TREATISE IV
The Holy Eucharist
Introductory. The Holy Eucharist whose dignity surpasses all other sacraments may be considered from two different aspects— as a sacrament, and as a sacrifice. Accordingly it is usual to divide the treatise on the Eucharist into two sections : the Eucharist as a sacrament, and, the Eucharist as a sacrifice.
SECTION I
The Holy Eucharist as a Sacrament
This section is divided into five chapters : 1. definition and institution of the Holy Eucharist ; 2. the matter and form of the Eucharist ; 3. the effects of the Holy Eucharist ; 4. the recipient of the Eucharist ; 5. the minister of the Holy Eucharist.
CHAPTER I. DEFINITION AND INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST
584. Definitions. The Holy Eucharist is known under several different names ; v.g. synaxis, the Lord’s Supper, Viaticum, the sacrament of the altar, the body of Christ, etc., and it may be considered in three ways — either in its preparation, or in its completed state, or in its reception.
1. In its preparation (in fieri) the Eucharist consists in the changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, while the species remain, in order to provide nourishment for the soul ; more briefly, it is the act of transubstantiation.
2. In its completed state (in facto esse) the Eucharist is the sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine instituted by Christ for the nourishment of the soul.
3. In its reception the Eucharist is the receiving of the Body of Christ under the eucharistic species.
Just as each sacrament has its own special significance, so the Eucharist signifies three things : 1. the Passion of Christ ; 2. grace to nourish and support the soul ; 3. a pledge of future glory. The Eucharist increases sanctifying grace in the act of reception or eating — that is to say, when the eucharistic species pass from the mouth into the stomach. Therefore a person who retains the sacred species in the mouth until they are dissolved or a dying person unable to swallow do not receive the effects of this sacrament. On the other hand, a person who vomits after receiving the sacred species into the stomach has truly received the Eucharist and therefore the gift of grace.
585. The institution of the Eucharist was performed by Christ at the Last Supper — on this point there is universal agreement.
CHAPTER II. THE MATTER AND FORM OF THE EUCHARIST
Art. 1. The Matter of the Eucharist
586. The remote matter of the Eucharist is wheat bread and wine made from grapes. This is stated by the Council of Florence.
For the validity of the sacrament of the Eucharist it is necessary :
1. that the bread be made from pure wheaten flour, not from barley, rye, oats, etc. Any form of wheat is sufficient, so long as it remains pure wheat in the common estimation of men ;
2. that the flour be mixed with natural water and then baked by fire, so that it is true bread. Therefore if any other liquid (such as milk or oil) is mixed with it in a notable quantity, or if it remains unbaked and in the form of dumpling or dough, the matter is invalid ;
3. that the wine be natural wine from the grape, and therefore any other liquid is invalid, such as beer, apple wine, wine that has gone sour or has undergone substantial corruption in some other way, wine from which all alcohol has been extracted, artificial wine.
For lawful consecration it is further required :
1. that priests of the Latin rite use unleavened bread, priests of the Greek rite leavened bread ;
2. that the host be clean, entire, recently made, and circular ;
3. that the wine has begun to ferment, so that fresh wine or juice recently pressed from ripe grapes are not permitted ;
4. that the wine be pure and clear and not mixed with any other liquid — except with the small amount of water which is added to the wine at the Offertory. The Holy Office, Aug. 5, 1896, granted permission for the addition of some wine alcohol to weak wine up to a combined total of 18 percent, alcohol ;
5. that the wine should not have begun to turn sour.
587. The proximate MATTER of the Eucharist is the use of the bread and wine in the act of consecration.
Some authors regard the Eucharistic species as the proximate matter masmuen as they contain the body and blood of Christ.
For valid consecration two conditions must be verified : a) the matter to be consecrated must be physically present ; b ) it must be specifically determined.
The matter is said to be physically present when in the common estimation of men the words “hic” and “hoc” used in the act of consecration retain their proper significance. Therefore hosts contained in a ciborium (even if closed) are validly consecrated. Whether hosts contained in a ciborium which has been placed inadvertently at the comer of the altar outside the corporal are validly consecrated or not cannot be decided from their physical presence alone (since this ciborium is certainly more present to the celebrant than is the host to the newly-ordained priest in the ordination Mass). One must therefore consider the virtual intention of the celebrant. It is recommended that each priest form an intention once and for all of consecrating any matter on the altar which he willed to consecrate at the beginning of the Sacrifice.
