Dear Folks,

Last week, in celebration of Trinity Sunday, we reflected on the Lord as He has revealed Himself to be: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This week, we celebrate the Lord giving Himself to us—Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord!

Sometimes folks ask, “Why do we use those gold plates? And why is the server distracting me with that?”

I could simply say, “Because the Church instructs us to do so.” Specifically, the 2004 document Redemptionis Sacramentum states: “The Communion-plate for the Communion of the faithful should be retained, so as to avoid the danger of the sacred host or some fragment of it falling” (no. 93).

I believe that communion patens are relatively new— perhaps from the last 200 years—but the concern that every particle of the Host be cared for is not new. Around the year 200 A.D., Hippolytus of Rome wrote: “Let each of the faithful be zealous, before he eats anything else, to receive the Eucharist … and that nothing of it fall or be lost; for the Body of Christ is to be eaten by believers and must not be despised. The cup… let none of it be spilled.”

And around 350 A.D., St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote: “Even the crumbs from the Eucharist must be treated with great reverence, for what seems like a mere crumb is not mere bread, but the Body of Christ. Take care lest you lose even a single crumb, for it is more precious than gold or jewels.”

Reverence for every crumb of the Eucharist is not a medieval invention. It is the rightly ordered response of gratitude for the most precious of gifts! On a practical level, it does sometimes happen that the servers catch crumbs on the patens—this is why you’ll see the priest carefully wipe each paten after Holy Communion.

Sometimes, the faithful hold their hands very close to their chin. This makes it difficult for the server to place the paten underneath, in case the Host or a particle might fall. If you can leave space for the paten, it would be appreciated!

Also—though thankfully rare—after placing a Host in the hand of a communicant, I might see a visible crumb remaining. It always happens too fast for me to act, so I silently ask my guardian angel to find the crumb and return it to the tabernacle. If you receive in the hand, a simple glance to be sure no crumb remains is a prudent practice. And if you see a crumb, just consume it. I don’t want to encourage scrupulosity or the use of a microscope—just prudent care that none of our Lord’s most precious gift be lost!

Any reverent love you pour into receiving our Lord with care will bear great fruit in your soul.

Pax,

Fr. John Mosimann