Q: My adult son is questioning why the Blood of Jesus is not offered at every Mass as Jesus requested. “Do this in memory of me” – he said it for both the bread and the wine separately. Please help me explain why we only receive the host (I’ve told him the host includes the whole of Jesus: body, blood, soul and divinity). My son insists that if we obey Jesus’ command “Eat my Body,” we should obey him when he says, “Drink my Blood.” Thank you for helping me have the words to give him a convincing explanation. – B.
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC
A: It’s admirable that your son has a desire to do as Jesus commanded. Our Lord gave us the Church in part to make sure that we understood correctly what he wanted.
Your son’s view recalls an idea promoted centuries ago: the notion of Utraquism, from the Latin utraque, meaning both/each (of the two).
This notion (a heresy, in fact) holds that a person must receive both the host and the chalice to gain eternal life.
Jacob of Miles first promulgated this idea in the early 15th century. His teaching was condemned by three Church councils, including Trent.
As you imply, Jesus is whole and entire under both species since he himself is not divided. His blood isn’t “here” and his body “over there.” Jesus is united and thus is united in his sacramental presence in the Eucharist.
Note what St. Paul wrote, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). [emphasis mine]
St. Paul says whoever unworthily receives either the species of bread or the species of wine is guilty of profaning the body and blood of Christ — that is, the entire Christ.
It is, however, essential that the priest who celebrates the Mass must receive Communion under both species.
St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae writes “[O]n the part of the sacrament it is proper for both the body and the blood to be received, since the perfection of the sacrament lies in both, and consequently, since it is the priest’s duty both to consecrate and finish the sacrament, he ought on no account to receive Christ’s body without the blood.”
I hope some of this helps. By the way, you might want to avoid the h-word when broaching the topic. Your son is simply mistaken, but not necessarily a heretic.
