Hi, Melissa -

I like teaching people about these things. Our religious education director has me teach the kids this stuff because they like my stories. I'm not much for rules and regulations, but I love the richness of traditions and the stories behind them - even the quirky stories. I know the rules and regulations better than just about any priest I know - it's a good defense against the legalists who try to force others to do things their way.

In the Roman church, the corporal (square cloth folded into nine squares) is used on the altar underneath golden vessels holding the consecrated bread and wine. I suppose there are all sorts of interpretations of its purpose - simply put, it signifies that place on the altar as a special, sacred place. Functionally, it also serves to keep the main altar cloth clean. It's used only on the altar.

The purificator (oblong cloth used for wiping the chalice) is just a white cloth - don't know if it's required to be linen, but it's usually called "linen." I suspect it's usually cotton - synthetics supposedly tend to scrape the gold plating off the chalice. Sometimes, a purificator will be used for holding gold vessels that are likely to be damaged by fingerprints. Purificators are portable, multi-purpose cloths, and corporals stay on the altar.

But no, there is no disinfectant other than the alcohol in the wine, and there's no belief that consecration kills germs. Our lay ministers do use hand sanitizer before distributing communion, however. Ever since communion "under both species" (bread and wine) was instituted after Vatican II in the 1970s, there has been discussion about whether communion from a common cup is sanitary. It's optional, and conservative and squeamish people avoid the cup. People with colds also seem to be pretty good about passing the cup by.

Our bishop seems to be on the careful side, so he prohibits the cup and does not allow people to receive communion on the tongue during flu season (such as now). I suppose it's not a bad idea to be safe. Some conservatives get upset about having to receive communion in their hand, but that doesn't seem to be a big issue in our parish (the conservatives go to the other parish in town). Oh, and we're not supposed to shake or hold hands during flu season.

I heard years ago there were "studies" made that determined that the common cup was a negligible factor in the spread of disease - not that I can actually find any record of such studies. I also haven't heard of any terrible epidemics in Catholic parishes....

I can't say I think the purificator does a whole lot of good, other than stopping drips. I try to rotate it and the chalice so I'm not always using the same spot on the cloth or chalice - not that I think it helps at all, but I think people feel more comfortable when they see me make an effort. Drinking from the common cup has rich symbolism and I like it, so I've taken the risk for forty years or more. Since I'm the sacristan and more-or-less the chief usher, I'm usually the last to drink from the cup, so I suppose I get everybody's germs. I figure the slightly-drunk germs serve to strengthen my immune system.

I suppose that deep inside me, there's a defiant element that demands that I receive communion from lay ministers in my hand and from the common cup, and never while kneeling. These are privileges we won in Vatican II, and there are conservatives constantly demanding that these practices be abolished because they consider them irreverent. They want people to kneel down at a rail with their tongues out. So, I proudly take the cup, risk of infection be damned.

And hey, I'm still here and I'm still healthy.

-Joe-