Pouring the Precious Blood

It pains me to say that some of our priests (and bishops) here seem to have forgotten what a great privilege and responsibility they have to protect the Eucharist. It seems to be a common practice in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to consecrate the Precious Blood in a glass cruet and pour the Precious Blood into chalices for distribution. This is in direct violation of the following:

[106.] However, the pouring of the Blood of Christ after the consecration from one vessel to another is completely to be avoided, lest anything should happen that would be to the detriment of so great a mystery. Never to be used for containing the Blood of the Lord are flagons, bowls, or other vessels that are not fully in accord with the established norms. (See Redemptions Sacramentum paragraph 106)

Complaints about this practice to the Archbishop has resulted in a promise that the Vicar of Clergy would speak to our new Pastor about doing this. The result is that now instead of pouring the Precious Blood into two chalices for distribution that he now pours the Precious Blood into four chalices for distribution. One wonders how large of a pat on the back he got from the Vicar for bringing this practice into our parish. Contact with the Office of Prayer and Worship at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee seems to indicate that the Archbishop has not made a public statement against this practice yet. One wonders what the Archbishop is waiting for…..

Of course by having so much of the Precious Blood available one wonders what happens to the Precious Blood that is left over in the cruet that never makes it into the chalices for distribution. It would be nice to know that people are not pouring the Precious Blood into the Sacrarium considering the penalties for such an act as outlined below:

[107.] In accordance with what is laid down by the canons, “one who throws away the consecrated species or takes them away or keeps them for a sacrilegious purpose, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; a cleric, moreover, may be punished by another penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state”. To be regarded as pertaining to this case is any action that is voluntarily and gravely disrespectful of the sacred species. Anyone, therefore, who acts contrary to these norms, for example casting the sacred species into the sacrarium or in an unworthy place or on the ground, incurs the penalties laid down. (See Redemptionis Sacramentum paragraph 107)

Even the Office of Prayer and Worship in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has told us that the Precious Blood is to be consumed at the place of distribution and is never to be poured into the sacrarium. But they never told us the severe penalties associated with pouring the Precious Blood into the sacrarium as outlined above. It makes one wonder just what is going on after the Masses in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee……….It might not be a bad idea to ask about this as I have discovered some who do not realize just how serious this is……