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Dear Mar,
Your pastor is actually following the Church's instructions more closely than your previous pastor. What you call "trained body and blood ministers of Communion" are technically called Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, because they are supposed to only be used in extraordinary situations, but a great many pastors are using them as a matter of course, which is not what the Church has in mind. The Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, March 25, 2004) says,
"It is the Priest celebrant’s responsibility to minister Communion, perhaps assisted by other Priests or Deacons; and he should not resume the Mass until after the Communion of the faithful is concluded. Only when there is a necessity may extraordinary ministers assist the Priest celebrant in accordance with the norm of law."
(Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Redemptionis Sacramentum: On Certain Matters to Be Observed or to Be Avoided Regarding the Most Holy Eucharist (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004) [Cf. S. Congregation of Rites, Instruction, Eucharisticum Mysterium, n. 31: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 59 (1967) p. 558; Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law, Response to dubium, 1 June 1988: AAS 80 (1988) p. 1373.] |
The document does discuss at length communion under the form of wine (we do not refer to it as the "sacrament of wine") so I encourage you to read it yourself. There is no inherent right per se of the faithful to receive under the form of wine, so there is wide discretion on the part of the pastor as to when to distribute it. Theologically, both the Body and Blood of Christ are present in either the Host or the Precious Blood, so the faithful are not being deprived of any grace by not receiving the Precious Blood.
It's worth discussing some points about the Holy Eucharist.
We believe the bread and the wine, by the consecration of the priest, are transformed really and truly into the Body and Blood of Christ (who is God incarnate), such that nothing we can call "bread" or "wine" remains in the sacrament after the consecration. This is the Body of Jesus that died on the Cross for us and the Blood that was shed for us. St. Justin Martyr in the 2nd century says,
It is allowed to no one else to participate in that food which we call Eucharist except the one who believes that the things taught by us are true, who has been cleansed in the washing unto rebirth and the forgiveness of sins and who is living according to the way Christ handed on to us. For we do not take these things as ordinary bread or ordinary drink. Just as our Savior Jesus Christ was made flesh by the word of God and took on flesh and blood for our salvation, so also were we taught that the food, for which thanksgiving has been made through the word of prayer instituted by him, and from which our blood and flesh are nourished after the change, is the flesh of that Jesus who was made flesh. Indeed, the Apostles, in the records left by them which are called gospels, handed on that it was commanded to them in this manner: Jesus, having taken bread and given thanks said, “Do this in memory of me, this is my body.'' (Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:18-20,1 Corinthians 11:23-25) Likewise, having taken the cup and given thanks, he said, “This is my blood'', (Matthew 26:28) and he gave it to them alone. (Apologia I. 66)
St. Ignatius of Antioch in A.D. 107 called the Eucharist the medicine of immortality, the antidote to death (St. Ignatius to the Ephesians, 20). |
So, we believe in what we call the Real Presence: The Eucharist is the Real Presence of God Himself. When the Jews were in the desert after escaping from Egypt, God miraculously fed them with bread from heaven called manna (Exodus 16). The Jews expected when the Messiah came, he would bring a new, better manna (cf. John 6:30-31). We believe this new manna is the incarnate flesh of God Himself (as Jesus is God and the Eucharist is really His flesh and blood); God feeds us with Himself! Moreover, we become more and more like God the more we consume Him in this way!
Therefore, we treat the Body and Blood of Christ very reverently. We genuflect to it, we worship and adore it, we take great care that it is not profaned. One of the dangers of distributing the Precious Blood is that it may be profaned, spilled and tread upon. We do not want to be profaning God's own Blood, so the pastor may decide that it is safer not to distribute it. For many, many centuries it wasn't even distributed by lay people, to emphasize how holy it was. So, I think your pastor is just trying to restore some reverence to the Sacrament.
If you have any further questions, please let me know!
Eric |
