Q: Dear Father: How do we receive the body and blood of Jesus if we can only receive the host?
A: If someone had told me a year ago what it would be like today, I would have never believed them. None of us would have. We couldn’t have imagined that schools, stores, bars and restaurants would be closed. Who would have thought we’d be “social distancing,” unable to visit family and friends, or experiencing “contactless” shopping or deliveries? And if those things weren’t enough, we would soon face the necessity of suspending public Mass; only being able to celebrate Mass on TV or via social media. It makes me wonder what things will be like three months ... or six months ... or a year from now.
However, we need to remember at least one thing. God will always draw good out of evil. I predict that one of those good things will be our deeper appreciation of the Mass and our desire to attend every week. Or even more often. When the pandemic first loomed, the first thing we needed to do was to suspend the distribution of the Precious Blood at Mass, a large concern for many. The desire to receive the Risen Jesus’ Body and Blood will surely be a “silver lining” to this heavy cloud that has been over us since March. At the same time, we have to be sure we understand that we don’t have to receive the consecrated wine in order to partake in Jesus’ Body and Blood.
In 1551, the Council of Trent powerfully described how Christ is “truly, really, and substantially contained” in Holy Communion. The Body of the Lord is present under the form of bread and the Blood of the Lord is present under the form of wine. But we must also remember that the Body of the Lord is present under the form of wine and the Blood of the Lord is present under the form of bread.
Think about it. Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead, is wholly present in both his Body and his Blood because we can’t separate one from the other. Because of the resurrection, his Body and Blood are not separate parts; they are united. Therefore, when we receive Jesus’ Body at Mass, we are receiving his Precious Blood as well. In other words, we are receiving “all” of Christ when we partake of only the consecrated host at Mass.
Throughout history, the distribution of Holy Communion under both species (consecrated bread and consecrated wine) has varied. In fact, for more than 500 years prior to Vatican II, Communion was only distributed in the form of bread. It wasn’t until Vatican II that the practice of receiving Jesus under both species was restored at the discretion of the diocesan bishop. The diocesan bishop can allow Communion to be distributed under both forms, and if he decides in the affirmative, he normally leaves it to the discretion of the pastor of a particular parish to decide if it is appropriate to that parish’s particular circumstances. That’s why some parishes distribute the Precious Blood and others don’t.
Thus, while COVID-19 has had many bad effects on tens of thousands of people, God always draws good from the bad. In this case, maybe one of those good things is to have a deeper understanding of the importance of the reception of Holy Communion, and knowing that even if the Precious Blood is not distributed to the people, the Risen Jesus is still fully there — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. That will always be the case until, please God, we all stand in his presence for all eternity. COVID-19 cannot take that away. In fact, it could even help us appreciate the Eucharist more.