Scholion. On Defects to Be Corrected Both in the Dispensation of the Holy Eucharist and in the Oblation of Mass

I. "If a consecrated host, or some particle of it, falls to the ground, it should be reverently taken up, and the place where it fell should be cleaned and somewhat scraped, and the dust or scraping of this kind should be put into the sacrarium. If it falls outside the corporal onto the altar cloth, or in any other way onto some linen, the altar cloth or linen of this kind should be diligently washed, and the washing itself poured into the sacrarium."¹ The prescribed washing does not oblige under grave sin. Hence it should rather be omitted whenever it would excite wonder, for example if the host should fall into the beard or clothing of the communicant. If it has slipped into a woman's bosom, she herself should look for it and hand it to the priest, or herself put it into her mouth with her own hands (St. Alphonsus, VI, 250). If the host has fallen inside the enclosure of nuns, the priest should enter the enclosure.

II. If through negligence something of the Blood of Christ has fallen, one must proceed as follows:

1. If indeed it has fallen upon the ground or upon a board, it should be licked with the tongue, and the place itself scraped as much as is enough, and the scraping burned; the ashes, however, should be stored in the sacrarium.

2. But if it has fallen upon the altar stone, let the priest absorb the drop, and let the place be well washed, and let the washing be cast into the sacrarium.

3. If it has fallen upon the altar linen, and the drop has reached another linen; if even to the third, the linens are to be washed three times where the drop fell, with the chalice placed underneath, and the water of the washing is to be cast into the sacrarium.

4. But if it has fallen only on the corporal itself or on the priestly vestments themselves, it should similarly be washed, and the washing cast into the sacrarium. If it has fallen on the cloth spread under the feet, or on a carpet, it should be well washed, as above.²

Moreover, in the spilling of the Blood, at least some washing must be done under grave obligation.

III. If in winter the Blood freezes in the chalice, the chalice should be wrapped in warmed cloths; if this does not help, it should be placed in boiling water near the altar, provided the water does not enter the chalice, until it liquefies.³

IV. If the priest "discovers after the consumption of the Body and Blood, or even after the ablution, that some consecrated remnants have been left behind, let him consume them, whether they are small or large, because they pertain to the same sacrifice."⁴ Let him do this also if the priest is already in the sacristy, with the vestments not yet removed. If he has removed the vestments, let him place the fragments in the tabernacle or reserve them for a priest who is to celebrate that same morning; and let him proceed in the same way if the fragments are remnants of another sacrifice, because the Rubric permits him to consume only remnants which pertain to the same sacrifice (St. Alphonsus, VI, 251, question 3). But if an entire consecrated Host has been left, "let him put it in the tabernacle with the others; if this cannot be done, let him leave it for the following priest who is to celebrate there, decently covered on the altar over the corporal, to be consumed together with the other which he is going to consecrate; or if neither of these can be done, let him preserve it decently in the chalice itself or on the paten until either it is put into the tabernacle or consumed by another; but if he has no way in which it can be preserved honorably, he can consume it himself."⁵

V. If a ciborium which another priest needs must be purified, and the server through forgetfulness took the purification of the chalice before it had been purified, it is lawful - although the natural fast has ceased - to consume the small remnants found in the ciborium, because the consumption can be counted as by way of one act with Communion. It is more difficult to say that it is lawful to consume an entire host, since it can be kept for the following day.⁶

VI. If a sick person, or "a priest, vomits the Eucharist, if the species appear whole, they should be reverently consumed, unless nausea occurs; for then the consecrated species should be carefully separated and placed in some sacred place until they are corrupted, and afterward they should be cast into the sacrarium. But if the species do not appear, the vomit should be burned, and the ashes put into the sacrarium."⁷ If the sick person cannot swallow the host, or, after receiving Viaticum, immediately dies, the host, if it still appears in the mouth, should be extracted and preserved until it is corrupted.

¹ Roman Missal, De defectibus, title X, n. 10.

² Roman Missal, De defectibus, title X, n. 12.

³ Roman Missal, De defectibus, title X, n. 11.

⁴ Roman Missal, De defectibus, title VII, n. 2.

⁵ Roman Missal, De defectibus, title VII, n. 3.

⁶ Tamburini, De methodo communicandi, chapter 2, n. 37.

⁷ Roman Missal, De defectibus, title X, n. 14.