When the Precious Blood is distributed to the faithful at Mass (note, I will address that topic in a future article), there may be the case that, when taking the chalice to consume a drink of the Precious Blood, you notice that there is a small particle of the Body of Christ in the chalice!  You might panic, thinking: “Did the last person spit a portion of the host in the chalice?”  Or, “I saw Father place that little crumb in the chalice, should I avoid consuming it?”  Why is that little portion in the chalice after all?  Let’s explore that very question.

Following the invitation to offer one another the sign of peace, the celebrant of the Mass does and says a couple of things that often go unnoticed.  Here is how it reads in the Roman Missal:

Then he takes the host, breaks it over the paten, and places a small piece in the chalice, saying quietly: May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says the following about this action:

The gesture of breaking bread done by Christ at the Last Supper, which in apostolic times gave the entire Eucharistic Action its name, signifies that the many faithful are made one body (1 Cor 10:17) by receiving Communion from the one Bread of Life, which is Christ, who for the salvation of the world died and rose again. (GIRM, 83)

There is an interesting historical connection to this action that I think helps to drive this point about unity home.  I recall hearing about it while in seminary, and then I was reminded of it in a set of articles on the silents prayers of the Mass written by Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.  He writes the following:

Another origin for the mingling of a particle of the host in with the chalice was from the spirit of ecclesial unity. A particle from the consecrated host at the bishop’s Mass called a fermentum was brought to the parish church and mingled in the priest’s chalice as a sign of the unity of the priest’s Mass with the bishop’s. With this unity in mind, the priest’s prayer during the ritual action of commingling can take on other dimensions. The particle from the bishop connects the Mass with the whole diocesan Church, and the prayer can serve an intercessory role for all those in the diocese who receive from the bishop’s host. It also reminds us that salvation is not a solitary affair but, like Holy Communion, it is something that we strive for together and that brings us into unity even as it also has a dramatically personal dimension. Seen under the sign of unity, the comingling reminds us that receiving the Eucharist is certainly entering into communion with Christ, but it is also deepening our communion with his Bride, the Church. (https://adoremus.org/2021/11/the-quiet-that-speaks-haec-commixtio-may-this-mingling/)

Although this practice of bringing a portion of the bishop’s host to each church is not longer observed, the significance is still present as a reminder of the unity that is a desired fruit of our reception of Holy Communion.  I’ve written about unity in previous articles, and I think this action helps to strengthen our understanding of how important unity is when it comes to our understanding of and prayer at Mass.  This unity is both vertical (with Christ Himself) and horizontal (with His Body, the Church).  Christ’s death and Resurrection are at the service of both, and as such, our reception of Holy Communion should commit us to striving for a deeper love for Christ and His Church.

Father Alford     

Feast Day: March 17^th 

I want to ask you to read this article less as a story, and more as a meditation. Perhaps find some quiet time to reflect on the moment described in the Gospel passages below when Joseph of Arimathea comes close to Jesus for the first time.

Mark 15: ⁴²And, it being already evening, since it was preparation day, that is, the day before Sabbath, ⁴³Joseph from Arimathea having come (a respected council member who was also himself awaiting the kingdom of God), having taken courage, came in before Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴But Pilate was amazed that he had already died; and having called over the centurion, he questioned him if he was dead for some time. ⁴⁵And having come to know from the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. ⁴⁶And having bought a linen cloth, having taken him down, with the linen cloth he tied up and put him away in a burial place that was hewn out of rock; and he rolled over a stone against the door of the tomb.

Matthew 27: ⁵⁷But it being evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea whose name was Joseph, who had also himself been a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸This man, having come before Pilate, requested the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered (it) to be given up. ⁵⁹And having taken the body, Joseph wrapped it up in a clean white linen cloth ⁶⁰and placed him in his new tomb which he had hewn in the rock; and having rolled a large stone to the door of the tomb, he went away. 

Luke 23: ⁵⁰And behold a man, Joseph by name, being a member of the council, a good and just man—⁵¹he was not in agreement with their decision and course of action—from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was awaiting the kingdom of God. ⁵²This man, having come before Pilate, requested the body of Jesus. ⁵³And having taken (it) down, he wrapped it up with a linen cloth and placed him in a rock-hewn burial place where no one was yet laid. ⁵⁴And it was preparation day, and Sabbath was dawning.

John 19: ^38aBut after these things Joseph from Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus but hidden because of fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate permitted (it). ^38bSo he came and took away his body. ³⁹But there came also Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰So they took the body of Jesus; and they bound it with cloths together with spices, as is the custom among the Jews for burying. ⁴¹But there was in the place where he was crucified a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had ever yet been placed. ⁴²So there, on account of the preparation day of the Jews, because the tomb was near, they placed Jesus.

