Why Does the Host Taste Like Cardboard

[PhuturePriest]

15 hours ago, Nihil Obstat said:

Gluten free hosts are invalid matter, but they may be very low gluten.

I heard a Dominican priest say once that the gluten free host thing is making a mountain out of a molehill anyway, since such people who can't eat gluten could simply drink from the chalice and avoid the problem altogether.

[Nihil Obstat]

1 hour ago, PhuturePriest said:

I heard a Dominican priest say once that the gluten free host thing is making a mountain out of a molehill anyway, since such people who can't eat gluten could simply drink from the chalice and avoid the problem altogether.

I have heard that for some people with extremely severe celiac's disease, even the tiny bit of gluten from the commingling is too much. I have not been able to properly verify that though.

[NadaTeTurbe]

32 minutes ago, Nihil Obstat said:

I have heard that for some people with extremely severe celiac's disease, even the tiny bit of gluten from the commingling is too much. I have not been able to properly verify that though.

Knew someone with a very severe celiac's disease : once she finished her father's meat, and there was a tiny breadcrumb on it - she was sick for hours, could barely speak and walk. But as said PP, I don't see the problem : if you can't take the Body of our Lord, dring His Blood. 

[Seven77]

Even on the physical, accidental level the Eucharist is a mystery that must be taken on faith. If the Lord is good, and we are to “taste and see that the Lord is good” then why do the hosts taste neither good or bad? Good question… I think I've asked myself this before. it seems to me that the answer is: In order to elicit a greater act of faith.

“How is it that God would make himself so small  and vulnerable and risk subjecting himself to the cold indifference of those of us who so often receive him so carelessly?" “Why would he come to reveal God to us and yet allow for the possibility for people not to recognize him at the same time?"

[PhuturePriest]

4 hours ago, Nihil Obstat said:

I have heard that for some people with extremely severe celiac's disease, even the tiny bit of gluten from the commingling is too much. I have not been able to properly verify that though.

Commingling?

[beatitude]

4 hours ago, NadaTeTurbe said:

Knew someone with a very severe celiac's disease : once she finished her father's meat, and there was a tiny breadcrumb on it - she was sick for hours, could barely speak and walk. But as said PP, I don't see the problem : if you can't take the Body of our Lord, dring His Blood. 

A tiny fragment of the host is always dropped into the chalice after the consecration. For someone as severely affected as your friend, it sounds as though this would be enough to make her sick. I'd be interested to know what the solution is for this.

[Nihil Obstat]

25 minutes ago, beatitude said:

A tiny fragment of the host is always dropped into the chalice after the consecration. For someone as severely affected as your friend, it sounds as though this would be enough to make her sick. I'd be interested to know what the solution is for this.

Frankly I am not sure there is a real solution. At least, there does not seem to be a way around it. I would think perhaps ask the priest to celebrate a private Mass, using only a very low-gluten host, then receive the consecrated wine only, which would minimize exposure (Such an arrangement would probably have to be made privately.) But I see no way to exclude all exposure to gluten.

[CatherineM]

The bit is usually only dropped in the priest's chalice. Go to one of the EM's and it might not be an issue. 

[Nihil Obstat]

58 minutes ago, CatherineM said:

The bit is usually only dropped in the priest's chalice. Go to one of the EM's and it might not be an issue. 

Lol, I forgot y'all use more than one chalice.

[PhuturePriest]

27 minutes ago, Nihil Obstat said:

Lol, I forgot y'all use more than one chalice.

EF Masses typically never use the chalice for parishioners, right?

[Nihil Obstat]

16 minutes ago, PhuturePriest said:

EF Masses typically never use the chalice for parishioners, right?

Not just not typically. Never.

Only time I receive from the chalice is st Ordinariate Masses, and then only because there is not a non obtrusive way not to do so.  

They hold the chalice for you while you kneel at the rail, so no need even to touch it.

[vee]

On 5/28/2016 at 1:50 PM, Era Might said:

I've never seen this addressed. You go to a Catholic church and find pretty colors, nice-smelling incense, chant, etc....but when it comes to the host it tastes like cardboard. Isn't this an aesthetic failure...maybe the restoration of the chalice to the laity has at least moved in a better direction. How can you taste and see that the Lord is good when he tastes like cardboard and is mass manufactured in wafers. There's something to say for real-tasting and looking bread, no?

the Roman rite uses unleavened bread yes but there are other valid rites in the Catholic Church that use leavened bread.

[beatitude]

1 hour ago, vee said:

the Roman rite uses unleavened bread yes but there are other valid rites in the Catholic Church that use leavened bread.

The Eastern rites don't do this because of aesthetic reasons, but because they don't find it necessary to preserve the literal Passover symbolism, and they have symbolism of their own - the idea of Christ as the leaven in our lives. I belonged to an Eastern rite parish when I lived in Palestine, where we would receive the Body intincted in the Blood, and to be honest I didn't really notice the difference in the bread after the first few weeks there. At first I was worried about crumbs dropping on the floor (the host in the Latin rite is made the way it is partly to reduce the likelihood of crumbs) but that fear passed when I got used to receiving in this way. I don't think either way is 'better' - while the host may not be tasty as such, the symbolism in the unleavened bread is still rich, and something can be beautiful without suiting all our tastes.

[Makarioi]

co-mingle.  It's really spelled with 2 M's.  Growing up, I remember the hosts were shiny white.  I guess with all of the allergies that didn't seem to be present when I was younger, caused things to change.  One church that I visited in NY seemed to have hosts that were sweetened.  Folks would probably complain about calories............ *sigh*

[vee]

10 hours ago, beatitude said:

The Eastern rites don't do this because of aesthetic reasons, but because they don't find it necessary to preserve the literal Passover symbolism, and they have symbolism of their own - the idea of Christ as the leaven in our lives. I belonged to an Eastern rite parish when I lived in Palestine, where we would receive the Body intincted in the Blood, and to be honest I didn't really notice the difference in the bread after the first few weeks there. At first I was worried about crumbs dropping on the floor (the host in the Latin rite is made the way it is partly to reduce the likelihood of crumbs) but that fear passed when I got used to receiving in this way. I don't think either way is 'better' - while the host may not be tasty as such, the symbolism in the unleavened bread is still rich, and something can be beautiful without suiting all our tastes.

Interesting.  In the rite Im familiar with that uses leavened bread they also have it intincted.  It is in small cubes in teh chalice of Precious Blood and the priest has a teeny tiny little spoon made out of precious metal that he uses to remove one cube of the Eucharist and drops it in the communicant's mouth.  He is standing on a step so he is taller than most people and the communicant tilts their head back, opens their mouth, and basically receives like a little bird