A context, a serious question, and a suggestion.
The Context
Once upon a time, to get Mass, you had to be physically present for the segment covering the Offertory to the Priest's Communion.
Then we had Mass on the radio, and subsequently on the television, and this was deemed to fulfill the obligation of those who could not physically attend the ceremony.
We are now in a situation where churches are closed and over 70s are all confined to home.
The Question
The Real Presence is supposed to materialise in both the priest's big host and, for example, the large quantity of those smaller hosts, untouched by the priest, and stored in the ciborium.
My question is this. If the priest can consecrate hosts without actually touching them, could he do this over the airwaves in an emergency situation?
The Suggestion
My suggestion is
- relax the current needless requirements for the strict composition of the host/bread/biscuit.
- allow people, attending mass remotely, to take a morsel of ordinary domestic bread
- enable the priest to consecrate it remotely
- a safeguard would be to limit the actual effective consecration to bread in the hand of those who, in good faith, wish to, and are entitled to, receive communion.
I do not see any valid theological or other objections to this suggestion.
Any takers?
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