Saturday, August 13, 2011

Oops! Forgot the Chalice

Poor Father felt rather shocked, when I went to him after Mass this morning, and told him what another person present and I had both noticed – he'd forgotten to consecrate the chalice: evidently concentrating on having to read "The mystery of faith" from the sheet giving various bits of the new translation, he'd gone straight from elevating the Host to saying that, missing out the chalice completely.  I had noticed this at once, but disbelieved myself, till I confirmed it afterward by asking another of the people at Mass whether she'd seen anything amiss!

I was at pains to impute no blame to Father, since I could see how easy it was for this to happen, and told him of how I'd once seen another priest, who was also praying the Roman Canon at Mass, as Father did this morning, make the identical error (it was Fr Rizzo, in fact, offering a Latin Mass): he blenched at learning of his mistake (as had Fr R. as I recall), but was thankful and grateful for me letting him know, and told me of how he'd almost done the same some years ago, by picking up the chalice first, not the host, and starting to consecrate the former without first consecrating the latter, but realized when he saw the concerned faces of the congregation – so there is at least one good reason for standing versus populum after all...

Quæritur: Does "the Church supply" in such a case of an honest mistake made by the priest – who assured me that he had certainly had the full and correct intention to consecrate the contents of the chalice – or was this a case of a Communion service, not a Mass, since while the Host was certainly consecrated, the chalice was not?  (I received only the former, for reasons of doubt.)  The old treatise De defectibus would say so, and I believe that, minus the double consecration, it would be said that the Sacrifice was not offered, but I wonder what might be argued further.

4 comments:

Schütz said...

One for Fr Z's quaeritur box?

Kate Edwards said...

All the modern textbooks similarly suggest that it is invalid if both species are not consecrated.

This is one of those rare situations where it is actually appropriate to leap up to the altar and tap Father on the shoulder rather than let things proceed!

Joshua said...

Yes, I should have acted - I just couldn't believe it had happened, and doubted myself!

Mark said...

Kate is correct; this was, sadly, not a Mass. Though the Sacred Body of Our Lord was confected.