Breaking of the bread into the cup
Question from on 07-30-2007:
I was told this practice started a long time ago when after the bishop had his Mass the piece of the host would be brought to parishes and it would be mingled with the priest's wine to symbolize the unity of the sacrifice. Is this true? A young Jesuit informed me of this and I think he said it only happened in Rome.
Answer by Colin B. Donovan, STL on 08-01-2007:
Yes, this was the practice in Rome in the early centuries. It probably derived from the sharing of the Afikomen, a particle of the Passover bread. We may have an artifact of the practice in the mingling of a particle of the Host in the Chalice, now given the symbolic meaning of the union in the resurrected Christ of His Body and Blood.
Question from on 07-30-2007:
I was told this practice started a long time ago when after the bishop had his Mass the piece of the host would be brought to parishes and it would be mingled with the priest's wine to symbolize the unity of the sacrifice. Is this true? A young Jesuit informed me of this and I think he said it only happened in Rome.
Answer by Colin B. Donovan, STL on 08-01-2007:
Yes, this was the practice in Rome in the early centuries. It probably derived from the sharing of the Afikomen, a particle of the Passover bread. We may have an artifact of the practice in the mingling of a particle of the Host in the Chalice, now given the symbolic meaning of the union in the resurrected Christ of His Body and Blood.
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