The matter must be specifically determined by an actual or at least virtual intention of the priest, and this is essential to the validity of the sacrament ; therefore if a host is placed on the altar without the knowledge of the priest it remains unconsecrated.
588. For lawful consecration it is necessary that the matter to be consecrated should be :
a) placed on a consecrated or portable altar,
b) within the corporal,
c) and held in the hands of the priest or placed in an open vessel on the corporal.
d) It is further required that the matter be consecrated during Mass and placed on the altar at least before the Offertory. Some consider any act of consecration attempted outside of Mass as not only gravely unlawful but also invalid. The Code of Canon Law (c. 817) states :
It is forbidden, even in cases of extreme necessity, to consecrate one species without the other or even both together outside Mass.”
Art. 2. The Form of the Eucharist
589. The form to be used in the consecration of the bread is : “ Hoc est enim corpus meum.” With the exception of “ enim ” all these words are essential.
The form to be used in the consecration of the wine is : “ Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei, novi et aecerni testamenti, mysterium fidei, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum.” The words “hic est calix sanguinis mei” or “hic est sanguis meus are certainly essential.
If anyone through negligence or bad habit pronounces the words incorrectly “ hoc, hic, eis, copus, calis, sanguis” he commits sin but the consecration remains valid, since these are mere accidental changes.— In practice, ail the words of each form should be pronounced distinctly, reverently, continuously, without interruption or repetition. Scrupulous priests are easily excused from sin if they indulge in this forbidden repetition. Such irreverence is involuntary.
CHAPTER III. THE EFFECTS OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST
590. I. The Holy Eucharist produces perfect union between man and Christ, both God and man, and therefore is correctly termed Holy Communion.
2. As the food of the soul die Eucharist a ) sustains man’s spiritual life, 6) increases grace and the virtues, c ) remits venial faults and temporal punishments, d) causes spiritual joy, for it is the bread of heaven containing within itself all sweetness.
3. As the special sign of Christ’s Passion it provides a pledge of future glory and a powerful protection against the temptations of the devil. The Holy Eucharist produces these effects at the moment when it is actually received or eaten. Consequently it is probable that these effects are produced even when Holy Communion is administered artificially through a tube inserted in the stomach. However the Holy Office (Jan. 27, 1886) forbade such artificial administration of Holy Communion.
CHAPTER IV. THE RECIPIENT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST
This chapter is divided into four articles : 1. the person of the recipient ; 2. the necessary disposition ; 3. the obligation of receiving Holy Communion ; 4. frequent Communion.
Art. 1. The Person of the Recipient
591. Principle. Every baptized person is capable of receiving fruitfully the Holy Eucharist provided no obstacle is offered to grace through the commission of mortal sin.
At present it is not customary to give Holy Communion to children below the age of discretion. But once a person has attained the use of reason he can and indeed ought to receive Holy Communion. The amount of religious knowledge required so that a child may make a suitable preparation for First Communion is the knowledge, according to its capacity, of the mysteries of the Faith necessary to salvation, and the knowledge that distinguishes the Eucharistic bread from common and material bread (cf. S.C. de Sacr., Aug. 8, 1910). It belongs to the parents or to those who occupy their place and to the confessor to decide whether a particular child is sufficiently prepared for receiving the First Communion. It is the duty of the parish priest to see that children do not approach the sacrament without sufficient dispositions (c. 854). In danger of death he has the power and the duty of administering Holy Communion to children, provided they can distinguish the Body of Christ from common bread and are able to adore it reverently. Holy Communion should not be given to lunatics except as Viaticum when they can receive it without danger of irreverence. In the same category are the dying who are unconscious, who can and must receive Viaticum if this is possible. In order to discover whether it is possible or not it would help to give them first a small unconsecrated particle.
Those who are not completely mental defectives, old persons who have grown childish, those who are deaf and dumb, etc., may and must receive the Holy Eucharist provided there is no danger of irreverence. The same applies to those who suffer from intermittent coughing or vomiting.
Art. 2 Dispositions for the Reception of Holy Communion
592. The Holy Eucharist may be received either spiritually or sacramentally. A spiritual Communion is the desire for receiving the Eucharist sacramentally when there are obstacles making this impossible. All ascetical writers strongly recommend the exercise of spiritual Communion as productive of many fruits from the act of charity inspiring it. In the following paragraphs we shall speak only of the dispositions required for the sacramental reception of the Holy Eucharist.
