinking it. There is also a variation which I didn’t feel particularly like in which the chalicist can take the bread out of the person’s hand and place it on his or her tongue (OK, so I’m a bit sqeemish sometimes). About a month or so ago, someone who was intincting did drop his bread. Since the priest was several people ahead of me, we applied the 5-second rule. I picked it up, and gave it back to the person.
Tracer, there’s a chance snake venom, plutonium, or other highly toxic substance being near the alter might count as desecration, depending on how it got there. If so, no church services until it’s cleaned up and the church re-consecrated. If there’s plutonium near enough where I’m serving as chalicist to contaminate a dropped communion wafer, it’s close enough to contaminate the person who dropped it, not to mention the people giving bread and wine, so maybe we’d better delay the service. 
As for other unpleasant substances, if someone dropped their bread into one of them, I’d probably quietly summon the priest.
CJ
If the wafer actually becomes the body of Christ, why aren’t practicing Catholics charged with cannibalism?
Seperation of Church and State, I imagine. 
Come on, people, all you have to do is kiss it up to God. It’s not like the floor wasn’t cleaned Satiddy night, fer cryin’ in the mud.
Ok, here’s maybe a harder question. What happens if wine is spilled post-transubstantiation, especially into something like carpeting?
Wow. How original.
:rolleyes:
Since I did move this to GQ…
Anyone who believes that the wafer actually becomes the body of Christ also believes that eating the wafer constitutes a mystical union with God, and is so commanded by God to be done, and is therefore a Good Thing. Anyone who thinks it would not be a Good Thing to engage in this particular act of ritual cannibalism also disbelieves that the wafer ever becomes anything other than a little flat piece of bread. So, the issue never really comes up with either side: If you think taking Catholic communion is “cannibalism”, you also think it’s good and holy; and if you don’t regard it as a good and holy rite, you don’t think it’s cannibalism either.
Incidentally, my understanding is that the official doctrine is that although the wafer really becomes the Body of Christ, in some sort of Platonic ideal sense, all the “accidents of its external appearance” remain unchanged. This means not only does it still look and taste like a little piece of flat bread, but also such details as chemical composition remain unchanged. You will therefore get nowhere trying to steal consecrated wafers in order to analyze their DNA or sequence their proteins or clone Jesus or anything like that.
Again, if you don’t buy the above, then obviously it’s not cannibalism. And if you do, then by definition you also believe that God wants you to eat him.
I offer my most sincere appologies. Sometimes I insert my head and say and do things that are inexcuseable. Even so, I hope that I may be excused this transgession.
No problem, LouisB.
For what it’s worth, the bread’s physical accidents - that is, its outward appearance and chemical composition - remain bread, and do not change to flesh. If there were a law forbidding cannibalism, it wouldn’t likely be violated by this conduct.
I recognize, of course, your question was not entirely serious…
- Rick
Just for the record, it’s the accepted practice at my (Episcopal) parish that anyone who chooses to do so may assist Altar Guild members in consuming consecrated bread (which, being normal leavened wheat bread, cannot be preserved) in the sacristy after service – if there is sufficient that not all is consumed, it is taken into the Covenant Garden (a natural area adjacent to the church building, maintained as a reminder of our responsibilities as stewards of the environment), and broken up to feed the birds and such wild mammals as may want bread. (Being incapable of sin, they are presumed to be in a state of grace.)
chiming in:
the orthodox church uses bread that is mixed with wine in the chalice during transubstantiation.
in case of a spill it all depends what it is spilled on.
hard flooring:
it is mopped up with special cloths that are washed at the sink in the alter. after they are dry the cloths are burned and the ashes buried in a part of the garden that is not walked on. a lit candle is gently brushed over the area of the spill to burn off any residue.
on rugs or clothing:
the area is blotted with the cloths, and the area is cut out and burned with the cloths. you will have to patch the rug after.
on clothes, it depends on where the spill occured. if it is in an area that would not be modest, the person may be allowed to change out of the clothes at home and give the garment to the priest for burning and burying.
a cloth is used to “bridge the gap” between chalice and the communicant. a spill on the chest area is rather rare. the cloth is quite big and covering, held between two people on either side of the communicant. the communicant has their arms crossed right over left, hands resting on the shoulders to prevent any gesturing that could upend the chalice. the only person moving is the priest, who very carefully spoons out communion from the chalice to the communicants mouth.
any bread that is not placed in the chalice for communion is placed on a platter at the end of liturgy for the congregation. this bread is blessed and falls under the “5 second” rule, if it falls to the floor you grab it and eat it. i find it rather amusing to watch babas dive bomb the floor to try to catch it before it hits the floor. any leftover after everyone has left the church is either passed around again at coffee/tea fellowship or put into a bird feeder.
A slight hijack, but sort of amusing:
When I got married 3 months ago, the priest offered some advice to my wife about receiving the blood of Christ.:
If she felt like she was going to drop the chalice, he told her to throw it away from her. “We have to look out for the dress, Jesus can take care of himself!”
In the Catholic church, they’d probably deconsecrate it first and then discard it. You wouldn’t believe how picky churches have to be these days about hygiene (with Communal body and blood at least).
I have also heard that in the Roman Catholic Church spilled wine is wiped up and the cloths burned.
Communion hosts in a bird feeder??
Deconsecration??
Am I being wooshed?
Sorry, forgot to respond to this. In the Roman Catholic Church, consecrated bread would not lose that substance at any time. There are feast days (particularly Holy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter), which commemorates the Last Supper (aka the instutution of the Eucharist)) in which the consecrated Host is displayed and adored through prayer for periods of time. This adoration of the Host has nothing to do with keeping an eye on it lest it revert to “just bread”.