“HIC CALIX NOVUM AETERNUMQUE TESTAMENTUM EST IN SANGUINE MEO…”

12/10/09

In my now classic 10/27/09 piece, ““HOC EST CORPUS MEUM,” I reported that many Catholic churches, and at least two that we attend, had temporarily ceased offering Communion under both species due to the H1N1 epidemic. Communion, at that time, at least at our churches, would be offered under the species of the Host, or in the form of Christ’s flesh. The Precious Blood would not be offered because of the obvious risks of drinking from a common cup. Further, the handshake of peace would be suspended at least one of our parishes and replaced by a similarly welcoming gesture, such as a nod or a smile, that did not bear the same risk of disease transmission as does a handshake. The gist of my post was that, while these were sensible and favorable developments that did not in any way violate Church doctrine, they fell short as long as the holy water font, which features, in most cases, stagnant water, a perfect environment for spreading disease, was still available and as long as some people insisted on taking Communion on their tongues, which usually results in potentially disease bearing saliva going from the tongue of the communicant to the fingers of the priest or Eucharistic minister to the next Host that priest or minister hands to the next communicant who places the Host in his or her mouth.

Apparently, though, that progress toward a sensible approach to disease mitigation has been halted, and, surprisingly, that progress has been stopped at the most liberal of the parishes we attend. While our more conservative parish, Sts. Peter and Paul, continues to offer Communion under only one species, the far more liberal St. Thomas the Apostle announced at Mass two weeks ago that, after consulting with “experts,” the parish had determined that it was okay to offer the Precious Blood out of a common cup.

Hmm…

I am no medical doctor or bacteriologist, so I could be wrong, as I, and most of us, have been on numerous occasions, but I have to ask just which “experts” said that scores of people drinking out of a common cup in the throes of an epidemic is a good and safe idea. I know that I will be accused of asking this question not out of a sense of genuine inquiry but, rather, out of a sense of sarcastic disagreement with what appears to be an utterly absurd decision. I plead guilty.