593. Necessary dispositions of soul.
1. Freedom from excommunication and personal interdict — this will be discussed more fully in the treatise on censures.
2. Freedom from mortal sin ; this is absolutely necessary since the Holy Eucharist is a sacrament of the living and spiritual food should not be given to a spiritual corpse — to a sinner who is spiritually dead.
If anyone is conscious of mortal sin, he is bound to go to confession before receiving Holy Communion ; an act of contrition is insufficient unless a confessor is unavailable and there is urgent need to receive the sacrament (Council of Trent, Sess., 13, c. 7 ; and c. 856). A confessor is considered not available when the penitent cannot confess without some grave harm extrinsic to confession itself, as, for instance, when scandal would be given to the people, or the name of the accomplice would become known, or if the present confessor could not understand, etc. No inconvenience intrinsic to the confession — such as a great feeling of shame — would excuse from the obligation of confession. A priest who celebrates Mass after making an act of contrition when a confessor is not available and there is need to celebrate is bound to go to confession as soon as possible, i.e. within three days. This precept still holds even though the priest does not celebrate Mass again within these three days or even within a longer period (cf. c. 807).
3. Actual devotion, because of the reverence due to this noble sacrament. Therefore a careful preparation and a fervent thanksgiving are necessary.
594. Necessary bodily dispositions.
1. Suitable dress, out of respect for the sacrament ; one may offend in this matter either by defect (v.g. by wearing dirty clothes) or by inordinate excess (v.g. immodest dress of females).
2. External cleanliness, lacking in one who is dirty or suffering from visible and repulsive sores or in one who has suffered involuntary pollution or in women during their menstrual period.
All visible dirt should be removed before receiving Holy Communion. Ailments which cause serious disfigurement do not prevent the reception of the Holy Eucharist unless they cause revulsion to the other communicants. Involuntary pollution and the menstrual period do not render the body so unclean as to prevent the receiving of Holy Communion, when there exists even a light reason for approaching the sacrament.
595. 3. The eucharistic fast, i.e. abstinence from all food and drink from midnight immediately preceding reception 1 . This is a universal and most ancient custom which has been confirmed by many Councils and in the Code of Canon law, cc. 808 and 858.
This law of fasting admits of no parvity of matter either in the quantity of food and drink taken or in time. Three conditions are required in order that what is taken have the character of food or drink : a) it must be digestible, and accordingly such things as small bones, human nails or human hair do not violate the fast ; b) it must be taken exteriorly, because what is taken interiorly is not eaten or drunk in the proper sense of the word. Thus it is not a violation of the fast to swallow saliva or blood from the teeth or nasal cavities ; c) it must be taken by the action of eating or drinking. Therefore the fast is not violated by anything received into the stomach a) mixed with saliva, such as a few drops of water swallowed while cleaning the teeth, b) through the action of breathing, v.g. when a man smokes or inhales tobacco smoke, c) through the injection of a nutritive substance.
*Cf. Appendix II.
Midnight may be computed in accordance with solar or legal time (whether this be regional or otherwise, c. 33, § 1).
596. Exemption from this eucharistic fast is granted in six cases :
1. in order to complete the sacrifice of the Mass (after the consecration of at least the bread or the wine) ;
2. in order to preserve the Blessed Sacrament from irreverence ;
3. in order to avoid public scandal (when, for instance, ill-repute would be incurred if the priest did not celebrate Mass) ;
4. in order to receive Viaticum ;
5. in order that Holy Communion may be given to the sick who have been confined to bed for a month without any certain hope of speedy recovery. These may receive Holy Communion twice a week though they have taken medicine or liquid food (c. 838, § 2). The words “liquid food” include anything that is drunk, even though it be nutritive food, such as raw eggs (but not cooked eggs) ;
6. in order that catechumens may receive Holy Communion after tasting salt during their Baptism.
Note. No one has the power to absolve from this law of the eucharistic fast except the Pope ; the dispensation is granted through the Holy Office for priests, through the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments for lay persons.
Art 3. Obligation of Receiving Holy Communion
597. Principle, a) Only the desire to receive Holy Communion is a necessary means of salvation ; b ) all who have the use of reason are bound by divine and ecclesiastical precept to receive Holy Communion.
