St. John XXIII Catholic Church

Occasionally I’m asked about returning to the practice of sharing the cup of Consecrated Wine.  I’m waiting for direction from the Archdiocese in that regard.  I personally am leery of sharing the cup still at this point.  I do want to make clear, however, that receiving the Consecrated Host you receive the fullness of communion: The Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus.  The laity took Communion under both forms in the Western Church for about the first 12 centuries, but gradually it was withdrawn from the laity and reserved for the priests.  Various concerns contributed to this change of practice.  For one thing, there was fear of spilling the Consecrated Wine.  More importantly, some heretical teachings claimed that the whole Christ was not fully present in the bread and wine separately, but only if taken together. To counteract this heresy, the laity were given only the consecrated bread, and Eucharistic piety came to center on the host which alone was kept in the tabernacle.
When we have Eucharistic Adoration, only the consecrated host is displayed, not consecrated wine, and Jesus is fully present---body, blood, soul, and divinity—during adoration.
The Second Vatican Council restored the earlier tradition of Communion under both forms.

Again: you receive the total Jesus in receiving the consecrated bread alone.

Fr. Pat