I found it poetically comforting that today, on the very day that Benedict XVI was installed as Pope, our parish went back to the old custom of using precious (or "noble") metals to administer the Body and Blood of our Lord. I thought, "Of course! How fitting."
In our everyday lives we eat and drink out of glass and ceramic containers all the time. Nothing special about that. Receiving the Body and Precious Blood from vessels made of gold or silver reminds us that this is no ordinary meal, no run-of-the-mill family get-together. Aside from the Mass, when do we expect to eat or drink from silver or gold? It is one of those times when the art of the liturgy is so important. It practically shouts, "this is important!". It is also one of those small particulars in which the recent decades of liturgical experimentation have proved such a failure.
A few months ago kneeling was re-introduced at our Life Teen Mass. There are no more crowds of teens around the altar during the consecration. And now we are receiving the Eucharist from vessels of "noble metals".
Thanks be to God, indeed.
When I go to mass at a strange church during a trip and the folks there do not kneel, I always have to double check and make sure I did not wander into the wrong kind of church. I was always under the impression that kneeling is not an option. In fact, I am certain I heard Karl Keating say as much on the show. But it is all too common for people not to kneel in churches in the States, especially (but not limited to) Hawaii.
This is one of the reasons I have such high hopes for the new pope. Hopefully such abuses will be reformed.
onest Question (non-Catholic):
Given that all materials save glass are created by the direction of God why the big deal about noble metals?
It seems even stranger since the “chalice” of the Last Supper was likely either wood or ceramic and Jesus was a carpenter (admittedly both make lousy practical wine vessels since their porous).
Nick,
If you had the Lord and Savior of the universe come to your house, you would probably off Him the best seat in the house. Since the vessels in quetion contain the Body and Blood of our Lord, wouldn’t you want the vessels that touch it made from the best material available?
It seems even stranger since the “chalice” of the Last Supper was likely either wood
Where’d you get that? From Indiana Jones?
Hi Nick,
I think an answer to your question goes back to the nostrum “lex orandi, lex credendi”, i.e., the rule of praying is the rule of believing. As it happens that the way we physically pray has a bearing on the spiritual nature of our prayers. Using ordinary vessels for the Eucharist gives the impression that what the vessels contain is ordinary. Gold or silver is a reminder that what the vessels contain is precious, the very body and blood of Christ.
I remember reading story about St. Francis of Assisi, who lived a life of total poverty, in which he exhorted a parish not to skimp on the materials used in the liturgy. To him, it was important to give the sacred species the honor they deserved.
One last thing. The spiritual law that how we physically pray affects how we spiritually pray is not just a Catholic observation – C.S. Lewis in the Screwtape letters reminds us of this truth as well.
— Noah
Nick-
It goes back to what I said in the second paragraph. We drink from glass and ceramics all the time. The Eucharist is not an ordinary meal, but the very Body and Blood of Christ. While it would not invalidate the sacrament to use other materials, it is more fitting that we use some material that reinforces the holy and unique nature of the Eucharist.
It is helpful (and sometimes a duty) for us humans to engage our imagination when it comes to spiritual matters. The use of special materials, clothing, songs, etc… aids our imagination in supporting our will to believe what God has revealed to us. As much as we would like to think we can worship in a purely spiritual way, we are still physical beings and the use of material things can have a strong effect on our faith.
I think almost anyone can appreciate the difference in using one material or another. At a wedding, would it be more fitting for the Bride and Groom to toast one another from crystal goblets, or from Dixie cups? The marriage is just as valid either way, but that is separate from the issue of what is appropriate. We should strive to do what is best, rather than the minimum we can get away with.
Ok, Tim with that kind of reasoning why would we ever want anything but the Tridentine Mass, with all its richness and beauty?
Suzanne,
Yes, why would we? It is a good question to ask. I am afraid the answer may be very prosaic – one is easier than the other. Cheaper, too.
No matter what Lost Crusade said, Jewish folks back then didn’t use wood or ceramics for Passover cups. I can’t find a reference just now, but I’ve read it before. And on Jewish pages, too.
This isn’t what I’d call a real historical reference, but it’s a start.
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/art_context/tkidd.htm
“Traditionally kiddush cups were made of gold or silver.”
http://rabbiwein.com/column-883.html
This is pretty interesting.
The whole idea of occasionally using each piece throughout the year so as not to “shame” it, made me think. I mean, think of all the old stuff we Catholics have in our sacristies that never gets used. It is kind of like we are “shaming” it. The same thing with a lot of still perfectly good but old bits of tradition, or music, or what have you.