Sanctifying grace alone and everything inseparable from it are necessary means of salvation. Now sanctifying grace can be obtained without the actual reception of Holy Communion, v.g. through Baptism. Nevertheless an explicit or at least implicit desire for Holy Communion would seem to be necessary, since the Holy Eucharist is the end of all the sacraments inasmuch as they tend towards union with Christ which is principally achieved in the sacrament of the Eucharist (cf. St. Thomas, III, q. 53, a. 3). There is clearly a divine precept expressed in many of Christ’s words, such as : “ You can have no life in yourselves, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood” (John vi, 54).
The ecclesiastical precept is to be found expressed in the Fourth Council of the Lateran and in the Council of Trent and is also contained in the Code of Canon law (c. 859).
N.B. The obligation of the precept of Communion binding children falls principally on those who must take care of them, viz. parents, guardians, confessors, teachers, parish priest (c. 860). 2
The divine precept commands the reception of the Eucharist several times during life and probably at the hour of death ; the ecclesiastical precept has laid down that all who have reached the age of discretion must receive Holy Communion at least during Paschal time.
Obligation of receiving Viaticum. “ In danger of death, no matter from what cause the danger arises, the faithful are bound by precept to receive Holy Communion ” (c. 864, §1). This obligation is certainly serious if a man has none or little hope of escaping death and has not received Holy Communion during the preceding week.
“ The administration of Holy Viaticum to the sick should not be long deferred, and those who have the care of souls should carefully sec to it that sick people receive it while they are in full possession of their senses ” (c. 865). It is advisable that Viaticum be given to the sick a) who are in only probable danger of death even though there is a probable hope of their recovery ; h) who have already received Holy Communion early on the same day before the danger had arisen ; c) repeatedly (even on one day) while the same danger of death continues (c. 864, §§ 1 and 2).
Paschal time runs from Palm Sunday to Low Sunday, but local Ordinaries have the power of extending the period from the fourth Sunday of Lent until Trinity Sunday inclusively (cf. c. 859, § 2). By particular law Paschal time sometimes extends from Ash Wednesday until Trinity Sunday. — Since the Paschal period has been determined in order to stress the obligation and not to terminate it, the duty of fulfilling the precept still continues if it has not been fulfilled within the stated time (ibid. § 4).
All the faithful are allowed to receive Holy Communion in leavened or unleavened bread even if they wish to do so merely for the sake of devotion, but they should be counselled to receive the Paschal Communion in their own rite whereas they are obliged to receive Holy Viaticum in their own rite, unless there is grave need to the contrary (cf. c. 866).
598. The faithful are to be recommended (but not commanded) to satisfy their Easter duty in their own respective parishes, but if it is fulfilled in some other parish, their own parish priest should be informed (c. 859, a Once the individual attains the age of discretion he must make his First Holy Communion. Cf. the author’s Man. Theol. mor. Ill, 211.
§ 1). There is frequently no strict obligation to give this notification, and certainly the following persons are exempt :
1. all priests who satisfy the Paschal precept anywhere by the celebration of Mass ;
2. religious of either sex and their domestic staff who can communicate in their own chapels. The same applies to religious sisters, but not to their domestics ;
3. soldiers, convicts, students living in college and others who by particular law or lawful custom may fulfil the Paschal precept in their own chapels ;
4. strangers, who may receive their Paschal Communion anywhere.
Art. 4. Frequent Communion
599. By frequent Communion is understood the reception of the sacrament several times during the week or even daily. Therefore weekly or fortnightly Communion would not be considered frequent Communion.
The directions given by older theologians regarding the necessary dispositions for the frequent reception of Holy Communion are no longer valid and have been superseded by the Decree of the Congregation of the Council, Dec. 16, 1905, of which the following are the chief points to be noted :
Rules : 1. “ Frequent and daily Communion as a thing most earnestly desired by Christ our Lord and by the Catholic Church should be available for all the faithful, of whatever rank and condition of life, so that no one who is in the state of grace and who approaches the Holy Table with a right and devout intention can be lawfully hindered from it.” Therefore ail that is required for frequent or daily Communion is the state of grace — and a right and devout intention.
