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