Kiddush cups are often, like chalices, silver lined with gold. Vermeil, if you will.
I gave a Kiddush cup to my parents for the golden wedding anniversary several years ago.
I saw a wooden chalice several years ago that was beautiful. It was lined with metal, and the artist had used the grain of the wood to striking effect. However, it is the only wooden one I have ever seen that was beautiful. As for the ceramic chalices, I have yet to see a beautiful one.
We used to use crystal, but our pastor now uses the beaufiful gold plates chalices that before were locked in the cupboard.
When a priest close to the community used a coffee cup for a chalice at a Mass celebrated in the soup kitchen on First Street, she afterward took the cup, kissed it, and buried it in the back yard. It was no longer suited for coffee — it had held the Blood of Christ. I learned more about the Eucharist that day than I had from any book or sermon. It was a learning experience for the priest as well — thereafter he used a chalice.
Jim Forest – “Dorothy Day – Saint and Troublemaker”
I am happy to hear that at your Life Teen Mass you are back to kneeling instead of crowding around the altar. I have been to many youth masses and I used to think it was great to go around the altar. Now that I am older I just cringe when I see that – I am happy to kneel in my pew. And even happier when I don’t have to sing Protestant chorus songs at Mass (which I used to love too)… This past Sunday I had the joy of experiencing a Divine Liturgy at a Ukrainian Catholic Church and I just thought to myself – they get it – the Liturgy is full of beauty and reverence. It brought me to tears. I pray for the renewal of the liturgy in our Roman Catholic parishes.
My (possibly soon to be ex-parish) recently moved away from glass chalices and ciboriums that have been in use for 5 or 6 years. What did they use instead, you ask?
Brushed stainless steel.
I would swear that the dishes used to distribute Holy Communion look like dog food bowls. I might have thought it to be acceptable if the insides were gold plated though.
There is a paten (“plate” used at Eucharist) that was used by a priest while he was a prisoner (maybe during WWII?) that was made of wood.
Pope (Paul VI?) had somehow obtained it, put a gold circle on the bottom that had the where and when engraved on it.
It is now in the Vatican (museum or archives?).
Great story about Dorothy Day, by the way.
Peace!
Kelly
If you’re in a situation where noble metals aren’t available, obviously you do what you can. (A tiny piece of wood is greatly valuable in a prison camp.) But if you could get something suitable and don’t, it seems like very false economy. (Not to mention disrespectful.)
I understand the comments about due respect, and I appreciate them. The historical articles I’ll have to consider. I just can’t imagine that gold was plentiful enough for a minor household to have any. Recent mining techniques have made gold more plentiful than it ever has been per a capita.
It just seems the *workmanship* would be the imporatant thing. I’ve seen plain gold cups that for all the world look like plastic. I’ve seen glass so finely crafted it looks like it would shatter at the slightest gust of wind.
‘k checked the included links. Neither addresses ancient practices (just “traditional” which is a very fluid term and could indicate anything more than three generations old). A review of the web (hardly authoritative) resulted in:
Historical production table. As you look at the table be aware that income distributions were much steeper in the ancient world then now. That is, the middle-classes were less likely to have access to these metals. You would also have the added frustration that an enormous amount of gold and silver would be used for *coins*. That’s something we don’t worry about today.
According to Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich’s visions in “The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”, the chalice was made of some unknown material that could not be melted down. “The great chalice was composed of the cup and of the foot… the cup was pear-shaped, massive dark-coloured, and highly polished, with gold ornaments, and two small handles by which it could be lifted.” (Part 2, meditation IV)
Also,
“The chalice was left in the Church of Jerusalem, in the hands of St. James the Less; and I see that it is still preserved in that town— it will appear some day, in the same manner as before. Other Churches took the little cups which surrounded it; one was taken to Antioch, another to Ephesus. They belonged to the patriarchs, who drank some mysterious beverage out of them when they received or gave a benediction, as I have seen many times.
The great chalice had formerly been in the possession of Abraham; Melchisedech brought it with him from the land of Canaan, when he was beginning to found some settlements on the spot where Jerusalem was afterwards built; he made use of it then for offering sacrifice, when he offered bread and wine in the presence of Abraham, and he left it in the possession of that holy patriarch. This same chalice had also been preserved in Noah’s Ark.”(Part 2, meditation IV)
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