Attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion

You should not come to Church if you suspect you have Covid or Influenza.

Practicalities of receiving Holy Communion.

The whole Christ, ‘body, blood, soul, and divinity’, is present under the form of bread and also under the form of wine; and also in their parts, so breaking a host doesn’t divide Christ.  Thus, no one should feel any pressure to receive from the chalice. 

Receiving the Body of Christ

1. If you take Communion in the hand, the traditional approach, with descriptions dating from the 4th century,  is to extend your hands with one palm on top of the other.

2. The minster says ‘the body of Christ’; you respond Amen.

3. The minister places the Body of Christ in your hand, or on your extended tongue if you choose to receive directly in the mouth.

4.  If you receive in the hand, you then transfer the body of Christ to your mouth immediately, in the sight of the minister: either directly in front of the minister, or by taking a step to one side whilst still facing the front.

Receiving the Blood of Christ

1. At the chalice, the minister say ‘the blood of Christ’ and you respond Amen.

2. The minister hands you the chalice, you drink a small amount and then hand the chalice back. Make sure the chalice is held securely, by either you or the minister, at all times. Sometimes the minister will continue to hold the chalice if they are concerned about its stability.

3. We have several cohorts of children who have had no opportunity to practice receiving from the chalice, and even for those who have it is now a long time ago. It is very important that parents ensure that if their child receives from the chalice they do so reverently and properly and that they know what to expect. It will probably be best to arrange a practice after Mass with unconsecrated wine before receiving from the chalice in Mass. At least initially, primary school children who wish to receive should be directly supervised by a parent.

Communion from the chalice

Our bishops have permitted Communion from the Chalice at Mass to resume from the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday (2023). Bishop Ralph has sent us two documents, originating in the Northampton Diocese, for us to use in preparation for the reintroduction. We have reformatted these but left the content unchanged. One (‘The Eucharist makes the Church’) is an overview of the Mass, the other (‘Take this and drink’) is specifically about Communion from the Chalice.  Please read them both. 

Health aspects of Communion from the Chalice.

Here is a summary arising from consultations with public health experts.

1.  Covid is principally an aerosol-spread infection, as are the flu and the common cold. Being in the same space and close to someone infected, especially in face-to-face encounters, is the principal way such infections spread.

2. Sharing the chalice gives rise to small risks of various infections. This has always been true. It is a professional judgement that the risk of Covid infection from sharing the chalice is comparable to that associated with other circulating viruses (flu, colds etc) which were present before the emergence of Covid.

3. For aerosol-spread infections, the additional risk arising from taking communion from the chalice is judged to be much less than the risk associated with simply being in a large congregation.

4. If your overall health means that Covid, or influenza, would involve a significant risk of serious illness for you, then the key decision is whether it is wise to go to church – or anywhere else – when it is crowded, and, if you decide to go, you should consider face mask use as added protection. It is a charitable action to stay away from Church when infectious with Covid or influenza: you should wait until you are completely recovered to return.