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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.

Can the priest pour the precious blood into other chalices after the consecration?

Question:

On several occasions I’ve seen a priest pour the precious blood into other chalices after the consecration. Is there a directive regarding this?

Answer:

The document Redemptionis Sacramentum states,

If one chalice is not sufficient for Communion to be distributed under both kinds to the priest concelebrants or Christ’s faithful, there is no reason why the priest celebrant should not use several chalices. For it is to be remembered that all priests in celebrating Holy Mass are bound to receive Communion under both kinds. It is praiseworthy, by reason of the sign value, to use a main chalice of larger dimensions, together with smaller chalices. 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. (105-106)

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