Yes, that’s right Lucy. I recollect that Bishop Fulton Sheen had, as a wee altar boy, accidentally dropped a crystal chalice while bringing it to the Bishop for consecration. He said he’d never heard a more heart-stopping sound before or since as crystal shattering on marble! Evidentally the Bishop was very kind to him about the whole thing. Poor fella.
Just an important clarification on Crystal and Abp. Fulton Sheen. Crystal is not now, nor has it ever been acceptable as material for a chalice! Archbishop Sheen, as a wee altar boy, dropped a crsytal cruet (cruets, you will know, are used to contain the water and wine to be poured into the chalice BEFORE the consecration) At my parish we use crystal cruets and, on Sundays, a crystal decanter, for the presentation of the gifts but the contents of those crystal vessels are poured into a metal chalice BEFORE the consecration. Just to be clear. I am sure that Abp. Pilarcyzk and all the priests in Cincinnati will be using metal vessels by the middle of October in keeping with the norms.
We Catholics really need to provide better catechesis on terminology surrounding the mass – not to mention the mass itself. Sorry, that’s my mini rant for the day.
Aye, aye Kristina… I was catechised in the ’70’s & ’80’s, so I still have a long way to go in learning the faith. But I can make you a heckuva string art “God Doesn’t Make Junk”* on black velvet.
*My poor mother, what a quandry! How DOES one throw that away?!
I will second that thought Kristina! Once was a time when the priest could ask his servers to bring the chalice and they would actually bring a chalice. The servers knew the terms (The Sacramentary should not need to be referred to as “the big red book.” Yet, when I try to patiently teach them (now I am talking about adult servers) they give me the impression as if to say “why do we really need to know this stuff anyhow?”
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So, very ornate crystal is OK? Did not know that.
Yes, that’s right Lucy. I recollect that Bishop Fulton Sheen had, as a wee altar boy, accidentally dropped a crystal chalice while bringing it to the Bishop for consecration. He said he’d never heard a more heart-stopping sound before or since as crystal shattering on marble! Evidentally the Bishop was very kind to him about the whole thing. Poor fella.
Just an important clarification on Crystal and Abp. Fulton Sheen. Crystal is not now, nor has it ever been acceptable as material for a chalice! Archbishop Sheen, as a wee altar boy, dropped a crsytal cruet (cruets, you will know, are used to contain the water and wine to be poured into the chalice BEFORE the consecration) At my parish we use crystal cruets and, on Sundays, a crystal decanter, for the presentation of the gifts but the contents of those crystal vessels are poured into a metal chalice BEFORE the consecration. Just to be clear. I am sure that Abp. Pilarcyzk and all the priests in Cincinnati will be using metal vessels by the middle of October in keeping with the norms.
Thank you Father.
Oh-kay…..so the verbage is misleading, or by the lay, we misinerpret it?
We Catholics really need to provide better catechesis on terminology surrounding the mass – not to mention the mass itself. Sorry, that’s my mini rant for the day.
Aye, aye Kristina… I was catechised in the ’70’s & ’80’s, so I still have a long way to go in learning the faith. But I can make you a heckuva string art “God Doesn’t Make Junk”* on black velvet.
*My poor mother, what a quandry! How DOES one throw that away?!
I will second that thought Kristina! Once was a time when the priest could ask his servers to bring the chalice and they would actually bring a chalice. The servers knew the terms (The Sacramentary should not need to be referred to as “the big red book.” Yet, when I try to patiently teach them (now I am talking about adult servers) they give me the impression as if to say “why do we really need to know this stuff anyhow?”