Communion

I went to a nieces first communion a while ago at her catholic church and one thing caught my eye.
As people were up the front taking communion some only received the wafer and passed on the wine.
I asked a few people about it and they said it was because people were concerned about catching Meningococcal Disease (a form of bacterial meningitis) that has killed and maimed a few people here over the last few years.
Now I was under the impression that the catholic faith believe that the wafer and wine turn into the actual body and blood of Christ. If I am not mistaken here, how could bacteria survive in the blood of a deity. Surely the blood of the reserected Christ would be free of any inperfections ???
If these people don't have the faith to beleive in the act of communion why do they partake in it and why do the priests allow such obvious acts of disbelief in the Catholic faith ??

Jesus' body could be harmed so why should it be invincible now?

Thanks for the question maike.

Now I was under the impression that the catholic faith believe that the wafer and wine turn into the actual body and blood of Christ.

Click to expand...

It turns into the body and blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine..... it does not literally transform... or else the wine would taste like blood and the bread like flesh.

Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. But "the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly."

The was no disbelief on the part of any Catholics..... at least none that was apparent by a choice of Eucharistic species....

Peace,
Scott

I find it interesting that Catholics drink wine in the name of their man-god created by Paul when Jesus was a Nazerene and therefore did not eat flesh or drink alcoholic beverages such as wine as we consider it today. The "wine" that was drank by the messiah and his disciples was water with just enough alcohol in it to kill the bacteria.
If disease was a concern for the congregation, why not have separate little cups if they insist on their tradition? If communion is part of their faith, then not doing it seems like a sign of weakness of faith.
Speaking of Paul:

Interesting opinions John313..... welcome to Religious Forums.

Man....too bad it doesnt turn into gasoline...that would be a real miracle.

During the Flu season we don't offer the wine to the congregation, only the priest, alter servers, and eucharistic ministers receive it. We also don't hold hands during the Our Father or shake hands at the peace of Christ, just to keep everyone healthy.

Thanks for that contribution SK2005! Welcome to Religious Forums!

Peace in Christ,
Scott

In the Eucharist, the substance of the bread and wine changes, but the accidents remain.

Crudely, the substance is the essense of something, what it is, while the accidents are the aspects of something that are non-essential, such as appearance and taste. Because the accidents do not change, the Body and Blood are not protected from microorganisms.