These are translations from a famous Catholic biblical scholar, Raymond Brown, who carefully compares the details from each Passion Account in his (comprehensive) book, “The Death of the Messiah.”

First, simply notice the details that each Gospel-writer focuses us on. Mark, the vivid storyteller, surprises us when from the least likely place – the Sanhedrin, that council of Jewish leaders who worked to put Jesus to death – comes a man, respected, courageous, seeking the Kingdom, who asks for Jesus’ body. Notice that Joseph is not yet described as a disciple or follower of Jesus. Yet somehow, he is moved amidst all the ridicule and hatred being flung at Jesus, to still be faithful to the Jewish law and seek a proper burial for this misunderstood man.

Matthew, the tax collector, himself having experienced Jesus’ mercy for those with many possessions, emphasizes that Joseph was rich. We find that he gives Jesus his own tomb, painstakingly hewn from the rock, and the simple linen shroud is additionally described as “clean” and “white”, and the scene shows Joseph carefully wrapping Jesus’ body in it. Luke adds that Joseph was “good and just”, not in agreement with all that the Sanhedrin had done, placing greater emphasis than Mark on Joseph’s “awaiting the Kingdom of God”. And John, with his greater spiritual insight, sees in Joseph’s heart already the heart of a disciple, and recognizes amid the bleak tomb a garden, where man was first created, and will soon be re-created.

– Fr. Dominic once had the opportunity to visit Jerusalem, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where under one enormous vault-roof, you can visit the hill of Calvary, the stone on which Jesus’ body was anointed, and the nearby location of His tomb, each enshrined with altars or lanterns, each a quiet witness to the blood God shed for me. When we are given Jesus’ Body – risen! – at Mass, does it reconfigure our hearts, reorder our priorities, like it did for Joseph of Arimathea? Do I stop waiting for God’s Kingdom and start living it? Do I take courage to risk ridicule or rejection to hold fast to Jesus? Do I put all my own riches, even my own mortality, at Christ’s service? Can I see in my own darkness a garden where God will bring resurrection? 

After praying to be delivered from all evil, we now pray more specifically for the grace of peace and unity to be granted to the Church as the celebrant says:

Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you; look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will.

The beginning of this prayer is taken directly from Jesus’s Last Supper Discourse, as He speaks about the coming of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.  There is an important line that Jesus says immediately after the promise of His peace, where He says: “Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” (Jn 14:27)

What do we do when our peace is disturbed?  When we feel the burden of our sins, the consequences of things that we have done or have had done to us, or the unease of feeling out of sorts, where do we turn?  We often start with the many worldly outlets in order to try to reclaim peace.  We might get up and step outside for a walk or get some exercise of some sort.  We might call a friend to take our mind off of our current troubles.  More dangerously, we may turn to things that work to distract us, such as food or drink.  These days, more often than not, we pull out our phone and start scrolling mindlessly.  We do anything to avoid that uncomfortable feeling of a lack of peace.  Only after we have run out of options do we turn to God as though He is a last resort.

But the Lord is inviting us to turn to Him first for peace, and His peace is wholly different from what all of these worldly things promise.  Sure, they may give us some relief and produce calm, but simply feeling peace is not the peace that the Lord wants to give to us.  His peace is much deeper than just a feeling.  The peace He gives is the assurance that He is indeed with us, that despite the chaos that surrounds us, He is there with His loving presence to strengthen us and guide us.

One of the greatest ways in which the Lord restores our peace is through the Sacrament of Penance.  I was struck a few years ago with the words that the priest says in the words of absolution, just before the essential words.  He prays that the Lord will grant the penitent “pardon and peace.”  When people come to confession, they feel a lack of peace due to their sins, and it can be difficult to confess their faults.  But after their sins have been wiped away, a remarkable change takes place.  Peace is restored, and the peace is often very tangible as they leave the confessional.  Sure they may feel more peaceful, but the Lord has given them an even more profound peace by drawing them into deeper intimacy with the Trinity, where the love of God guards the peace of His presence.

As we prepare for our reception of Holy Communion in just a few moments, Jesus is promising to give us this same gift of peace.  He comes to dwell in us through the Eucharist and He brings His peace, a peace that reminds us that whatever burdens we may be feeling in our lives at that moment, the Lord is there.  He wants to strengthen us with His grace to face those challenges with the peace of knowing we do not have to solve those problems alone.  We might say that with the Eucharist, the Lord is granting us “nourishment and peace.”  Just because we may not feel that peace in the same way as after going to confession does not mean that that same peace is not there, and for that, we should be most grateful.

Here is a challenge that I would like offer to you this week.  Try to notice how often you turn to worldly things to try to combat the lack of peace in your daily life.  Instead of turning first to your phone or some other distraction, turn to the Lord.  Let yourself hear Jesus making the same promise He made to His Apostles at the Last Supper: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (Jn 14:27)

Father Alford