May we dip the sacred host in wine?

by Michael Shackleton · Published February 19, 2012 · Updated September 30, 2020

In my home parish, when receiving Communion we are allowed to dip the sacred host into the chalice (with the permission of the local bishop). I was embarrassed at Christmas Eve Mass in Pretoria when an extraordinary minister of Communion withdrew the chalice from me and said: That is not allowed.. I replied that it was allowed in my church. She then repeated: Well, it’s not allowed in this diocese. I slunk back to my seat chastened. Others had the same experience that night, so it seems I am not alone in my confusion. What exactly are the rules of the Church? H van Waltsleven

At the Last Supper, Jesus handed bread and wine changed into his Body and Blood and physically gave them to his Apostles with the words: Take and eat and Take and drink.

In the same way, the priest or other authorised minister of the Eucharist presents the host and the chalice to the communicants who take, eat and drink. Communion can be received only in this manner.

The General Instruction on the Roman Missal does not permit communicants to self-communicate, that is, help themselves from the ciborium and chalice. They must take the sacrament from the hands of the minister, and say: Amen.

When you say we are allowed to dip the sacred host into the chalice, you imply that the communicants receive the host and dip it into the chalice themselves. If so, this is not allowed.

When Communion is given in this form, known as intinction, the Instruction states that each communicant, holding a communion plate under the chin, approaches the priest who holds a vessel with the sacred particles, a minister standing at his side and holding the chalice. The priest takes a host, dips it partly into the chalice and, showing it, says: The Body and Blood of Christ. The communicant responds Amen, receives the sacrament in the mouth from the priest, and then withdraws (287).

It is because of the danger of spilling drops of the Precious Blood that the Instruction mentions only a priest as minister of intinction, and says a communion plate or paten must be held under the communicant’s chin.

The diocesan bishop may establish norms for communion under both kinds (host and chalice separately or by intinction) in his own diocese. These norms could depend on sufficient priests to do so in one diocese, and not enough in another.