The Precious Blood at Mass
April 14, 2024
Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever ~
Once in a while someone will ask me why we don’t give out “the wine” at Mass. By the wine they mean the Precious Blood of Jesus. I’ll try here to answer that question but first a few basics.
At every Mass we enter into the one, never ending sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. A sacrifice He made for the Glory of God and the redemption of the human race. By redemption I mean that Our Lord’s passion, death, and Resurrection made salvation possible, but not guaranteed. The sacrifice that Jesus made for us made these things possible because Jesus is God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Since God is eternal, Jesus’ sacrifice is not bound by the laws of time and space that govern us. Hence, at every Mass we enter into that one sacrifice, made once for all, that began at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and ended on Good Friday with the death of Jesus on Calvary. An aspect of this sacrifice that is important for our topic, is that the bread and wine that is consecrated at Mass becomes the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Those who are properly disposed to receive this divine food at Mass (Eucharist – thanksgiving in Greek) are encouraged to do so. The priest must consume both the Body and the Blood consecrated at that Mass to complete the consecration and the sacrifice, yet the laity (non-priests) do not.
Now to the question of why we don’t distribute the Precious Blood of Jesus at Mass when some other parishes do. The rubrics that guide the celebration of the Mass allow for either the Body alone to be given out, or the Body and Blood if the latter is practical. Either “species” of the Body or Blood contains within it the fullness of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. That means that the Holy Bread, or Body of Christ, contains within it the Blood of Christ as well; and the Blood of Christ contains within it the Body of Christ. Were one to receive either at Mass, that person would be receiving both. So why is the Precious Blood given out at Mass in some places but not others? Why is it given out at all if the whole Eucharist is contained in the Body of Christ under the form of bread? I’m glad you asked.
The Precious Blood is given out at Mass when that is practical, yet it’s not always practical. When Covid struck, The Precious Blood was removed for the laity (non-priests) for fear of germs. Sharing chalices can do that. When the threat from Covid dissipated enough, some parishes, including ours, didn’t resume giving out the Precious Blood because rounding up the Eucharistic ministers for nine scheduled Masses throughout the week, not including unscheduled Masses such as funerals, Holy Days, weddings, etc., was a lot of extra work. For the Sunday Masses, we would need six additional Eucharistic ministers per Mass, multiplied by three per weekend, and then on a rotation. That’s a lot of extra work for something that isn’t necessary. While depending on the Mass, we always need more ushers, greeters, choir members, and help at coffee hours. The effort to recruit and maintain the numbers necessary to give out the Precious Blood can’t be justified when other more needed Mass help is not being met.
So, the answer to why we don’t give out the Precious Blood at Mass when some other parishes do is quite simple: it isn’t necessary, it’s a lot of extra effort, and I can’t justify recruiting for it at this time when we have greater needs at other liturgical ministries.
May Our Eucharistic Lord Bless You,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