2. “ Right intention consists in this that he who approaches the Holy Table should do so, not out of routine or vainglory or human respect, but in order to please God, to be more closely united to Him, and to seek this divine remedy for his weaknesses and defects.”
3. “Frequent and daily Communion is to be promoted especially in Religious Orders and Congregations of all kinds. . . . ; as also in ecclesiastical seminaries and in all Christian establishments of whatever kind for the training of youth.”
4. “ After the promulgation of this decree all ecclesiastical writers are to cease from contentious controversy concerning the dispositions required for frequent and daily Communion.”
CHAPTER V. THE MINISTER OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST
This chapter is divided into two articles : 1. the consecration and administration of the Holy Eucharist ; 2. the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Art. 1. The Consecration and Administration of the Holy Eucharist
600. 1. Priests alone have the power of consecrating the Eucharist validly. (Fourth Council of the Lateran).
For lawful consecration further conditions are required which will be discussed below.
2. The ordinary minister of Holy Communion is a priest ; the extraordinary minister is a deacon properly delegated. This delegation may he granted by the bishop or parish priest or religions Superior for a grave reason (c. 845).
When there exists grave need to administer Viaticum to a dying person, this delegation is not required ; in such circumstances not only a deacon but any cleric is empowered to administer Viaticum. Noldin and others maintain correctly, “ if special skill is required in administering Holy Communion to the sick, the priest may allow a woman, such as a Daughter of Charity who may be nursing the sick, to give Viaticum on a spoon.” No one can administer the Holy Eucharist to himself except in two cases : 1. a priest during his own Mass ; 2. in a case of extreme necessity. It is probable that in the absence of any other priest or a deacon a priest may administer Holy Communion to himself for the sake of devotion.
601. Conditions required for the lawful administration of the Eucharist are : 1. proper jurisdiction, 2. proper time, 3. proper place, 4. proper rite.
602. 1. Due jurisdiction is necessary, since the duty of feeding the faithful with the Eucharistic food is one which belongs to a pastor of souls. According to present discipline any priest wheresoever he legitimately celebrates Mass may also legitimately distribute Holy Communion to all persons rightly disposed, unless the local Ordinary forbids this in special cases for just reasons.— Even outside the time of Mass any priest enjoys the same faculty by reason of at least the presumed permission of the rector of the Church, if he does not belong to it (c. 846).
The administration of Holy Viaticum. This ordinarily belongs to the parish priest and his delegate, but the following are exceptions.
a) In cases of necessity when the parish priest is not available, any priest or deacon may administer Viaticum.
b) The administration of Viaticum to a diocesan bishop belongs to a dignitary or canon of the Chapter (c. 397, n. 3).
c) In all clerical religious houses it is the right and duty of Superiors to administer themselves or through their delegate Viaticum (and Extreme Unction) not only to their professed subjects but also to novices and to others living in the religious house night and day whether for domestic work or for education or for shelter or for health reasons (c. 514, § 1).
d) In houses of nuns the ordinary confessor or anyone taking his place has the same right and duty (ibid. § 2).
e ) In other lay congregations and Orders this right and duty belongs to the local parish priest or to the chaplain to whom the Ordinary has given full parochial powers (ibid. § 3).
Note. Any priest may privately bring Holy Communion to the sick who desire to receive it for the sake of devotion ; this does not apply to die reception of Viaticum (c. cf. c. 849, § 1).
603. 2. Time. Holy Communion may be administered on any day and at any hour when the Sacrifice of the Mass can be offered. This is the general rule. Only Viaticum can be administered on Good Friday (c. 867, § 2). On Holy Saturday Holy Communion cannot be given to the faithful except during the Mass of the day or immediately afterwards (ibid. § 3). If there is reasonable cause Holy Communion may be administered even after midday and at other times when it is not permissible to celebrate Mass (ibid. § 4).
604. 3. Place. Holy Communion may be administered wherever Mass is allowed to be said ; Viaticum may be given in any suitable place. The celebrant is not allowed to give Holy Communion during the Mass to people who are so far away from the altar that the priest must go out of sight of the altar (c. 868).
605. 4. The Proper rite. The rite to be used is that prescribed by the Roman Ritual or by any other approved Ritual. In the Latin rite it is never permissible— not even for Holy Viaticum — to administer Holy Communion under the species of wine ; however, permission has now been granted for all the faithful — even for the sake of devotion — to receive Holy Communion in a rite other than their own from a priest belonging to that rite : cf. n. 597.
606. The following are the chief rubrics to be observed in administering Holy Communion : —
a) The priest should administer Holy Communion with the index finger and thumb of the right hand. If any lingering disease affects these fingers permission to say Mass and distribute Holy Communion must be sought from the Sacred Congregation ; if, however, the priest is unable to use these fingers for only a short period but is able to use his other fingers quite well, it seems that for a just reason he may celebrate Mass and distribute Holy Communion, since it is the entire hand of the priest that has been consecrated.
b) Unless grave necessity requires otherwise, the priest should administer Holy Communion with two or at least one lighted candle, and clothed in sacred vestments, such as (outside Mass) the cotta and white stole (or a stole corresponding to the colour of the day). On all Souls’ Day the stole may be white or purple (S.R.C. April 19, 1912). Before Holy Communion the Confiteor must be recited ; afterwards (outside the time of Mass) the priest should recite the prayer “ O Sacrum convivium ” with its versicles and prayer with the long conclusion (Rit. Rom. tit. 4, c. 2. ed. typica).
c) If while administering Holy Communion a Host falls to the ground, the place should be covered and afterwards cleansed (this is a slight obligation) ; if the Host falls on to the clothing of a woman and it cannot be recovered by the priest easily and without scandal, the woman should be taken to the sacristy and she herself take up the Host and then wash her fingers ; the ablution should be poured down the sacrarium.
d ) In taking Holy Communion to the sick the statutes legitimately approved by the local Ordinary are to be followed.
Art. 2. The Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament
607. The place of reservation. By common law the Blessed Sacrament must be reserved :
1. in the cathedral church, in the principal church of an abbey or prelature nullius, of a vicariate or prefecture apostolic ;
2. in all parochial and quasi-parochial churches ;
3. in a church attached to an exempt Institute whether of men or of women.
The Blessed Sacrament may be reserved — with the permission of the local Ordinary —
1. in collegiate churches,
2. in the principal oratory, public or semi-public, of a pious or religious house, and in the principal oratory of an ecclesiastical college which is governed by secular priests or religious.
For the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in any other church or public oratory the permission of the Holy See is required, but the local Ordinary may grant permission for reservation in other churches and public oratories, but only for a good reason and as a temporary concession.
Wherever the Blessed Sacrament is reserved it is required that a priest should celebrate Mass there at least once a week (c. 1265). For a grave reason, approved by the local Ordinary, such as the danger of sacrilegious theft, the Blessed Sacrament may be kept at night on a corporal in a becoming place with a light burning before it (c. 1269, 3).
608. The manner of reservation. The Blessed Sacrament must be reserved :
1. in a suitable tabernacle which has been blessed and placed in an immovable position at the centre of the altar (c. 1269, § 1).
There is a grave obligation for a lamp to be kept burning before the tabernacle ; the flame must be fed with olive oil. When it is difficult to obtain such oil, any other oil is suitable, particularly vegetable oil or beeswax ; in the last resort an electric light may be used according to the prudent judgement of the Ordinary (S.R.C. February 23, 1916).
2. in a ciborium made of solid and decent material ; the ciborium must be clean, blessed and covered with a white silk veil, and the lid should fit tightly (c. 1270). The ciborium need not be made of silver but the interior should be gilded in the same way as a chalice.
3. Consecrated Hosts should be frequently renewed to prevent any danger of corruption. It is the duty of the local Ordinary to issue instructions regarding their renewal and these must be observed by all priests (including those who are exempt). Grave sin is committed by a priest who defers the renewal of the consecrated particles for so long that there is certain danger of corruption. What constitutes such a period is to be determined relatively to the danger of corruption.
But it is not permissible to keep Hosts which are three months old (cf. S. Congregation of the Sacraments, Dec. 7, 1918).
609. Scholium. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Exposition is said to be private when the door of the tabernacle is opened ; it is public when the Blessed Sacrament is placed in a monstrance on a throne. Private exposition is allowed for any just reason without the Ordinary’s permission, and after exposition the priest may give the blessing with the ciborium (S.R.C. Nov. 30, 1895)- Public exposition is permissible by common law on the feast of Corpus Christi and during its Octave during Solemn High Mass and Vespers ; on all other days the previous permission of the local Ordinary is required by all priests (even by those who are exempt).